Removing clear coat/finish from maple necks??

[MrDan666]

Anyone got any tips on removing the clear finish from a maple neck?

Im so used to unfinished maple necks, that when i play my Ibanez it feels a bit funny. If its not too hard to do, id like to sand it down so its all smooth!

 

[Gainfreak]

Anyone got any tips on removing the clear finish from a maple neck?

Im so used to unfinished maple necks, that when i play my Ibanez it feels a bit funny. If its not too hard to do, id like to sand it down so its all smooth!

I had a friend of mine do this to all of his necks back in the late 80's. He used to use carving knives because it just worked for him and it saved him time from using sandpaper. With that said, you will definitely have to use some sort of abrasive paper and when you get the material off you will have to sand it down with finer sandpaper. Just know that you might have to sand it down a few times even after you think that its done because the laquer sort of comes back after a while (wood is pourous and the laquer stuck in the wood has a way of comming back up to the top)

This is what he told me years ago, so I highly suggest you search around!! Maybe ask John Suhr on the huge racks forum?

 

[MrDan666]

Anyone got any tips on removing the clear finish from a maple neck?

Im so used to unfinished maple necks, that when i play my Ibanez it feels a bit funny. If its not too hard to do, id like to sand it down so its all smooth!

I had a friend of mine do this to all of his necks back in the late 80's. He used to use carving knives because it just worked for him and it saved him time from using sandpaper. With that said, you will definitely have to use some sort of abrasive paper and when you get the material off you will have to sand it down with finer sandpaper. Just know that you might have to sand it down a few times even after you think that its done because the laquer sort of comes back after a while (wood is pourous and the laquer stuck in the wood has a way of comming back up to the top)

This is what he told me years ago, so I highly suggest you search around!! Maybe ask John Suhr on the huge racks forum?

Thanks Ralph!! Yeah i will definitly send John a PM over at HRI, maybe he has some good ideas too.

Funny.. i was planning on selling this RG550, but i got it out the case today.. gave the truss rod an adjustment til the neck was almost straight and it plays great. Just needs the trem fixing, because something is stopping it from keeping tune.. May get my tech to have a quick look over it for me when i go to his for my LP refret.

 

[Code001]

Steel wool takes for fucking ever if the neck has a good poly clear on it. Use things like those 3M Scotch-Brite sanding pads and sponges. It'll conform to the wood much better than normal sandpaper. Obviously, use common sense when taking the clear off, but to reshape/take a decent amount of wood off the neck would take a LOT of elbow grease, so you don't have to be too careful.

 

[Digital Jams]

Steel wool would take a long time, your fore-arms would look like popeye's when you finished.

Try 220 grit paper first, the more course you go you will risk putting micro grooves into the wood. After the 220 use 00 then 0000 steel wool as the 0000 will turn the wood to baby ass smooth.

Ralph has a point as well, there are wood shaping knives out there that you run in one direction to remove material from the neck. I dont have the balls to try that though to a good guitar

 

[MrDan666]

Steel wool would take a long time, your fore-arms would look like popeye's when you finished.

Try 220 grit paper first, the more course you go you will risk putting micro grooves into the wood. After the 220 use 00 then 0000 steel wool as the 0000 will turn the wood to baby ass smooth.

Ralph has a point as well, there are wood shaping knives out there that you run in one direction to remove material from the neck. I dont have the balls to try that though to a good guitar

Oh i have the balls.. i just dont think i have the skills

I think im gonna give this job a miss and sell off this guitar.

I spent the afternoon thinking about what id have to do to get it playing perfect and sounding right, and to be honest id rather put the money into a different guitar which suits me better! Plus the fact, i remembered today after playing it this afternoon, how my hands just dont gel with the bigger nut width on these.. Im more used to 1-5/8" and 1-11/16".

 

[MisterBulbous]

A method that works really well on Fender guitars involves heat. You can take a soldering iron or a match and hold it close enough to where the clearcoat will actually start to blister and separate from the wood. I've stripped a few necks like this. It sounds crazy and dangerous but it works. You can scrape it with your pick and it will basically chip of in small pieces.

On the downside, the match method can cause some discoloration.

 

[jcj]

Steel wool takes for fucking ever if the neck has a good poly clear on it. Use things like those 3M Scotch-Brite sanding pads and sponges. It'll conform to the wood much better than normal sandpaper. Obviously, use common sense when taking the clear off, but to reshape/take a decent amount of wood off the neck would take a LOT of elbow grease, so you don't have to be too careful.

I did this with the sponges, and it worked REALLY well.

 

[Bob Savage]

Meh, real men take belt sanders to their axe.

 

[MrDan666]

Meh, real men take belt sanders to their axe.

Took a belt sander to a guitar body.. does that make me a real man??

 

[Bob Savage]

Meh, real men take belt sanders to their axe.

Took a belt sander to a guitar body.. does that make me a real man??

Only a monkey's uncle would do that!