Sanding and Sealing a Gibson Neck?

[glpg80]

So I've decided I can't take the thick lacquer finish on the back of my Gibson. It needs to be sanded down to wood and sealed properly ala what charvel does to their necks.

I did my fender select many years ago and just oiled it. This is different though since it's mahogany and not maple, meaning it needs to be oiled and then sealed with either a wax sealer or something of the sort to protect against moisture but still feel super fast.

What are my options for paying someone to do it, or is this something I can do myself since I did my fender select?

 

[paulyc]

I would talk to Lee Garver at GMW Guitars, excellent work and reasonable turn around times. I know you can’t just oil mahogany, but I’m not sure what else you’d use. I’ve done 4 maple neck Les Paul’s with just tung oil and it feels awesome.

 

[glpg80]

I would talk to Lee Garver at GMW Guitars, excellent work and reasonable turn around times. I know you can’t just oil mahogany, but I’m not sure what else you’d use. I’ve done 4 maple neck Les Paul’s with just tung oil and it feels awesome.

Yeah 15 years of playing rosewood or maple neck guitars has made it pretty much impossible to get used to the finished neck. I play heavy handed and with the thicker '59 neck, the combination makes it almost unplayable when I sweat. I've decided I don't want to dick with sanding just the lacquer - it needs to be done correctly.

Do I send him an email or what's the normal process? I think the bigger question I have with someone else doing it is what's the turnaround time as well. I don't want a guitar equivalent of a mark cameron occurring

 

[paulyc]

Just send an email and ask him about turn around time and price. Have you considered just steel wool to remove the gloss but keep the lacquer ? Good first step if nothing else, you may find it fine with just that

 

[bhuard75]

Ive done maple necks with gunstock oil and wax. Much like the Ernie ball music man necks. I too have been looking for a finish that would protect mahogany that would yeild a natural feel of the wood.

I found danish oil. Which seals into the wood and not on top of it. I have not tried this type of finish on a neck. I asked Lee at GMW about the danish oil and he said he never heard of it. I think Steve Henning made a reference to danish oil once saying it was his favorite finish on a neck.

 

[bhuard75]

Heres the danish oil thread.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=122876&hilit=Danish

 

[glpg80]

Have you considered just steel wool to remove the gloss but keep the lacquer ? Good first step if nothing else, you may find it fine with just that

Yeah 15 years of playing rosewood or maple neck guitars has made it pretty much impossible to get used to the finished neck. I play heavy handed and with the thicker '59 neck, the combination makes it almost unplayable when I sweat. I've decided I don't want to dick with sanding just the lacquer - it needs to be done correctly.

Do I send him an email or what's the normal process? I think the bigger question I have with someone else doing it is what's the turnaround time as well. I don't want a guitar equivalent of a mark cameron occurring

 

[glpg80]

Heres the danish oil thread.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=122876&hilit=Danish

I remembered posting a detailed oil description somewhere but couldn't remember what forum - thanks for digging that up. Glad I wrote that detailed post when I did in that thread. There was a time when ESP sent me a defective green neck and I was also doing a lot of research on sanding my fender select (purchased in 2012). It required me to read up on a lot of oiling practices.

I think I'll do some more product research and simply follow my own advice. I'm thinking something like this:

Take the tension off of the neck
Sand down to bare wood
Cut some pure Danish oil 80/30 with citrus thinner or mineral spirits
Apply roughly 4 coats, wiping off excess between each in 1-5 minute increments.
Wait a week to let it cure completely within the neck with no tension
String it up
And for extra moisture protection, use a bit of carnauba wax and polish with something a little rougher like 2000 grit sandpaper to keep it a satin/matte finish and not a shine.

I stated I liked pure tung-oil with a citrus thinner back then in that thread. What I failed to say was that only applies for maple necks I've ever used where a sealer isn't needed for moisture protection. I've used linseed oil since then, so I'm more partial to danish oil over Tru-oil. Every instance of tru-oil I've ever messed with in my life is just a sticky god awful mess that never polishes to leave a fast neck. I hate the stuff.