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Laquering a guitar neck??


JJW
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Is it necessary for protection of the neck? I laquered my bass neck that I built and didnt like the shape of the neck so i resanded it all. It now has no laquer and I actually quite like the feel of it but I was wondering if something will need to be put on it for protection.

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It all depends really in wood type and its application. In general Wood needs a finish for best protection and long term stability although some woods and some wood applications are ok without, there mainly darker hard wood types, most fingerboards etc etc.
Light coloured woods especially maple should be finished.
As Manton Customs says even a thin oil finish. What happens to unfinished woods is they get dirty faster and then there harder to clean as it gets really ingrained into the grain lol. Also there less resistant to moisture etc which can cause issues in the long term.
Short term it's ok although if you get natural skin oil etc in the wood it needs to be cleaned throughly before a finish is applied.
So if you have a lighter wood get a finish on it soon as you can really. Although your mileage will vary and you may never have issues but why chance it a thin oil finish can be almost like the wood is natural.

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Danish oil, Liberon finishing oil, Tru oil, Tung oil....take your pick! I'd probably go for Danish or Tung if you want that natural feel. Danish will pop the grain a bit more as it's got Linseed in it. Tru oil will gloss up on you after a few coats and I personally think it's over rated, but a lot of people love it.

You can put beeswax (I prefer renneaisance wax though) over the oil finish when dry. This offers a bit more protection and a nicer feel. Wax is not really durable enough to be a guitar finish by itself, so you'd be reapplying quite often if you just used wax, which wouldn't seal the wood particularly well either. It also wouldn't look very nice without the oil first, which brings out the grain in the wood.

So go for an oil and wax finish, which is used on many basses to great effect.

Edited by Manton Customs
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Do some research online, you should find plenty and it doesn't matter if it's not specifically guitar related. Here is a very basic outline: prep is key, make sure your neck is perfect before oiling and sanded to at least 320. For a natural feel I'd apply the oil heavily then leave 10 or so minutes while watching the neck for obvious dry spots where the oil gets absorbed, if you see any of these apply more oil to these spots. After 10-15 minutes rub off all the excess with a cloth and leave 6 hours (duration will depend on brand) before re-coating. As you want it to feel like natural wood, you probably won't need much more than 2-4 coats, but it depends on the wood, just stop when you're happy that you have built up enough and you have no dry spots.

Wax is simply "wax on wax off", directions will be on the can, but make sure the oil has been dry for at least a few days before waxing.

Oh and make sure you dispose of the oily rags safely....they can self combust if left crumpled up.

Edited by Manton Customs
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[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1464352854' post='3058757']
Do some research online, you should find plenty and it doesn't matter if it's not specifically guitar related. Here is a very basic outline: prep is key, make sure your neck is perfect before oiling and sanded to at least 320. For a natural feel I'd apply the oil heavily then leave 10 or so minutes while watching the neck for obvious dry spots where the oil gets absorbed, if you see any of these apply more oil to these spots. After 10-15 minutes rub off all the excess with a cloth and leave 6 hours (duration will depend on brand) before re-coating. As you want it to feel like natural wood, you probably won't need much more than 2-4 coats, but it depends on the wood, just stop when you're happy that you have built up enough and you have no dry spots.

Wax is simply "wax on wax off", directions will be on the can, but make sure the oil has been dry for at least a few days before waxing.

Oh and make sure you dispose of the oily rags safely....they can self combust if left crumpled up.
[/quote]

Just to say I always run any left over rags under the tap before I safely dispose of them as I've seen a shed combust from left over rags.

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[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1464357308' post='3058818']
Just to say I always run any left over rags under the tap before I safely dispose of them as I've seen a shed combust from left over rags.
[/quote]

Yep, that works. I leave mine in the log burner where it won't matter if they do go up...I've seen a few catch light in there before!

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