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Will Heritage make a vintagey non-sticky neck?


sykofiddle

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Guest HRB853370
Posted

That's Tung Oil.

 

No, he meant a tungsten finish on the neck. You know, kind of silvery!

Guest HRB853370
Posted

how fine a steel wool would you use?

 

I would use only the "finest"!

Posted

That's what I typed... I didn't notice the iPad cahanged the word...

I updated my iMac to Lion about month and half back or so and it started doing that. I hate it. I need to figure out how to turn it off.

Posted

how fine a steel wool would you use?

0000 or the equivalent Scotch Bright pad. Just go over the playing surface of the neck lightly to de-gloss it, not remove the finish. If you use steel wool, cover the pickups to keep the steel wool bits from sticking to them - they have magnets. Depending on how much you play, your natural playing will eventually hand rub a gloss back into the neck and it may become sticky again. Just repeat. In my case, a de-glossing lasts several years or more.

Posted

 

No, he meant a tungsten finish on the neck. You know, kind of silvery!

Do you mean tru oil? Lots of guys on the Tele forum finish their necks with that stuff, used for gun stocks etc.

0000 or the equivalent Scotch Bright pad. Just go over the playing surface of the neck lightly to de-gloss it, not remove the finish. If you use steel wool, cover the pickups to keep the steel wool bits from sticking to them - they have magnets. Depending on how much you play, your natural playing will eventually hand rub a gloss back into the neck and it may become sticky again. Just repeat. In my case, a de-glossing lasts several years or more.

I have a 52 RI Tele and they are famous for getting sticky for the first few or five years. I got the finest 3M pad at the Home Depot paint dept, the white ones, and gave it a rub, wound up with a white powdery residue on the pad, assuming it was nitro, no more sticky yuck problems and no visible sign of sanding and no need to tape off the pickups. That said, the Tele is a nitro over poly sealer so I guess I removed the nitro. I used the red or green pads 3M or scotch brite pads to polish metal etc for many years when I was in the printing industry, have used them for frets, once again no taping pick ups. red is coarser than the green and the whites are the finest grit.

 

I've been tempted to try the white pads on my Heritages but they don't seem as prone to the problem, maybe once in a blue moon, and I am more cautious with them than a Tele. I've stuck to virtuoso cleaner than the polish, seems to do the trick.

Posted

The original question is assuming that Heritage's nitro IS sticky.

 

I use virtuoso guitar polish on the back of the neck regularly and then wipe down the neck before & after playing..... I have NEVER had a sticky neck using the previous method.

 

At the barn at this year's PSP was the most I sweated in maybe my whole life, but no sticky necks for me. Try the above first and see if you can "step away from the counter and put the steel wool down"!!!!

Guest HRB853370
Posted

Not to hijack the OP, but my EJ stratocaster has a very sticky feeling neck. The gloss on it (I assume nitro) is tacky as heck. That said, fast-fret (which is mineral oil) can be used safely both on fretboards and necks to enhance swift movements. Try a dab of mineral oil on the neck before resorting to abrasive methods, which once employed, may cause irreversible damage.

Posted

No worries about where this thread goes. I'm the op and I DEEM (!) chaos as necessary.

 

Yeah, Heritages aren't super sticky compared to other new necks. But I still very much prefer the feel of a satin(ish) finish. I'll experiment and see what happens.

Posted

Not to hijack the OP, but my EJ stratocaster has a very sticky feeling neck. The gloss on it (I assume nitro) is tacky as heck. That said, fast-fret (which is mineral oil) can be used safely both on fretboards and necks to enhance swift movements. Try a dab of mineral oil on the neck before resorting to abrasive methods, which once employed, may cause irreversible damage.

Will, the white 3m pads at Home Depot will remove the offending gunk and leave no sign of sanding etc. Fender in their wisdom puts the nitro over poly so I assume the nitro doesen't cure or something. My Tele was like that and now is nice and smooth. Use with caution etc.

Posted

Do you mean tru oil? Lots of guys on the Tele forum finish their necks with that stuff, used for gun stocks etc.

 

I have a 52 RI Tele and they are famous for getting sticky for the first few or five years. I got the finest 3M pad at the Home Depot paint dept, the white ones, and gave it a rub, wound up with a white powdery residue on the pad, assuming it was nitro, no more sticky yuck problems and no visible sign of sanding and no need to tape off the pickups. That said, the Tele is a nitro over poly sealer so I guess I removed the nitro. I used the red or green pads 3M or scotch brite pads to polish metal etc for many years when I was in the printing industry, have used them for frets, once again no taping pick ups. red is coarser than the green and the whites are the finest grit.

 

I've been tempted to try the white pads on my Heritages but they don't seem as prone to the problem, maybe once in a blue moon, and I am more cautious with them than a Tele. I've stuck to virtuoso cleaner than the polish, seems to do the trick.

Tung Oil and Tru-Oil are two different things, though they are both oil based finishes for wood that dry to nice satin sheen. With enough coats you can even get a decent gloss out of them. Tru-Oil btw, is Linseed Oil and some other stuff to make it dry harder. I'm not sure how much it differs from Boiled Linseed Oil, but it does's smell the same. I've heard of people using both Tung Oil and Tru-Oil for on guitar necks. When they say a "gun oil" finish that's Tru-Oil.

Posted

I've found cleaning is the best method. No oil, no sanding. My hands will wear the nitro off eventually. :)

 

If you're using steel wool, use painters tape on the pickups to prevent steel wool from sticking to the pickups...

Posted

I had one of the top techs in NJ tell me once not to buy fancy fretboard treatment products and just use tung oil.

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