Sweat = severe neck/fret wear

[matt-bass-sparkes]

Yo, (I have been a member on here before, but I have totally lost my login details and my old email address!

I have had a problem for a few years now where my hands seem to sweat uncontrollably when I play...
Obviously I can't prevent this form happening...

BUT, do any of you have any "home remedies" to stop this from eating away at my bass necks?

I sold a circa.2001 Jazz bass a few years ago that I played for about 3 years, and the neck looked like it was from a vintage relic just because of the damage that my sweaty hands did to it! Granted, I do play a hell of a lot, but still...!

And I am currently selling an original 1976 Gibson G3 (please see this ebay auction number if you want to be a bit nosey...140458618253), and I've realized that my damn sweaty hands have done more wear to this neck than in the previous 33 years!!! MENTAL!

Someone suggested a thin film of Vaseline on the back, and also some lemon oil, ect but nothing as yet seems to work..

I am currently hunting for my next victim...a 2-tone sunburst '51 reissue Precision. And as much as I LOVE the vintage/worn look on basses, I'd rather keep this one relatively tidy...

Many thanks!

[Happy Jack]

Have a quick search for silldx's topic about wearing thin, black silk gloves.

I'm not making that up!

[Mr. Foxen]

Poly finish rather than nitro and stainless steel frets should sort it. Refret is a bit extreme though. A good maintenance regime should really be all, wipe down and oil regularly, except its a maple board, so don't oil it. I think the reissue is poly finish, so just keep it wiped down, and if you have a lacquer crack seal it off with superglue.

[matt-bass-sparkes]

Haha!! Sounds a bit odd, but ok!
Nice one.

[matt-bass-sparkes]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='968845' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:23 PM']Poly finish rather than nitro and stainless steel frets should sort it. Refret is a bit extreme though. A good maintenance regime should really be all, wipe down and oil regularly, except its a maple board, so don't oil it. I think the reissue is poly finish, so just keep it wiped down, and if you have a lacquer crack seal it off with superglue.[/quote]

Many thanks for that.

What oil would you suggest?

I wipe down as thoroughly as I can after each gig, so maybe I should oil at the same time too?
CHeers

[Mr. Foxen]

With rosewood boards, and other hard oily wood (brown ones, basically) lemon oil is the thing. But the 51 is an all maple, so should be varnished, oil will discolour it, although I've just spend a week feeding danish oil to a maple bass, and it looks lovely. I think you wanna get a bass, then ask about specifics of maintenance. If it is poly finished, like most modern ones are, a cleaning should be all it needs.

[matt-bass-sparkes]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='968877' date='Sep 26 2010, 09:43 PM']With rosewood boards, and other hard oily wood (brown ones, basically) lemon oil is the thing. But the 51 is an all maple, so should be varnished, oil will discolour it, although I've just spend a week feeding danish oil to a maple bass, and it looks lovely. I think you wanna get a bass, then ask about specifics of maintenance. If it is poly finished, like most modern ones are, a cleaning should be all it needs.[/quote]

Brilliant! Many thanks.

I hadn't really thought about the finish of the new bass... has eased my mind a little.

Cheers.

[7string]

I had a similar kind of problem and sweat bands just didn't work.

In the end I bought some Adidas stuff for basketball players. It was a liquid which turned into a powder and it worked great. No more sweaty hands.

I've had a quick Google and can't find it but there's a similar product called Beal Pure Grip which is used by athletes and climbers to keep hands dry and sweat free.