Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: AngusYoung01 on December 28, 2007, 10:29:52 PM
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Right, what with this new Charvel, I have no idea how to look after its finish. It as a maple neck, so no lemon oil, obviously.
Jim Dunlop do this pack of Guitar Polish, cloth and Cream of Carnauba wax, wuld this be good? What is the Cream of Carnauba like, I have never used it? Will it be ok of the maple neck?
Cheers guys :D
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It as a maple neck, so no lemon oil,
I don't understand, why no lemon oil? Is the fretboard itself maple?
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Sorry yeh, neck and fretboard. I have a habit of just saying neck as its all the same wood. It has a "specially formulated oil" so it feels satin like, and I want to retain that.... will carnauba wax do it?
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No one used it?
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Might be worth a PM to Wez, I know he's done lots of oil/wax finishes.
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I was hoping he (or another of the great luthiers of this board) would stumble across here.
I'm not looking to finish the neck, but for a good substance to clean it with, without loosing that gorgeous satin quality :D
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I believe with oil/wax finishes it's not so much a matter of cleaning them, as maintaining them.
The finish tends to get quite dirty from sweat etc, which can be cleaned with lemon oil (the real thing, not scented mineral oil) and wire wool or something, but the cleaning process will remove some of the finish. So you then need to reapply something like gunstock oil, tung oil or danish oil, then wax it to build the finish back up...
... I think. I'm no expert on this stuff. :?
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"specially formulated oil"
I dont know what this is so it might be worth checking with charvel first - or on a charvel forum.
I do a lot of oil and wax finishes like Philly says and i reckon you should be ok to give it an occasional rub down with briwax (not used carnuba but its worth giving it a go) and 0000 steel wool to keep the surface sealed - or maybe 000 for a more satin feel - Make sure all wax residue is buffed off before putting strings on. It may get a bit shinier over time as a patina develops but that will feel better than any satin finish can
Oiled necks really do feel great but they do not stay looking great forever. maybe their "specially formulated oil" is better but i would guess its just like any other in the long run. the wood will get darker no matter how much maintenance you do... but if you treat it right it wont matter how it looks because it will play so nice
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Thanks guys, Wez, I'll try the Carnauba wax usin the method you suggest, and since Charvel are shite to get info from I'll just go ahead and follow your advice. Thanks guys :D
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http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/Catalogue/ViewProduct.aspx?productId=1089
what about this stuff for the neck?
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cant be bad - but it seems like a lot of money for a tub of wax - fairly sure its fairly standard stuff in a warwick badged tub!!!
edit: that may just be my cynical nature... i havnt tried the product
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I used to oil my necks and strings for ultra fast sqreek free playing years ago, just applied a small amount of fretboard oil all over the neck too. Probably sounds really messy, well IT WAS. You can just rub the oil off again after your done, OR when it got really messy i used the GHS cleaner to get rid of the crud again. I would not use wax on allready finished wood, maybe carnauba wax wont affect the finish, but the car wax cr@p does dull up nitro finishes.
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I would not use wax on allready finished wood,
this isnt a lacquered maple neck we are talking about
its a "specially formulated oil" finish, not sure what that means but oiled necks do need a little extra maintenence
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Why don't you ask over at the Jackson/Charvel (http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/index.php) board. Do a search before you ask as I bet someone has already asked the question as it's quite an active board.
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I would not use wax on allready finished wood,
this isnt a lacquered maple neck we are talking about
its a "specially formulated oil" finish, not sure what that means but oiled necks do need a little extra maintenence
Ah ok soz.....
Anyway like to add to this thread that elixer coated strings dont sqeek also, i have those on my SG so those fast DC riffs are no prob anymore.
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"specially formulated oil"
I dont know what this is so it might be worth checking with charvel first - or on a charvel forum.
I do a lot of oil and wax finishes like Philly says and i reckon you should be ok to give it an occasional rub down with briwax (not used carnuba but its worth giving it a go) and 0000 steel wool to keep the surface sealed - or maybe 000 for a more satin feel - Make sure all wax residue is buffed off before putting strings on. It may get a bit shinier over time as a patina develops but that will feel better than any satin finish can
Oiled necks really do feel great but they do not stay looking great forever. maybe their "specially formulated oil" is better but i would guess its just like any other in the long run. the wood will get darker no matter how much maintenance you do... but if you treat it right it wont matter how it looks because it will play so nice
Wez, just wondering, could you give us a link to the Briwax you mean, because I found a few different types, clear polish, beeswax, I'm not sure which one you specifically mean?
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http://www.briwax.co.uk/products/briwax.html
i obviously use it unadulterated in its clear/natural state
looks like it contains carnuba anyway... i guess i should start referring to it as a 'specially formulated wax for guitar necks'
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http://www.briwax.co.uk/products/briwax.html
i obviously use it unadulterated in its clear/natural state
looks like it contains carnuba anyway... i guess i should start referring to it as a 'specially formulated wax for guitar necks'
Wz, you are a God :D
So just use that and it'll keep the neck lovely and clean, and keep the goergeous "finish"?
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nothing will keep it clean for ever , that the sacrifice with oiled necks... but it will give a nice feeling neck and give the wood the protection it needs
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nothing will keep it clean for ever , that the sacrifice with oiled necks... but it will give a nice feeling neck and give the wood the protection it needs
Which is the main thing :D
Cheers though Wez, absolute guitar genius. Oh, how often should I rub it down with the wax?
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good question... the answer is simply when it needs it :wink:
as a guide i tell people to start of doing it maybe 3 times a year... but if the guitar is regulalry played it will build up a natural patina like an old bannister... so as it gets older it should need less and less
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Fantastic, thanks again Wez!
And its used at least 4 hours every day lol
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Wez, today I went to the local hardware shop for that Briwax, and they didn't have any, but they had this, http://www.fiddes.co.uk/content/supreme-wax-polish.html
The guys said it was basically the same stuff, so I bought it and it looks right. Also, it was cheaper. I ws just wondering if you have come across this in your career?
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i havnt tried it but it should be ok. I stick with briwax because i know it works
Have you got some wire wool (000 or 0000 only) for applying it - it works the wax into the wood better than a cloth ever can
Fine wire wool can sometimes be more difficult to find locally but when in doubt www.axminster.co.uk spring to mind
when using wire wool near a guitar be sure to either remove the neck and do it far away from the pickups or if that isnt possible put some masking tape over the pickups and hoover everything down before removing the tape
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i havnt tried it but it should be ok. I stick with briwax because i know it works
Have you got some wire wool (000 or 0000 only) for applying it - it works the wax into the wood better than a cloth ever can
Fine wire wool can sometimes be more difficult to find locally but when in doubt www.axminster.co.uk spring to mind
No, I was lookign but they only sold it in ridiculous quantities, huge packs of it. Which would you recommend, 0000 or 000?
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I use 0000 for a soft sheen. 000 will be better for a satin finish but anything rougher will scratch!!!
Make sure you see the last paragraph i added above!!
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Thanks Wez, I'll opt for 0000 because I don't want to risk scratching it, and oit has that gorgeous almost holographic like quality that good woods do.
And cheers for reminding me about masking off! I'll do that over taking the neck off purely because of the hassle, but yeh, I did some work on frets when I was doing work experience at my local guitar shop, and the bloody wire wool gets attracted to the pups.... I didn't see that coming :lol: