Neck finishing tips

[martinman]

I'm planning on purchasing a Warmoth maple "fat" strat neck to go on my highway 1 body. I was planning on buying it unfinished and doing it myself. I read through the forum archives and found some great advice, but I still had a few more questions. Specifically, Warmoth says that they ship their necks with a "sealer" coat. Can I just use the vintage tint over this and then clear it? Is temperature/humidity change an issue when involved in the finishing process? I was planning on doing it outside and letting it dry in the garage (here in michigan, its in the 40's at night and 50-60 during the day). Would there be an issue with this?

thanks,
mm

[wla]

I've finished a strat neck and a tele neck, both from warmoth. I bought the spray laquer, 1 can of clear and 1 can of amber tint from re-ranch supply. There site has excellent advise on finishing. The warmoth neck can be finished right over the sealer, but should be wiped down with Naphtha to remove oils and allow the laquer to adhere well. I don't know if I would let the neck dry in a garage that cold. I let my neck set for an hour or so, then brought it in the house and hung it in an out of the way closet (bent coat hanger through a tuning peg hole) to dry overnight. The smell is slight after it's set for an hour or so. Hope this helps.
Walt

[martinman]

Hey Walt,

Thanks for the advice. I was going to use the re-ranch products as well. How many coats of tint did you use? I'm after the dark 50's look, so I was considering at least 2 applications. However, after reading the re-ranch literature, it seems that I can mix these two (tint, on top of clear, on top of tint) to go after the look I want?

[Cogs]

I would recommend spraying only when the temp is 68 or above & sanding between coats w/something like 600 grit. Be careful- necks (& the headstock especially) have a lot of corners & edges that are easy to sand through.

[martinman]

Rather than using 600grit sand paper, can I use something like 000 steel wool? I think it'd be alot easier to form around the frets and tight corners.

BTW, am I correct that the proper application would be to clear the neck and then add the tint coat (then subsequent layers of clear)?

[Cogs]

I would not use steel wool. The idea is to get the finish as flat as possible, knocking off the high spots w/the paper surface. That is already going to be difficult taking into consideration all the edges, corners, contours, & frets on a neck. You can't really use a sanding block on this except for the flat part of the headstock.
Besides, steel wool is going to come apart & the opportunity you to get some of those tiny pieces stuck in subsequent coats is too great (I KNOW you're thinking you will get them all off before you apply another coat, but just trust me on this: There are a lot of places that fibers can hide, only to jump out of the holes for the tuners once you spray).
What you want to do is to spray the neck, & wet sand w/400. Then apply another coat, & wet sand w/600... so on & so forth until you get to 2000. Then comes the buffing.

[jerryjg]

OR....you could just smear Tung oil all over it. thats what I am going to do to my mitey mite neck.

[D'Mule]

Or just spend $100 and warmoth will do a beautiful job for you. Both of mine are tinted and lacquered.

It might seem like a lot of money, but its a fair price to get it right and since you'll get a nice neck, you'll use it a long time.

[martinman]

Or just spend $100 and warmoth will do a beautiful job for you. Both of mine are tinted and lacquered.

It might seem like a lot of money, but its a fair price to get it right and since you'll get a nice neck, you'll use it a long time.

Yep. True enough.

[wla]

Martinman,
It's true that you can coat tint and clear over each other. On my tele I went for the 50's look, so the tint is quite dark. I coated 2 light coats of clear 1st then started tinting. When you think the color looks right, clear coat a coat and see how it looks. If it's not dark enough, add more tint till you're happy. Then add a few more coats of clear. I did not sand between each coat. If you follow re-ranch 101 instructions and follow the rule of 3's( 3 coats 1 hour apart), then wait overnight, you can do this maybe two times. Then wait 3 days minimum before sanding with #600 paper, just to flatten finish.Then you can add a few more coats, 3 at a time with 1 hour in between, then overnight dry.
After it's finished with the spraying, I let my neck dry for 30 days before finish sanding and polishing.
Keep in mind if you really mess it up, or tint too dark, you can wipe it all off with M.E.K. and start again.
A couple of additional tips, 1. If you intend to add a decal, do it after the tint coats, then cover it with clear, there is also a procedure on re-ranch site. 2. Before installing your tuning pegs and bushings. make sure you carefully ream out the holes with a sharp drill bit of the proper size ( I did it by spinning the bit with my fingers), as there will be lacquer in the holes which will chip if you force the bushings in. Also pre-drill all holes, string trees, tuner screws etc.
Good luck on your project.
Walt

[martinman]

Hey guys,

Well I played my order at re-ranch and warmoth. Just a few more questions, then I should be set:

So, what's the purpose of wet sanding? Also, I know it's not necessary to tape the frets (as the finish will not adhere to the metal), but what about the nut? Do I need to tape it off?

Thx again,
mark

[G.g.]

Hey guys,

Well I played my order at re-ranch and warmoth. Just a few more questions, then I should be set:

So, what's the purpose of wet sanding? Also, I know it's not necessary to tape the frets (as the finish will not adhere to the metal), but what about the nut? Do I need to tape it off?

Thx again,
mark

Tape the nut or remove it. Wet sanding leaves less scratches. Put the sandingpapier in a bowl of water with a bit of dishwashingliquid and let is soak for a night.

[Cogs]

I don't bother w/the nut at all.
Wet sanding accomplishes a couple of things: It keeps the heat down from all the friction by lubricating the paper & the surface, & it keeps the paper clear of residue so that it is effective longer & produces fewer scratches as G.g. pointed out. Actually, wet sanding washes away the solids so that the paper produces finer scratches. You should only use a sanding block on the face & back of the headstock.
I also use G.g.'s advice & soak the paper & put a drop of dishwashing soap in the water. Sometimes I'll use warm water, too, & that seems to keep the paper supple, particularly when you get up in the higher values like 1500 & 2000.

[martinman]

Ok ok... Last question (well maybe).

Inbetween coats of clear, you sand, right? In order to get the "sand gunk" off of the neck, do wipe down with Naptha? Or just use a tack cloth?

[Cogs]

Yes, in between coats. If you wet sand, there is no sand gunk.