Sanding back of neck down?

[undergod12]

Sorry to hijack the OP, but I have a strat I traded for with some rough spots on the neck. I have been thinking of sanding it down and shooting it with some poly or something. I want to take it down just enough so that the dings (or the majority of them) are low and able to be filled by the poly coat. Any thoughts?

 

 

It depends a whole lot on the depth of the dings. Pics?

[rparchen]

I hate the upkeep of an oiled neck... besides, it just kills the reslae value to sand down a neck... Too each their own.

 

I've been playing it regularly for over a year now and the neck hasn't changed at all. The guitar I sanded was a chinese LP copy so resale value wasn't exactly something that I really care about, it's more about what I wanted (plus I wanted to make sure it was real wood and not an old broom handle or something)

[Jim85IROC]

My mexican strat had a sticky neck when I bought it (used). It isn't like the new ones that have the satin neck... this one was obviously a foot deep in gloss clear. I took some 12 or 20 micron sandpaper (roughly equivalent to 2000 grit) and wetsanded it until the shine disappeared. This is a fine enough sandpaper that after just playing for a couple hours, the oils from my hands brought the shine right back to the neck, but the smooth slick feel has remained. Now all I need to do is clean the neck from time to time and it feels great again. The finish on the neck was thick enough, and this sand paper was fine enough, that I did not sand through the finish, and what I did is 100% invisible to the eye. No issues at all with hurting the value of the guitar, but it certainly did improve the playability.

If you guys are using steel wool or a scotchbrite style pad, be damned sure that you know what you're doing! There are dozens of different steel wools and scotchbrites that all have different abrasiveness levels, just like sandpaper. You can easily get a steel wool or scotchbrite that's too abrasive and will make a real mess of your neck. Likewise, don't assume that all sandpaper is too abrasive. The stuff I used (can't remember if I used 12 micron or 20 micron) is smooth enough that you could probably wipe your ass with it without discomfort. I prefer sandpaper over steel wool or a scotchbrite because I feel like I have more control over it, plus I feel that it's more consistant, and less likely to pick up some kind of foreign crap that can scratch the item you're sanding.