Hi, how do i make my neck smoother

[rx7]

Hello all, im using a LTD EX-50 and i find the neck kinda unsmooth to play.. Any tips or stuff i can use to smoothen the neck so i can slide my hands smoothy around the neck? Oh and the neck is in black gloss finish.. Thanks!

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

if its lacquered.. err... its smooth liao what... its so smooth that ur finger prints makes ur fingers get stuck on it easily (eg lizard's stick on glass easily)

if u want u kinda "smooth" u're talking bout matt finnish... but its a bit too ma fun...

what i can suggest is to just put some power on ur thumb... lubricating power or baby power what ever... like those use for billard/pool players... put some on thumb and u'll be able to slide liao with ur thumb on the back of the guitar... remember to clean the back though...

if u want a permanent thing, i think matt finnish is what u want... but matt finnish... quite ex... is ur neck maple?

 

[blahblah]

put some lotion on it? or talcum powder?

 

[rx7]

Yup its Maple neck

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

oh, if its maple it definately needs some kind of coating...

so sanding offf the laquer and leaving it matt isn't an option... must err apply some coating forggot what its called but they're used for maple necks and they give a matt feel... u won't even notice they're there those kind...

got this info from warmoth webby i think:

http://www.warmoth.com/paint/paint.cfm?fuseaction=necks

satin finnish? yeah thats it

 

[unsane]

hit it with some extra fine steel wool,00000 grade i think. that will take the glossy stickiness out of it and leave it with a smooth satin finish. thats what i do to all my guitars,painted neck or not.

YMMV. be warned that this isnt an easily reversible move, if you want to get it back to the factory gloss you'll be in for hours of sanding and buffing..

 

[rx7]

Oh ok.. What is the coating called and where to get it?

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

yeah unsane's idea is quite good... u can use super fine steel wool and scrape of a thin thin layer of ur lacquer... that'lll remove the gloss to give it a rougher but more slidable matt finnish without removing the finnish completely...

that'll save u on doing another finnish on it... but be careful to only scrape off whats nessesary... too much and ur finnish will totally dissappear... leaving ur maple neck to die a warping death

 

[rx7]

Oh god im afraid to do it dont know how to.. I'll think about it lah.. Thanks anyway brothers

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

okay la... maybe i sounded too scary... but hey, i don't think itss that easy to scrape ur whole lacquer out with extra fine steel wool la... just do gentally in circular motions all over the back of the neck to make it even then can liao... it'll be quite easy actually, but note its not reversible so if u ever want ur neck to be glossy again ( for whatever reasons) u'd have to buff it, or re lacquer...

 

[nak]

my old guitar used to have that same thing too. i feel like it's very 'sticky' and i cant slide my hand along with well. it had like a, gloss varnish kind of thing. so i just bought 50 cents sand paper and just gave it to the neck. in the end it turned out well! dont over sand it though.

 

[bin4christ]

my fren's yamaha eg112 neck has dings on it n a slimy,sticky feel on it.is ther any wae it can be 'cured'?
it's natural btw...

 

[unsane]

Oh god im afraid to do it dont know how to.. I'll think about it lah.. Thanks anyway brothers

just hold the pad in your left hand and run your hand up and down the neck like you're sliding..theres very little damage you can do with 00000 steel wool

 

[unsane]

my fren's yamaha eg112 neck has dings on it n a slimy,sticky feel on it.is ther any wae it can be 'cured'?
it's natural btw...

see above. you'll end up with a nice satin feel.
dings give character (haha) but if you want to get rid of them you could try steaming it out. hold a wet cotton bud to the dent and press a hot soldering iron to it. the steam expands the wood fibers and pushes it out. might have to repeat a few times and sand the area back down smooth.

for the best feeling neck,i'd recommend a tung oil refinish actually. i could do this for you, PM me if you're interested.

 

[SoulJah]

Steel Wool followed by Tung oil.

Taking off a fraction of a millimeter of finish isn't going to affect stability of any sorts. But please make sure you mask off areas you don't want to sand off with some masking tape, takes a little effort but goes a long way.

USE REAL LUTHIER QUALITY TUNG OIL.

No substitutes for this.

 

[unsane]

a word of warning to those looking to steel wool their necks.. TAPE OFF YOUR PICKUPS completely first! getting those little bits and fibers of steel wool from your pickups if you dont is an absolute pain in the ass..

SoulJah: the tung oil won't absorb into the wood if you're applying it over a prexisting polyurethane finish..unless you're talking about sanding off the exsisting finish down to bare wood first before applying the tung oil.
by luthier quality tung oil you're referring to pure tung oil? thats pretty hard to find i believe, most tung oils these days have some additives to them, usually polyurethane. its slightly harder and cures faster. pure tung oil would take weeks to cure fully and you can forget about doing any other type of finish over it, it wont adhere.

 

[popeye]

the cheapest way to make a guitar neck smoother is just to keep playing it after years. it will get very smooth :lol:

 

[SoulJah]

SoulJah: the tung oil won't absorb into the wood if you're applying it over a prexisting polyurethane finish..unless you're talking about sanding off the exsisting finish down to bare wood first before applying the tung oil.

Hence the mention of Steel Wool in my post.

 

[noobastank]

i dunno maybe im dirty or something, but after playing i always find those grey sticky stuff on my guitar body (where my arm rest) and neck. yeah those dead cells, like when u use mouse the dirt like tat

 

[SoulJah]

If you've got a bolt on neck, the best idea would be to dettach the neck first to avoid all the little irritating run in that sanding can do.

If it's a set neck, or neck through...please don't try anything funny unless you're experienced.