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Easy way to finish a bare neck?


rakester

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I am planning to buy a neck from Warmoth for a build I am doing. However I do not fancy paying the hefty price tag of having them do the finishing on it. Also I want the wood to feel as raw as possible without having it lacquered all up

 

I was wondered what kind of finish I could use that is easy to apply and seals the wood on the neck?

 

Would simply using something like tru-oil work? The only issue I have with oils is that Warmoth does not seem to back there warranty if a neck has just been oiled.

 

Thoughts?

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I've used a satin or matte tung oil on 3 Carvin necks. Feels great, just like bare wood.

 

Not sure how durable it is or how it might affect Warmoth's warranty.

 

It's also pretty much idiot proof to apply.

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Lots of people use tru-oil.

 

I didn't put any finish at all on either of my Warmoth maple necks...warranty be damned.

 

Both of them have been extremely stable...hardly ever even need seasonal adjustments. I've had one of them for 8 years and the other for 7, and haven't had any trouble at all out of them.

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Thanks for the fantastic responses guys
:)

Tru oil it is
:D

 

As you're in the Uk and Tru-oil isn't always easily available, London Gunstock Oil is a great alternative

 

http://www.napieruk.com/stockcare.html#care1

 

Sorry, there's quite a few Ebay instances

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Birchwood-Casey-TRU-OIL-Wood-Stock-Refinisher-3oz_W0QQitemZ360186204935QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET?hash=item53dcc55307

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Yeah tru oil is fantastic. I am terrible at applying finishes, but my 3 Warmoths turned out great.

 

It does yellow with age too. My Strat is a little over a year old-

 

large.jpg

 

and my tele I just did a couple weeks ago

 

large.jpg

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Yeah tru oil is fantastic. I am terrible at applying finishes, but my 3 Warmoths turned out great.


It does yellow with age too. My Strat is a little over a year old-


large.jpg

and my tele I just did a couple weeks ago


http://www.pbase.com/bigconig/image/121916136/large.jpg

 

is that neck stained? or is that just what the aged TO looks like?

 

either way, I like that color

 

*edit

 

wow, i just found this poking around google.

truoil_age.jpg

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/viewtopic.php?p=378046&sid=73bcceeb926c2b45e4f8a15143ca497f

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As I mentioned I am a tru-oil user and fan. I tried using it on a fretboard as well, but it is very difficult to control from damming up on the frets so I use it everywhere except the fretboard.

 

Curious, what do you use on the fretboard when you tru-oil the rest of the neck? I would assume shellac and / or spray lacquer ?

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I ordered a neck from musikraft instead of warmoth. They already put shellac on (which can be used as a base for tru oil) and with shellac they honor the warranty. Also you can buy with less hassle and they have more options. Prices are about the same unless you want a very basic warmoth config.

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Tru-oil is a "drying oil" The components are kind of secret but my guess is that it's got shellac and linseed oil in there plus some hardeners.

 

 

A traditional finish that's been around for hundreds of years would be French polishing with straight shellac and a drying oil like linseed oil or walnut oil.

Basically you go down to Home Depot and buy a pure shellac in a can like

Zinser's Seal Coat. You rub it on with a rag and maybe lubricate the rag with a few drops of walnut or linseed oil to keep the rag from sticking. The oil rises to the surface and you can wipe it down in a few hours with a dry rag to remove the excess oil. What oil doesn't rise to the surface incorporates into the finish. If you want to build up more finish you just repeat the process.

 

The advantage of this finish over something like tru-oil is that it's harder and can build up more without being soft over time. It's a more traditional finish associated with antiques and musical instruments pre-1930's and the advent of spray finishing. All Martin and Gibson guitars were finished this way up until spray nitro came along in the late 1920's.

 

Here's the back of a mahogany guitar I French polished recently. It's great stuff because it can act like a sanding sealer, filler, and finish all in one. By using one material for everything, you can a purer optical quality and it hardens uniformly over time. It ages without the brittle decay of nitro and without the old plastic look of poly. It feels great like a piece of hardwood polished from use in the hand. I love shellac.

 

DSC06243.jpg

 

DSC06244.jpg

 

DSC06246.jpg

 

DSC06251.jpg

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