Question regarding a sanded neck

[MinnesotaMike]

Hey! I have tried Reddit and havent gotten a straight answer -

I used some 600 grit sandpaper lightly on two of my Squier necks that were glossy necks. 
Do I need to seal it? If so, will refined linseed oil work? I have heard folks talking about boiled linseed and Im not sure if the two are vastly different.

One person said I may not need to seal it at all since “glossy necks are usually already sealed”

Can someone help me with this?

 

[1001gear]

If IRC, linseed oil that isn't boiled won't dry or harden. Also makes sense that a poly'd neck would be sealed. Obviously if you sand down into the pores, you may be on bare wood.

[MinnesotaMike]

On 9/12/2022 at 7:54 AM, 1001gear said:

If IRC, linseed oil that isn't boiled won't dry or harden. Also makes sense that a poly'd neck would be sealed. Obviously if you sand down into the pores, you may be on bare wood.

So would you recommend I try some on there just in case? I dont think I went really deep sandpaperin’. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by MinnesotaMike

[badpenguin]

Maple you can get away without a finish. It will look ugly in a few years, but structurally, it'll be fine. 

And since it was only 600, and you didn't get into the wood, again, you're fine. Play it and be happy.

[1001gear]

On 9/14/2022 at 11:04 AM, MinnesotaMike said:

So would you recommend I try some on there just in case? I dont think I went really deep sandpaperin’. 

If there's still poly on the wood, oils might be pointless and even add tackiness. I've used synthetic lubricants on the strings and nut with no issues but those instances are with bolt together guitars. You might try plain old guitar polish or guitar lemon oil for starters.

[WRGKMC]

If you only roughened the finish you won’t need to do anything else. If you’ve cut all the way through, you can develop  problems with moisture getting in the wood and softening the wood.  This can cause acceleration in warping/twisting the neck, and constant action/tuning problems.  It doesn’t occur overnight of course.  It typically take a few months for the wood to turn a nasty gray color which gradually gets deeper into the grain. After a year or more you may have to sand off a lot of wood to get down to healthy white wood for refinishing.  
 

I deal with this problem a lot when regretting guitars. What can make it even worse is when you get any kind of oil on the bare wood. Many polishes have lemon or mineral oil in them which makes maple look nasty as hell. Once it leaches into the wood, it’s stains the wood permanently.  The only fix then is a tinted or solid coat to mask the problem. 
 

I’ll also say refinishing a neck and getting a good factory look isn’t easy. It can be downright frustrating in fact.  My advice is just leave it alone and play the instrument.  If you’re focused on the feel you’ve lost focus on the music.  If your hand sticks to the neck get some corn starch (baby powder without the fragrance) and put it in a small cloth bag. Tamp the back of your neck down to keep your hand dry and your hand won’t stick.