sticky necks- again

[cod65]

I did do a search of the forum, bu im still not sure what to do.

 

 

I pick up my 575 and it feels sticky.

I pick up my old guild acoustic annd it feels sticky.

 

I'm guessing I've become a slob, or allergic to nitro

 

 

 

anyhoo, with all this talk about Virtuoso polish, I'm guessing I should switch over from Preservation Polish for starters.

 

 

I've heard other solutions for sticky necks, including talcum powder and chalk dust.

 

basically I get a case of the nerves before a gig and my hands are all sticky . But it's also environmental as well as hygenic issues I suppose.

 

Seems to be more of a problem with the older nitro guitars, tho.

 

any suggestions? I tried to find talc, but I tihnk its not sold anymore due to health concerns. baby powder has other stuff in it and the smell just makes me think of a pile of dirty diapers.

 

I may go down to the local indoor climbing wall and buy some climber's chalk.

 

What do you fellows do?

[Trouble]

Lemon oil. Makes it slippery and not only does it not dry out the fretboard it keeps it oiled. Although not important on a maple board.

[GuitArtMan]

First lose the Preservation polish. That stuff is the absolute worst I've tried. Used once, then through the bottle away. Absolute garbage. Get Virtuoso - you won't regret it.

Second de-gloss the back of the necks. My preferred method is 0000 steel wool - make sure to cover the pickups and vacuum up all the little pieces when done. Others have used Scotch Bright pads. You're trying to take the polish/gloss off the neck, not the finish. The neck should be dull/satin looking when done, but feel smooth and not sticky at all.

[chico]

Lemon oil. Makes it slippery and not only does it not dry out the fretboard it keeps it oiled. Although not important on a maple board.

 

 

that's my solution also.

[rooster]

I'll throw in my $0.02. I wouldn't use Lemon Oil on a fingerboard. I get my fretboard oil from www.beafifer.com. If you look at the origin of this stuff and what it's used for, you can see that it is made expressly for this kind of oil replenishing. Not very expensive, as I've had the same bottle for years, it is still over 1/2 full, and I treat my bassists fingerboards as well. I've never used anything that worked as well.

 

As to the back-of-the-neck stickyness, Rockler sells micromesh cloths all the way up to 12000 grit. I start with 1500 (wet) and go up to the 12000 (wet). I get to keep the nitro finish on the back of the neck, but it's smooth as glass. It works very well, and doesn't involve removing the finish on the back of a mahogany neck (never a great idea, contrary to many current trends).

 

As to the virtuoso polish, I switched to that after using preservation polish for awhile. The preservation polish never polished completely out and left an oily residue (albeit a very thin residue). The virtuoso polishes out completely. Once again, it seems expensive, but not when you compare it to the price of the instrument you're using it on. I gave the preservation polish to my drummer for his Gretsch kit. It works great for that.

 

My opinions only, YMMV.

 

rooster.

[111518]

I know what you mean about the smell of baby powder, but there's nothing like it for an outdoor gig on a hot day, or any other time your hands are clammy --I really struggled with this for years until I played with a bass player who used talcum powder liberally, whenever he played. Now talcum powder is an essential item in my gig bag. When my hands are sweaty, I just use enough to get them dry, then wipe it off before I play. I always keep a couple of towels at hand on most gigs --to dry my hands, to get the talc off my hands before I play, and to wipe down the back of the neck. I try to keep any kind of polish off the back of the neck.

 

There are online sources for unscented talc, divers use it to get in and out of wetsuits, pool players use it, it's sold as chalk for climbers and athletes, but since I use it and wipe it off, the smell is not a deal buster for me --maybe because I've never had kids so no diaper-pail associations.

 

And, I'm not from Cleveland.

 

If you take any abrasive to a nitro finish, you are removing finish ...maybe not all of it, but you are removing finish. Dry hands and a dry neck ...not always easy to obtain, but that, to me, is the ticket.

[TalismanRich]

My $.02 worth.

 

I've got both Virtuoso and Gibson polish (orange spray can). I've used both. I like the Gibson polish better on the neck. Didn't like the Planet Waves polish at all. I find its best if I get as much of the polish off as possible in any case.

 

I would put the steel wool at the bottom of my list of things to try. The last thing I want to do is take all the finish off the neck. My Guild survived years of playing with the neck finish intact.

 

My Taylor came with a satin finish. It's now got a nice sheen on it, from all the playing.

 

I guess eating an order of KFC before the job is out of the question, eh? I bet your hands wouldn't stick!

[GuitArtMan]

My $.02 worth.

 

I would put the steel wool at the bottom of my list of things to try. The last thing I want to do is take all the finish off the neck. My Guild survived years of playing with the neck finish intact.

You're missing the point. As I mentioned in my post above you don't want to remove the finish, just the gloss. It is super smooth, glossy finishes that cause drag - much in the same way drag racers and/or race car drivers use slicks for traction. You mentioned the Taylor satin neck and how smooth it feels (I'm a Taylor player as well). That's how my necks feel after i degloss them.

[tulk1]

You're missing the point. As I mentioned in my post above you don't want to remove the finish, just the gloss. It is super smooth, glossy finishes that cause drag - much in the same way drag racers and/or race car drivers use slicks for traction. You mentioned the Taylor satin neck and how smooth it feels (I'm a Taylor player as well). That's how my necks feel after i degloss them.

Last trip to the local MnP and my friend that works there had the neck off his Legacy and was deglossing it. Felt great!! I want to do that to mine, but I just can't make myself put steel wool to the finish.

[Gitfiddler]

Since you do not want to remove the finish on the back of the neck, I'll second (third, fourth...) a recommendation for Virtuoso CLEANER first, then POLISH.

 

Virtuoso Cleaner will get all of that tacky feel off of the neck. A follow up coat of their Polish makes it like glass.

 

Another second for Gibson's Polish. It adds a 'trace of lacquer' to its cleaner/polishing formula. I use that for quick touch ups after gigs.

 

Other than that, you can use Hand Sanitizer on your hands at gigs. That helps.

 

Or do what Jaco allegedly used...........chicken grease!

[Kuz]

Since you do not want to remove the finish on the back of the neck, I'll second (third, fourth...) a recommendation for Virtuoso CLEANER first, then POLISH.

 

Virtuoso Cleaner will get all of that tacky feel off of the neck. A follow up coat of their Polish makes it like glass.

 

Another second for Gibson's Polish. It adds a 'trace of lacquer' to its cleaner/polishing formula. I use that for quick touch ups after gigs.

 

Other than that, you can use Hand Sanitizer on your hands at gigs. That helps.

 

Or do what Jaco allegedly used...........chicken grease!

 

Other than the chicken grease..... I do everything else and never have the sticky neck issues.

 

+1 Gitfiddler!!!!

[Thundersteel]

I use Fast Fret on the back and front of the neck.

 

[High Flying Bird]

Only use clean under wear to swab you necks down. It took me a decade to finally listen to this advice........

[rooster]

If you take any abrasive to a nitro finish, you are removing finish ...maybe not all of it, but you are removing finish. Dry hands and a dry neck ...not always easy to obtain, but that, to me, is the ticket.

 

They take abrasive to the finish at the factory when they buff it out. It just takes an extraordinarily long amount of time for nitro to dry. They usually give it a few weeks before they ship them out, but wet sanding with 1500 grit and finer removes virtually no finish if you are careful. When it comes down to it, your hands are made of leather, and you'll be "abrading" that neck for 20-30 years continuously.

 

Whereas Virtuoso polish is the best I've found yet, it doesn't do anything to take the sticky off the neck. That final polish with wet 12000 grit does. I can't see using any kind of "lube" like Fast Fret on the neck. After I did the wet sanding, all I need to do is rub it down with an old clean white T-shirt. Occasionally, I'll breathe on it to fog it up before rubbing it down, and all the sweat and salt from a 4-hour gig comes right off.

 

rooster.

[cod65]

thanks all.

 

put new strings on the 575, oiled the board, slightly deglossed the neck with superfine steel wool and it feels great. Played for a couple hrs. whoa its 2am.

[111518]

They take abrasive to the finish at the factory when they buff it out. It just takes an extraordinarily long amount of time for nitro to dry. They usually give it a few weeks before they ship them out, but wet sanding with 1500 grit and finer removes virtually no finish if you are careful. When it comes down to it, your hands are made of leather, and you'll be "abrading" that neck for 20-30 years continuously.

 

Whereas Virtuoso polish is the best I've found yet, it doesn't do anything to take the sticky off the neck. That final polish with wet 12000 grit does. I can't see using any kind of "lube" like Fast Fret on the neck. After I did the wet sanding, all I need to do is rub it down with an old clean white T-shirt. Occasionally, I'll breathe on it to fog it up before rubbing it down, and all the sweat and salt from a 4-hour gig comes right off.

 

rooster.

 

I agree. Any sort of buffing is abrading, and that is part of the finishing process, and what you're doing when you rub virtually anything on a surface --including, as you say, your own hand. I'd just prefer not to use even the finest of traditional abrasives --that's the distinction I was trying to make. I find that if everything is dry and clean, a good hard rub with a towel (or old t-shirt) on both guitar neck and my hands works for me. (I've never tried Guit's idea of hand sanitizers, but that seems like another way to get at the same idea --as long as they don't have alcohol.) If your abrasives take off virtually no finish, mine removes even less, I guess.

 

Maybe this comes from my teenage days working in a guitar shop, where part of my job was rubbing down the necks of guitars after customers had played them ... would you want that done with an abrasive, before you bought a top-of-the-line guitar? So, my logic has been, why after? On the other hand, I have a little satin-finished Martin with a neck that has hardened through playing into a great feeling "finish." So, more than one way to accomplish the basic goal, and how you go about it depends on attitudes about the instrument, what sort of feel you are after, etc.

[rooster]

Maybe this comes from my teenage days working in a guitar shop, where part of my job was rubbing down the necks of guitars after customers had played them ... would you want that done with an abrasive, before you bought a top-of-the-line guitar? So, my logic has been, why after?

 

Actually, if I wanted a brand new guitar to move at top dollar, yes.

 

rooster.

[smurph1]

My 2 cents..I'll probably go the talcum powder route..Less invasive..And I never had kids either..