Sanding down a neck, good or bad idea?

[AngusYoung01]

Sorry to bombard the tech section today, but hey, thats life  :lol:

Basically, my SG is starting to get some wear and tear, and the neck has a small area (about 3mm in diameter) where the laquer has chipped off, and you can see the bare wood underneath. I'm just wondering should I

A - Sand the whole neck down, with fine grade paper so as to not change the shape, just remove the finish, then go over with wax polish.
B - Sand the chipped area slightly, just to smooth it over, then seal with the wax polish.
C - Leave it and take it to a professional (not really wanting to go down this root!)

Cheers guys!

[Twinfan]

C

[AngusYoung01]

Yeah?

What would be the things that could go wrong?

[Twinfan]

That's just what I would do!  I'd get it fixed properly  :)

[AngusYoung01]

Aahhh ok! Btw dude, did you manage to see AC/DC? Saw them Thursday and they were everything I'd imagined, absolutely could not be topped  :D

Any luthiers around that could help with this issue at all?

[Twinfan]

Nah, I didn't go to see them.  Wasn't paying a truck load of cash!

[Philly Q]

D - get hold of some nitrocellulose lacquer and do a drop fill:

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Finish/Lacquer/DropFill/dropfill.html

(Thanks to Wez for that link)

I certainly wouldn't do "A" - mahogany isn't suitable for being left unfinished, it's too porous.

But maybe wait and see what the luthier boys have to say!

[AngusYoung01]

Cheers Philly!

You say Mahogany isn't a very good material to be left untreated? What are the necks of Gibson's satin models finished with? And my original plan would be to sand it down, and use the wax finish/ polish I use on my Charvels maple neck on the Gibbo. Would that not work?

[Philly Q]

The Gibson satin models have a thin nitrocellulose finish, the same as nearly all their guitars, but by leaving it semi-matt they don't have to bother with the last few stages of finishing/polishing.  So they save a few $$$, which is one of the reasons those models are cheaper.

You might be able to get away with an oil/wax finish (if that's what you have on your Charvel), but as I understand it, it's not really suitable for mahogany because it's much more porous/open-grained than maple.  So it's more likely to absorb moisture and ultimately may be more likely to warp.

I've seen lots of maple-necked guitars with oil/wax finishes, and some oily woods like rosewood can be left totally unfinished.  But I don't think I've seen any mahogany-necked guitars without some kind of proper hard finish.

I could be wrong, can't claim to be an expert on this!  But that's my understanding.  :)

[AngusYoung01]

Cheers Philly!


Maybe Wez or someone could help too?

[WezV]

like philly says, i would go for a drop fill of proper lacquer

i have done oiled finishes on mahogany and it works fine but needs more maintenance than an oiled maple neck.  I also dont think it ever feels quite as smooth as a oiled maple neck will do

[AngusYoung01]

Where's the best place to get the nitrocellulose from?

[Philly Q]

Wez can probably name a better supplier, but this place has little pots of nitro touch-up paint:

http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/Lacquers-and-Paint/Touch-up-Paints/View-all-products.html

And you can get spray cans here:

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/lacquer.html
 

[AngusYoung01]

Cheers Philly! Been a great help!

I think I'll go with the clear one actually; I'm liking seeing all of the scratches and scr@pes my SG is acquiring  :D