Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Tech => Topic started by: downrodeo on June 25, 2006, 11:36:32 PM
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So, I have this Schecter C-1 Classic. It's neck through and it has a gloss finish...sometimes it's good but a lot of times it can be sticky for faster stuff and improv. I don't mind it a great deal, but it can be annoying...the stickiness of it, I mean. Should I trust my local guitar shop and get the neck sanded. I hear this should be what I should do about the stickiness, but I'm not sure...
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I used some steel wool on my Lp's neck and its been great ever since :D
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Are you SERIOUS!? Did it look okay?
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Yeah, steel wool and lemon oil are common cures for glossy necks.
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Even if the neck has a colored finish (mine is a matching amber color) will it look alright? It is a beautiful guitar and I wouldn't want to disfigure it any.
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Mask off the headstock and body joint, then you'll get a nice sharp line between the playing area and the nice glossy back of the body and headstock. The neck will just look matt. It looks alright as long as you rung the wool allong the lenght of the neck and stick to 0000 gauge wool.
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Just last week I took some 000 wire wool to the back of my 50s strat neck, and am very pleased with the result. Make sure you cover the pickups with something (eg. masking tape) to stop any grains of wool getting in them. I ended up putting the body of the guitar in a tescos bag :)
As long as you don't take off too much of the finish, you shouldn't have to treat the neck with anything. Remember, you're aiming to take off the gloss, not the finish. It's a simple job and should take no more than 10 mins.
Good luck.
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Are you SERIOUS!? Did it look okay?
Yeah it doesnt look too bad actually, its much better to play now.
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Thanks guys, you guys are so much better than the morons on the ESP/LTD forum :lol: (There's a group of 8 year olds if I've ever seen one...) :roll:
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I bought a Mex Tele from a guy I used to know and admittedly I got it ridiculously cheap but the moron had rubbed off the finish to such an extent that he buggered it up totally. I have improved it but it could do with re finishing now- I think he now collects trollies in a supermarket carpark and, with no disrespect to those who perform such a function, I am surprised that he is able to rise to that challenge. Sorry for hijack- rant over.
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Do you guys have any tips on how to perform this "minor" operation properly???
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I do this on a lot of guitar necks. Like mentioned above it is a good idea to mask a line at the headstock and heel to keep it looking neat. I wouldnt use anything coarser than 0000 but youmay get by with 000, if you go any coarser you will regret it. If you have any problems finding wire wool that fine check out http://www.axminster.co.uk, they stock it.
i usually apply a small amount of prepared beeswax (briwax) when rubbing with the wire wool because i feel it leaves it looking more professional.
It shouldnt take much work to get a suitable matt finish but be aware that your hand will re-buff the finish and it will get glossy spots sooner or later and you will have to repeat the process (probably annually depending how often you play), this is true of most matt finshes anyway.
Mask off any electrics to stop wire wool getting near them!
This process is reversable (good if you want to sell the guitar) because you can always rebuff the neck but if you have to do it often and find that the clear coat is getting thin it might be worth getting a few new coats of clear lacquer to make sure you never go through to the colour, although to be honest i think this would take years.
Incedently, on alot of the guitars i make i use an oil and wax finish on the wood which feels much nicer than gloss or matt lacquer
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Mask off any electrics to stop wire wool getting near them!
What are electrics doing on the neck>? :?
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when you use wire wool it produces alot of wire dust that floats around and gets attracted to the pup's and electrics, it can cause problems.
Ignore this at you peril :D
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Ignore this at you peril :D
hmmm...is that a dare???
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to be honest it probably wouldnt be a problem with BKP's but on cheaper pickups the wirewool dust can easily gather in a place that might cause shorts to occur. (i.e around the ferrules on a strat pickup).
Some people might argue that the extra mass of metal might alter inductance, but i think that going a bit far. what might happen is that you will get a plume of metal fillings that comes off a polepiece and interferes with a string.
At the very least you will end up with furry looking pickups :D
For the few seconds it takes to apply a few strips of masking tape i think it is a worthy precaution. It keeps everything clean and tidy
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i found some steel wool lying about, but I don't know what grade of wool it is, whether it's superfine 0000 or not (as recommended). Here's a picture of it, though I should really just go down to the corner hardware store and get some. When I'm in the process of removing the gloss should I go up and down or laterally, from side to side?
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Sand it along the length of the neck.
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I dont think thats fne enough, it will leave nasty scratches if its too rough. I would buy some more to make sure its 0000 you are using but i dont think you will find it in your local hardware shop unless they stock lots of high quality, specialist finishing supplies. I used to have a shop across the road that sold it but they have closed down and been turned into a chippy.
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I wanted to "speed up" the glossy neck on my PRS, adid the following after some advice from the guys on the PRS forum.
get yourself some Micromesh, ( I got mine from Stewmac), and work through the different grades from 1500 upwards. First, the neck will go matte, but as you progress through the grades, it will start to polish up. It will eventually end up looking like glass, but will feel astonishingly smooth, with no stickiness at all. Micromesh is genius stuff.
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I wanted to "speed up" the glossy neck on my PRS, adid the following after some advice from the guys on the PRS forum.
get yourself some Micromesh, ( I got mine from Stewmac), and work through the different grades from 1500 upwards. First, the neck will go matte, but as you progress through the grades, it will start to polish up. It will eventually end up looking like glass, but will feel astonishingly smooth, with no stickiness at all. Micromesh is genius stuff.
Where do you get this from? I want to try it on my LP now!
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I wanted to "speed up" the glossy neck on my PRS, adid the following after some advice from the guys on the PRS forum.
get yourself some Micromesh, ( I got mine from Stewmac), and work through the different grades from 1500 upwards. First, the neck will go matte, but as you progress through the grades, it will start to polish up. It will eventually end up looking like glass, but will feel astonishingly smooth, with no stickiness at all. Micromesh is genius stuff.
thas cool, but personally, i think that matt finish on guitars looks better anyway
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http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Abrasives,_polishes,_buffers/Micro-Mesh_Sandpaper_Kit.html
Tom, I ordered mine on a Friday, and it got to me by the Tuesday. Stunning.
You'll want to give all your guitars the treatment once you've done it!
cheers
Nick
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Its a bit dear! Could be worth it though I guess. When you say 1500 and up, are the higher numbers the finer grades? I dont know much about that kinda stuff as you can tell :P
Oh yeah, did you have to pay customs or any tax?
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yes, 1500 is the coarsest grade, and they go up to about 8000 iirc.
cost isn't too, bad, I didn't pay any tax or anything. Worked out about 30 quid all in. But remember, the kit will last you absolutely ages if you wash them out and put them back into the bags.
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btw, if you decide to get some and you want any advice, don't hesitate to pm me.
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The strat I bought off ebay has a few annoying scratches on the back of the neck - reckon that micromesh stuff would get them out? And would you use it on the bodywork to buff it up again slightly or not?
Very tempted to get me some of this stuff...
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yup, in both cases. very light with the 1500 so as not to go through the clearcoat, then work up through the grades.
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This means I can also get rid of the scratches I accidentally put on my strats pickguard :D Gotta get some of this stuff.
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you can also get it at craft-supplies.co.uk
http://craft-supplies.co.uk/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/MM050||micro~@c~@b|40|user|1,0,0,1|45|
They do a deluxe finishing kit and individual sheets.
I havnt tried it on a lacquered neck yet, i would have fought that you would just be buffing the finish back up to shiny. I dont see how it would help with he non-stick finish but i havnt tried it so cant say it wont.
Its certainly good stuff, i keep a set for fret polishing.
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you can also get it at craft-supplies.co.uk
http://craft-supplies.co.uk/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/MM050||micro~@c~@b|40|user|1,0,0,1|45|
They do a deluxe finishing kit and individual sheets.
I havnt tried it on a lacquered neck yet, i would have fought that you would just be buffing the finish back up to shiny. I dont see how it would help with he non-stick finish but i havnt tried it so cant say it wont.
Its certainly good stuff, i keep a set for fret polishing.
Cheers for that mate, I'll get mine from there instead of ordering from america :D
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I havnt tried it on a lacquered neck yet, i would have fought that you would just be buffing the finish back up to shiny. I dont see how it would help with he non-stick finish but i havnt tried it so cant say it wont. Its certainly good stuff, i keep a set for fret polishing.
I thought that too Wez, but somehow it "glasses" up the finish without retaining the stickiness.
apparently it was developed originally for aircraft c--kpits. (needless trivia pt1) I'll get me coat.
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Glad to be of service. Now if you can all forget me spelling thought with an 'F' I will be very gratefull, I work in a school and the kids dont need to know I cant spell :D
I blame the keyboard, I definately have some keys that are sticking.