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Revamping an old neck


harrisoncplant

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So, I've got a (very heavily) modified 78 Bronco with a 50s (I believe) Musicmaster neck on it, and as you can see from the photos, the neck is incredibly dirty in some areas, and the tuner area is a bit of a mess. Before I got it there had been some generic tuners fitted and the F style tuners it should've had are gone, but the screwholes for these still remain, so I've got two questions:

Does anyone know how to properly clean dirt and grease that's almost part of the neck? I've given it a good going over but I'm afraid to put any chemicals that may harm the wood on there, and secondly:

Does anyone know which tuners I could get which would fit these original tuner holes, and what would the best thing to fill in the new screwholes with?

That was more than two questions but hey ho,

Thanks!

 

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Ok, the dirt, grim, and crap, also known as "mojo" unless you want to refinish the neck, is there to stay. You can wipe it down with any number of guitar polishes and cleaners, but the truth is, it's now part of the finish. People pay extra money for that on relic guitars.

 

The hole filling.... A drop of Elmers wood glue, and a toothpick, cut to fit. If you want to make it less noticeable, then add a drop of the appropriate colored wood filler/putty.

 

My main concern would be the top five frets. I think they need a SERIOUS fret dressing and re-crowning. Everything else is cosmetic, this is important to playability.

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You'd need to sand down to bare wood and even then you probably wouldn't get rid of all the discoloration. Here are some ideas you can try to get rid of the worst. Make sure you try on an inconspicuous area first and don't overdo it: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-clean-wood-furniture/#.WaMzF2Khco0.

As for tuners, the original ones looked like this:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]temp_126554_1503866621652_859[/ATTACH]

https://www.guitar-parts.com/catalog...ng-tuner-set-0. Assuming the holes haven't been enlarged they should fit. You can also find them on eBay and the like. I don't think there would be any harm if you chose metal buttons but AFAIK plastic is ''correct'' for a Musicmaster. When I replaced the tuners on my Fernandes Strat, I did exactly what badpenguin suggested, toothpicks and Elmer's glue.

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Naphtha (lighter fluid or hardware store) is a pretty good solvent for cleaning really grimy guitars and won't harm most finishes. Agree on the tooth pick and wood glue, shave it off with a sharp chisel instead of trying to sand it (which will just scratch other parts of the finish). You can drop fill lacquer to cover the the toothpick if the tuners won't. Agree with BP that it needs a fret job and probably a complete setup.

 

Edit to add that other petroleum distillates like white gas and Colman fuel are usually safe to use to clean gunky guitars, fretboards, etc. Test a small amount on an out of the way place and stop if it seems to be softening the finish.

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