Members placebo62 Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 Are we talking decades to get from the pale blonde to that lovely golden tint? or does it depend on how much sun, hand sweat and bar smoke the neck sees? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katintokyo Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 just dont wash your hands for a month and play every day for about 5 hours. lol. Otherwise it ToTALLY depends on the finish. My friend's old Ibanez did that in 2 months, another guitar I have had for 10 years still looks almost the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 Most modern maple necks are finished in polyurethane. From a color perspective, they don't age much in comparison to the lacquer finish on, say, vintage Fender necks. If you're waiting for a poly finish to age, plan on waiting a very, very long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 I have a fender custom shop strat with a nitro neck that was really white when I bought it. A year and a half later, it has ambered nicely, but I leave it hanging on the wall 24/7, and it gets a lot of play. I don't wipe the sweat off of the back of the neck right away either. I let it sit until the next time I play it. It's the best way to break in a sticky nitro finish, IMO. My 2000 poly finished Am Series strat has also gotten a bit darker, but not nearly as fast as my CS strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members placebo62 Posted September 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 so its safe to say nitro necks will age quicker than poly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members placebo62 Posted September 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 The guitar I am looking at is a G&L Legacy, it says it has a Polished Glossy finish - doesnt specify if thats nitro or poly though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 I thought the G&L Legacy already had a tinted maple neck. Thus ooooh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AtomHeartMother Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 Originally posted by placebo62 The guitar I am looking at is a G&L Legacy, it says it has a Polished Glossy finish - doesnt specify if thats nitro or poly though. I'm sure it's poly. Although, I've been wrong once or twice. If it's poly it'll take quite a while, especially if it's a thick, glossy finish. Just don't worry about it. Play the fudge out of it and the next thing you know, it'll be aged a bit. Or maybe it's just you that will age and relic. Those poly finishes are very durable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members placebo62 Posted September 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 As far as I can tell - they come in 2 types Normal Glossy and Gun Oild tint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 Well if your looking at the guitar does it look dark or light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members placebo62 Posted September 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 Originally posted by RUExp? Well if your looking at the guitar does it look dark or light? well, this one is definatly light - its not the gun oil version. I really dig the gun oil finish - hence my question - hoping that the light normal gloss will eventually look a little, or a lot like the gun oil tint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 There are a lot of finiish formulations these days---both poly and nitrocellulose lacquer. But it's not as simple as just the finish. Some of the guitars that were made 50 years ago had wood that was dried naturally. For some fine acoustics, the drying time could be several years. When the organic nitro lacquer interacted with this wood, it reacted differently than it does with current kiln dried woods that may have been aged for just a few weeks. A lot of finish formulations have UV protection to keep the luster intact. There are lots of different mixtures of nitro as well, and some of them have additives that resist cracking and crazing. So, I guess the answer is, who knows how a particular guitar neck will age? We'll just have to be patient. Edit: I will add this. It's easier to predict if you buy a guitar that is made from the same materials and uses the same finish formulations as the original Fenders, Gibsons, etc. from the 50's. But this usually means going to the custom shop and paying a premium. And even though the materials may look the same, I doubt whether any of the custom shops wait 3 to 5 years for their tonewoods to dry out. There may be some small, boutique luthiers who still do it that way, though. Plus, it's just getting harder and harder to procure decent maple and mahogany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members placebo62 Posted September 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 Originally posted by docjeffrey There are a lot of finiish formulations these days---both poly and nitrocellulose lacquer. But it's not as simple as just the finish. Some of the guitars that were made 50 years ago had wood that was dried naturally. For some fine acoustics, the drying time could be several years. When the organic nitro lacquer interacted with this wood, it reacted differently than it does with current kiln dried woods that may have been aged for just a few weeks. A lot of finish formulations have UV protection to keep the luster intact. There are lots of different mixtures of nitro as well, and some of them have additives that resist cracking and crazing. So, I guess the answer is, who knows how a particular guitar neck will age? We'll just have to be patient.Edit: I will add this. It's easier to predict if you buy a guitar that is made from the same materials and uses the same finish formulations as the original Fenders, Gibsons, etc. from the 50's. But this usually means going to the custom shop and paying a premium. And even though the materials may look the same, I doubt whether any of the custom shops wait 3 to 5 years for their tonewoods to dry out. There may be some small, boutique luthiers who still do it that way, though. Plus, it's just getting harder and harder to procure decent maple and mahogany. hey, thanks man...very insightful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members book_of_lies777 Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 about 15 minutes with some brown Kiwi shoe polish seems to work nicely, from what I hear... no, seriously! The 'relic' guys do it. wax on, wax off, Daniel-san! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members neal73 Posted September 13, 2006 Members Share Posted September 13, 2006 Forget all these instant fixes - it'll only really look good with age. My '89 tele neck is looking lovely now. Real warm amber colour to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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