Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Ian Price on January 30, 2011, 08:23:45 PM
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I made the mistake of going in to Guitar Village over the weekend. Didn't buy anything but did pick up a few CS teles. I love my Baja and think it's great value for money. The main difference I noticed - other than weight and price - was that the CS neck was so much more comfortable. I hadn't really noticed it too much before but the finish on the Baja neck is quite sticky and the fingerboard edges are quite hard.
Are there any cheap i.e. DIY techniques I can apply to a) rub the finish down on the neck and b) soften the edges of the fingerboard slightly. I have a cheap neck that I can practice on before I get the confidence to do something. I'm assuming the finish can be rubbed down with wire wool and then rub in some Tru Oil or something similar?
Hmmm. Should never have gone into that bloody shop.
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Hiya mate.
Here's YouTube video that Wez did on rolling fingerboard edges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKy48CP4J9w
You'll probably want 0000 grade steel wool to matt the finish down I think, but maybe Feline or Wez can confirm??
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Funny you should ask this as I 'nocastered' my allparts neck the other day. I just rubbed the back of it down until I hit wood. When I'd got through to bare wood I just made the bare patch bigger then dirtied it up woth some burn toast and coffee. Now it feels miles better. I've not sealed it, I might put 1 coat of true oil on it or perhaps not, maple is pretty tough.
My neck is nitro though, using wire wool only on a baja poly neck will take a long time. I'd go for some wet and dry and just rub it down, switching to ww when you get to the wood.
I also rolled the fingerboard edges on my strat to soften the hard edges. It is a Warmoth neck. I just googled it and found a youtube video which turned out to be Wez. His stanley blade method worked a treat.
Trouble is that was a rosewood board so no finish to worry about, obviously on yours you will take the finish off on the side of the neck so not sure what to suggest there.
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Hiya mate.
Here's YouTube video that Wez did on rolling fingerboard edges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKy48CP4J9w
You'll probably want 0000 grade steel wool to matt the finish down I think, but maybe Feline or Wez can confirm??
Ah yeah that's the one :D
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yeah - not for lacquered maple necks!!!
the compression method of using a screwdriver shaft is mentioned by some knowitall telling me i am wrong in the comments ;) It does work fine but be gentle or you will crack the finish
- and the razor still works better and is easier to control on anything without lacquer on the fretboard
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yeah - not for lacquered maple necks!!!
Sorry Wez, do you mean the rolling method shouldn't be used for lacquered maple necks?
I'll be matting the finish down on the back of the neck first - I'm assuming I'll know I've hit the wood when the dust isn't white :?
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i mean rolling with the razor as shown in the clip will remove the lacquer. this will leave a bare edge on a lacquered maple neck that will get dirty quickly.
when i roll with a blade on lacquered maple necks i refinish the edge... but it is a faff and you may be just as happy using the compression with screwdriver shaft method
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I've used the compression method and have been very happy with the results!
I also highly recommend this specialised tool for de-glossing the neck (I've done the whole of one of my guitars and dulled the poly to a lovely matt state)
(http://www.3mselect.co.uk/images/PRODUCT/medium/1168.jpg)
Scotch-Brite™ Heavy Duty Flat Scourers don't shed any bits that get into the pickups!
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I'm also a lover of Scotchbrite to the neck, although I'd recommend the ultrafine stuff for cars.
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=22510.0
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I use the 'between coats' (purple colour code) 3M Sandblaster Flexible Sanding Pads on my Fender necks (including my Baja) and it works a treat.
http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/SandBlaster/Home/Products/Flexible/
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I sanded and oiled my strat neck the other month. Big improvement and if I can do a half decent job of it, anyone can
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Did you sand the finish completely off Matt? Not got round to doing mine yet! I did however follow the screwdriver compression method and now have softer edges - I didn't apply too much pressure and may well go back for another go when I'm more confident. Very sensibly I started up the dusty end of the fret board as I hardly ever use anything past the 12th fret!
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I bought some of that 3m flexible sanding stuff referred to earlier in this thread. I've given the neck a good few rubs with it and it has dulled the finish and made it much less sticky to play. Great stuff! I think I'd still like to go for the same sort of finish that I had on my CS strat - i.e. the finish all taken off the back and then oiled.
Dave - is the neck on the Esquire like that? Can't remember if it had the finish removed or not.
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Nope, the Esquire has a glossy nitro finish :)
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Jeez - my memory must be getting really bad. That was my favourite ever neck as well!
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Jeez - my memory must be getting really bad. That was my favourite ever neck as well!
Even I can remember that neck, after playing it for about 2 minutes! :lol:
Having said that, I haven't tried many V-necked guitars so that makes it more memorable.
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Jeez - my memory must be getting really bad. That was my favourite ever neck as well!
Even I can remember that neck, after playing it for about 2 minutes! :lol:
Having said that, I haven't tried many V-necked guitars so that makes it more memorable.
:lol: :lol:
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It is a cracking neck, and pretty distinctive!