WarriorOfMetal Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 this quote is from another forum i post on....is this a good idea? if it is, what grit sandpaper would be good for this? poly fin'd painted necks feel great if you sand and buff down to a matte finish using sandpaper and 0000 steel wool. the effect isn't so hot on nitro as it can get gummy. the matte poly necks feel close to raw while still being protected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Thats ok. All you really need to do is a little scuffing , nothing coarser than 320 grit, depends on how thick the poly. You obviously don't want to see bare wood. And the steel wool more or less cleans thoroughly. Friction always makes heat, too fast / hard and something could melt. Whatever gums onto your sandpaper is a result of heat. Just gotta go easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorOfMetal Posted November 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 cool, guess i'll go out and buy some more sandpaper tomorrow (all i have right now is 100 grit) and give it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 cool, guess i'll go out and buy some more sandpaper tomorrow (all i have right now is 100 grit) and give it a shot. Anyone want to recommend how high of a grit he should take it? Actually, if it's just to make the neck smoother-feeling, shouldn't he start off pretty high, like at 600 or more? The higher you go, the smoother it'll feel and the less sanding scratches you'll see. Try going to 2000...makes a huge difference. Also, if you're sanding with steel wool...assuming the neck is still on the guitar...take some masking tape and cover up the pickups --the little bits of steel wool get everywhere, and they'll get picked up by the magnets, and then they're very hard to clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorOfMetal Posted November 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 cool, guess i'll go out and buy some more sandpaper tomorrow (all i have right now is 100 grit) and give it a shot. Anyone want to recommend how high of a grit he should take it? Actually, if it's just to make the neck smoother-feeling, shouldn't he start off pretty high, like at 600 or more? The higher you go, the smoother it'll feel and the less sanding scratches you'll see. Try going to 2000...makes a huge difference. Also, if you're sanding with steel wool...assuming the neck is still on the guitar...take some masking tape and cover up the pickups --the little bits of steel wool get everywhere, and they'll get picked up by the magnets, and then they're very hard to clean. yeah i'm familiar with working with steel wool on guitars, done it a number of times. the original quote though said to use sandpaper and then steel wool. i asked the guy who said it for some more details, but he's not online right now so thought i'd get some opinions over here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Well, yeah, you're right, why bother with sandpaper? If steel wool alone works for you, stick with it. I've sanded down a neck to get rid of the poly altogether, and put danish oil on there instead. Much nicer feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorOfMetal Posted November 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Well, yeah, you're right, why bother with sandpaper? If steel wool alone works for you, stick with it. I've sanded down a neck to get rid of the poly altogether, and put danish oil on there instead. Much nicer feel. i think you misunderstood what i said haha.....i've used steel wool on frets, but it seems to me that it would make more sense in this context to use sandpaper first, because it doesn't seem like 0000 steel wool would do enough on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Well, yeah, you're right, why bother with sandpaper? If steel wool alone works for you, stick with it. I've sanded down a neck to get rid of the poly altogether, and put danish oil on there instead. Much nicer feel. i think you misunderstood what i said haha.....i've used steel wool on frets, but it seems to me that it would make more sense in this context to use sandpaper first, because it doesn't seem like 0000 steel wool would do enough on its own. Well, if all you're looking for is a sleeker feel to the neck, then I'd try the steelwool first of all. If that's not enough, then sure, you can go at it with sandpaper. But I'll bet that steelwool is all it takes to get rid of the tacky feel of the poly. You can wait and see what other opinions come up too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Yup - try the steel wool first. All you're doing is knocking back the gloss which can be sticky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Lubricate the steel wool with naptha. That will stop the gumming. Sandpaper works good to level the surface. Use progressively finer grit to maybe 1500 or more. Then use the steel wool to scuff it up. This produces a very nice playing surface as stated before. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGW Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 I've done something similar to a nitro finished neck and it is great. The woodworking "master" I've trained with believes that you should always use a goss finish and then buff it if you want a matt look and feel. The reason is that the matt finishes are made by adding particles that obscure the wood. The gloss finish is clear. In his mind scuffing the gloss finish is the way to go. As a further recomendation, you might want to try ScotchBrite. The grey one is equivalent to steel wool. It doesn't leave any fibres behind, as discussed, and I think it is more consistant. I've tries steelwool and it seems there is always one fibre that creates a scratch. I also don't think you should start with sandpaper. Try the steelwool/scotchbrite and if it is not enough, you can go back to a coarser grade of sandpaper, maybe 1000-1500. If you want it finer, there is a white scotchbrite. Scotchbrite Pads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Been using those grey scotchbrite pads for a while now, i really like the neck feel it gives and its great for buffing up an oil finish to give a soft sheen. Works well wet too to take the tack off a new coat of lacquer and level the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 This is slightly off topic, but why does the finish feel so much more sticky (grabby might be a better word) when you buff it to a gloss rarther than just sanding it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Just a confirmation-- I've done the steel wool on a poly neck (skipped the sandpaper), and the result was a nice matte finish just as I had hoped for. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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