Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Refinishing Warmoth Neck I bought a Warmoth Strat neck, made out Koa with a Paw Ferro Fretboard. The guy who was going to finish and install the neck on my existing body is not going to do it for me now. I am going to do it my self. I am wondering what is recommended for a spray finish for the neck? I don't like nitro as it gets sticky when playing so I would like something I can get in Canada and can spray myself. I will be putting on a decal, so I will have to be careful... Warmoth told me about Tru Oil. Spike recommended it as an easy alternative. I would rather a spay type finish. I want to say spray lacquer in the generic sense. I don't like the super thick 2 part epoxy stuff for the heath risks and the thick tone deadening results. Any tips etc. are greatly appreciated. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyaxeman Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I'm in the process of doing a Warmoth build myself. I had read alot about tru oil, but someone recommended Behlen's Master Gel. I used BMG to finish my maple neck. It goes on easily & gave me the finish & feel I was looking for, a nice, non-stick, fast satin finish. Hope that is helpful for you. Good luck with your build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Does koa need finishing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I am not sure if Koa needs finishing. What is the finish Behlen's Master Gel gives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Acrylic lacquer spray, you can get it anywhere. Easy to work with (dries quickly and does not line) and used on cars before urethane. Perfectly clear with no hazing. I finish all my necks with it. Underrated in my opinion. I have a decal on mine and it looks professional. Not a great shot below but this one is finished with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I've done two Warmoth necks in Tru Oil. One is the original finish. The other was sprayed with satin poly which I scuffed up, did the shoe polish treatment on, wiped off with a dry towel, then hit with five coats of Tru Oil. And I have an LTD Viper where the neck was stripped to the wood then refinished in Tru Oil. In general, I prefer glossy poly finishes when they are well done over glossy nitro or satin poly. But between these three necks, I'm starting to think that a Tru Oil finish knocked down with steel wool until it feels kinda leathery is my favorite neck finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mutant_guitar Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Not sure I understand the aversion to tru oil. it's pretty easy to apply, feels very comfy and slick (never sticky), and looks pretty good. I did this neck with tru oil and StewMac vintage amber dye. (this is a warmoth neck, btw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Yes your tru oil neck looks pretty good. Does it build up around a decal? Does it dry like a spray finish? I have never finished a neck before. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Acrylic lacquer spray, you can get it anywhere. Easy to work with (dries quickly and does not line) and used on cars before urethane. Perfectly clear with no hazing. I finish all my necks with it. Underrated in my opinion. I have a decal on mine and it looks professional. Not a great shot below but this one is finished with it. Is that a matt finish? How does it feel? How many coats and what process do you use-sanding, dry time etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dmc69 Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Acrylic lacquer spray, you can get it anywhere. Easy to work with (dries quickly and does not line) and used on cars before urethane. Perfectly clear with no hazing. I finish all my necks with it. Underrated in my opinion. I have a decal on mine and it looks professional. Not a great shot below but this one is finished with it. I second this. Just shot a mighty mite neck today, and it's really easy to work with, even in cold temperatures. It can take a pretty thick coat before sagging. I have a decal on mine, and it looks good too, even before fine sanding/polishing. And this whole time I was using shellac! No more of that stuff for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Does koa need finishing? Yes, treat as mahogany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Is that a matt finish? How does it feel? How many coats and what process do you use-sanding, dry time etc... The front is polished while I sand the back down to 1000 grit because I like the feel, it feels like satin on the back but polishes up really nice if you want to. I use automotive cut and polish then automotive polish. Couldn't tell it was not a fender unless I told you. Two coats then sand, two more coats, sand one more sand and done. It needs a little more where the decal is so there are no ridges. Dry time between coats can be 2 hours or a day, depending upon climate. I let the last coat dry for a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 The front is polished while I sand the back down to 1000 grit because I like the feel, it feels like satin on the back but polishes up really nice if you want to. I use automotive cut and polish then automotive polish. Couldn't tell it was not a fender unless I told you.Two coats then sand, two more coats, sand one more sand and done. It needs a little more where the decal is so there are no ridges. Dry time between coats can be 2 hours or a day, depending upon climate. I let the last coat dry for a few days. Have you ever tried Tru Oil? So do you use a gloss or satin lacquer? I was reading about using Tru Oil on Luthiers Merchantile Online and they suggest their filler, then Tru Oil Filler, then Tru Oil because woods like Koa are very porus. Have you used a filler before lacquer? Filler: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/thirdproducts.asp?NameProdHeader=LMI+Micro-bead+Acrylic+Paste+Filler Tru Oil: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htm Finishing Choices: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/finishoverview.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peskypesky Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 i finished my Wamoth neck with Tru-Oil and love it. it was super easy to do. just rubbed it on with a rag. no messy spraying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Have you ever tried Tru Oil?So do you use a gloss or satin lacquer? I was reading about using Tru Oil on Luthiers Merchantile Online and they suggest their filler, then Tru Oil Filler, then Tru Oil because woods like Koa are very porus. Have you used a filler before lacquer?Filler: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/thirdproducts.asp?NameProdHeader=LMI+Micro-bead+Acrylic+Paste+FillerTru Oil: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htmFinishing Choices: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/finishoverview.htm Tru oil is great, I find it has a bit of colour and not as clear as acrylic lacquer gloss. My second choice. I wouldn't let the lack of spray put you off if you use it, it is easy to rub on. I have not had to finish a porous wood other than a rosewood strip on the back of a neck in which case I sprayed the strip, sanded flush, sprayed, sanded flush until the pores were gone. My only concern would be that the filler colour would make the koa look different but I have not tried this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Did you look at the links? The filler also comes in clear... The Tru Oil seems to be very well liked on the web. I am leaning towards it. I don't know aboutall the steps in the instruction link above at LMO. How do I deal with a decal on the headstock with Tru Oil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Did you look at the links? The filler also comes in clear...The Tru Oil seems to be very well liked on the web. I am leaning towards it. I don't know aboutall the steps in the instruction link above at LMO.How do I deal with a decal on the headstock with Tru Oil? Put a layer of tru oil underneath the decal first and let it dry really well on the wood. Sand, make sure it is perfectly flat, apply decal, let dry, delicately tru oil decal (dab it on with a little sponge) and let dry. Continue regularly after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Do I dab underneath the decal or keep under the decal dry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mutant_guitar Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Yes your tru oil neck looks pretty good. Does it build up around a decal? Does it dry like a spray finish? I have never finished a neck before. Thanks. I've never used it around a decal. I think it's been done before, but don't quote me on that. Something I've seen people do is use Nitro on the head stock and finish the rest with tru oil. That seems to be a pretty good solution for using a decal. Do you mean does it harden when it dries? Yes, it does. The oil in its name is a bit of a misnomer. It's actually a hard varnish based finish, which is why Warmoth recommended it (they won't warranty a neck if it doesn't have a hard finish). Another thing you may not know about Tru Oil is that it will age. As posted above, it is not exactly a clear finish. It has a bit of its own amber color to it. As it ages, it will brown up like a violin. There used to be a thread on reranch with pics of an aged tru oil finish, but I can't seem to find it now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Have you ever tried Tru Oil?So do you use a gloss or satin lacquer? I was reading about using Tru Oil on Luthiers Merchantile Online and they suggest their filler, then Tru Oil Filler, then Tru Oil because woods like Koa are very porus. Have you used a filler before lacquer?Filler: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/thirdproducts.asp?NameProdHeader=LMI+Micro-bead+Acrylic+Paste+FillerTru Oil: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htmFinishing Choices: http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/finishoverview.htm A lot of Tru Oil users skip the filler altogether. Instead in early stages they make a slurry by sanding the neck with wet Tru Oil and letting the them mix together and fill for later coats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I was reading posts about that. It seemed to me for the $12 I might save some time and work plus get a smoother 1st time result with the filler. Not really sure at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AXEL276 Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I've finished two Warmoth necks, one had a maple fret board (I finished both sides). I used Minwax rub on poly. You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes for about $10. Very easy to use with pro-finish results. I have used both gloss and mate finsh. Apply 2 or 3 coats max, it drys fast. You can finish the job in a day or 2. Light scuffing with 0000 steel wool between coats. I used auto compound and wax to finsh over the last coat. I can not stress enough how easy, fool proof and pro looking this stuff is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Do I dab underneath the decal or keep under the decal dry? Dry for sure! That is no tru oil but dabbing water for a waterslide decal is necessary which is what I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thecornman Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Tung oil is another easy to apply option that works well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peskypesky Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I've finished two Warmoth necks, one had a maple fret board (I finished both sides). I used Minwax rub on poly. You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes for about $10. Very easy to use with pro-finish results. I have used both gloss and mate finsh. Apply 2 or 3 coats max, it drys fast. You can finish the job in a day or 2. Light scuffing with 0000 steel wool between coats. I used auto compound and wax to finsh over the last coat. I can not stress enough how easy, fool proof and pro looking this stuff is. sounds good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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