#2129974 - 10/30/09 08:39 AM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: J J]
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MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 08/23/03
Posts: 8872
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why?
Sounds like a really stupid thing to do, on the face of it. Where did this idea come from? I never heard of it before. In the 70s some players were trying to thin out the baseball bat necks of their 1950s Les Pauls, but that proved to be pretty stupid, too.
What are you looking to gain? The SG neck is already too thin and flexible for me to play, I always pull it out of tune.
If you DO proceed with this idea, you will need to put some sort of finish on the wood when you are done, or you will shorten the life of the guitar by exposing the wood to the elements. The finish protects the wood.
_________________________
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#2130017 - 10/30/09 09:55 AM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: J J]
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Gold Member
Registered: 05/22/03
Posts: 949
Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio
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Tung oil definitely. Carvin offers that as an option on their guit-fiddles, mine is standard finish and kind of wish I'd gone for that option on the neck.
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I was born at night but I wasn't born last night...
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#2130036 - 10/30/09 10:33 AM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: LeftyBlues]
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MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 08/23/03
Posts: 8872
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Okay, you are trying to reduce the stickiness? I've seen a lot of posts about this lately, and I'm betting that it is because of the new finish formulations. They are more 'green', but take longer to cure.
Before I sanded a neck and broke the surface of the finish and created a lot of nice scratches in which dirt and debris could lodge, I'd just wipe the neck down with a cloth lightly moistened with lemon oil or find some similar solution. You don't want to grease it down, we ain't cookin' a chicken here... just a little lubrication.
_________________________
"Is it possible that he was alive when you began the autopsy?"
"No. His brain was sitting on my desk."
"But could he have been alive?"
"He could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."
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#2130054 - 10/30/09 11:31 AM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: Bill@Welcome Home Studios]
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10k Club
Registered: 04/05/02
Posts: 16327
Loc: The Great Spirit's Handprint o...
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I'm with Bill on giving the finish more time to continue to cure, harden, and get less tacky to the touch; I went through the same thing with two mid-'90s Gibson Les Pauls. I love tung-oil "finishes" on otherwise "raw" maple or koa necks, but it might not be the best thing for mahogany, which has a much more porous surface and needs fillers when finishing. Leave that lacquer on the mahogany! Note that the one model that Gibson offers with an oiled/"raw" neck is a Les Paul with a maple neck... Wipe 'em clean, use something that won't leave any residue behind. GHS Guitar Gloss works nice for that- it goes on wet, let it dry to a powdery consistency, then buff it away. Only apply it to finish surfaces, DON'T get it on a rosewood or ebony fretboard, it'll get little white flecks stuck in the open wood-grain and fret-slots and along the binding. ("Raw"/"oiled" maple, koa, or similarly tight-grained woods that don't need fillers are OK, though.) Naptha will clean it nicely, but also leaves a dulled appearance that will need to be followed with a polish like the GHS Guitar Gloss or the like. Meguiar's #9 Mirror Glaze/Swirl & Haze Remover is another great product here; they offer something similar or identical in conjunction with Fender, too: FENDERŪ by MEGUIAR'SŪ GUITAR CARE PRODUCTS Instrument Care Kit  You could lightly, finely and uniformly scuff the surface of the lacquer finish on the back of the neck, for more of a "satin" finish feel; this doesn't "stick" as much as a glassy, highly glossy finish will, as there is less "drag", less "traction" between your skin and the finish- a little bit of air is allowed in between amongst the ultra-fine scratches in the finish. Use 0000 grade steel wool, going lightly, moving lengthwise and uniformly in long, smooth strokes along the entire length of the back of the neck. Don't go too deep, you only want to affect the outermost surface of the finish; you just want to barely feel a subtle texture, almost as if there were talcum powder on it, like "satin", but not be able to see much of anything different other than a less glossy appearance. If the edge of the frets are not covered by binding, be careful about snagging the steel wool on the fret-ends, and mask off the pickups so that stray bits of sprung-flung steel wool don't get into them.
_________________________
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#2130106 - 10/30/09 01:47 PM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: Caevan O'Shite]
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Gold Member
Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 629
Loc: Hwy 49, California
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Don't use it but a lot of players spray a little Finger Eease on the back of the neck as well as the strings before playing...and makes things slippery and less sticky without having to use sand paper...
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#2130114 - 10/30/09 02:08 PM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: Larryz]
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MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 9129
Loc: A few miles from the corner of...
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Don't sand the back of the neck. Use talcum power on your hands. Finger Ease kills your strings, as will any oil formulation regardless of where you put in on the neck, it will wind up on your strings. Talcum power is dry, and works like graphite to lube the back of your neck.
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#2130154 - 10/30/09 03:36 PM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: Caevan O'Shite]
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10k Club
Registered: 02/26/02
Posts: 13750
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I'm with Bill on giving the finish more time to continue to cure, harden, and get less tacky to the touch; I went through the same thing with two mid-'90s Gibson Les Pauls. I love tung-oil "finishes" on otherwise "raw" maple or koa necks, but it might not be the best thing for mahogany, which has a much more porous surface and needs fillers when finishing. Leave that lacquer on the mahogany! Note that the one model that Gibson offers with an oiled/"raw" neck is a Les Paul with a maple neck... Wipe 'em clean, use something that won't leave any residue behind. GHS Guitar Gloss works nice for that- it goes on wet, let it dry to a powdery consistency, then buff it away. Only apply it to finish surfaces, DON'T get it on a rosewood or ebony fretboard, it'll get little white flecks stuck in the open wood-grain and fret-slots and along the binding. ("Raw"/"oiled" maple, koa, or similarly tight-grained woods that don't need fillers are OK, though.) Naptha will clean it nicely, but also leaves a dulled appearance that will need to be followed with a polish like the GHS Guitar Gloss or the like. Meguiar's #9 Mirror Glaze/Swirl & Haze Remover is another great product here; they offer something similar or identical in conjunction with Fender, too: FENDERŪ by MEGUIAR'SŪ GUITAR CARE PRODUCTS Instrument Care Kit You could lightly, finely and uniformly scuff the surface of the lacquer finish on the back of the neck, for more of a "satin" finish feel; this doesn't "stick" as much as a glassy, highly glossy finish will, as there is less "drag", less "traction" between your skin and the finish- a little bit of air is allowed in between amongst the ultra-fine scratches in the finish. Use 0000 grade steel wool, going lightly, moving lengthwise and uniformly in long, smooth strokes along the entire length of the back of the neck. Don't go too deep, you only want to affect the outermost surface of the finish; you just want to barely feel a subtle texture, almost as if there were talcum powder on it, like "satin", but not be able to see much of anything different other than a less glossy appearance. If the edge of the frets are not covered by binding, be careful about snagging the steel wool on the fret-ends, and mask off the pickups so that stray bits of sprung-flung steel wool don't get into them. i did a Godin LG with a 3m pad . a couple of quick rubs and it gave it a satin finish that was very comfy. it was easy to control.
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#2130301 - 10/31/09 09:49 AM
Re: Sanding the back of an SG neck....
[Re: Guitarzan]
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Gold Member
Registered: 05/22/07
Posts: 939
Loc: "Town of" Surprise Az
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I sanded the finish to bare wood from my 68 SG (Back then) The finish was sticky as hell. I loved that guitar until I sold it to a friend who used to live on a sail boat off Anna Marie Island in Florida near Sarasota. He still has that guitar to this day, the neck has never warped, and you could slide your hands over the neck like butta. The neck played slick and easy as pie.
I would try wiping the neck down with acetone, or alcohol, use a little plastic wool to bust the glaze on the finish, and then use talcum powder on your fretting hand when you play it. You have to clean the fretboard a bit after time but do that when changing strings. I learned that from shooting pool, and unstickying the pool cue from my hands was essential. It works
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