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Staining A Neck


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i got a squier neck. i guess they just put wood sealer on it, i want to finish it. i would like to put a Polyurethane stain on it. i have looked at the tutorals. my only question is will the wood change (warp swell ect) because i am putting a new product on it? right now the neck is perfectly straight. but im a little worried because there is nothing protecting it. or is it ok as is? :D

Edited by toolfan88
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If it's got a sealer on it, staining's gonna be sort of out of the question. And if its a squier neck, unless you stripped it, it's finished, since as far as I know they don't sell them unfinished for project purposes.

In terms of staining, a little bit of waterbased stain wiped on shouldn't do horrible things to the neck. Just don't, y'know, dip it in water or anything.

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i see. i just dont want the neck to start to warp in a few yaers or months. maybe this is a stupid question but does a stain/finish on a neck help protect it? im a little confused on that

Okay, look. It's time for you to put down those guitar parts and start reading.

Go to the the Project Guitar Tutorials page.

There's also a tutorial section in this forum, just scroll down a bit. Start reading. Since your question is about finishing, start reading there.

Also, buy yourself the Melvyn Hiscock book--it's not expensive and well worth the price.

I have nothing against people asking questions-- I ask a lot of them. But you obviously don't have a clue about what you're doing --how can you possibly proceed? You can ask all the questions you want here, but until you actually understand some of this stuff, the answers aren't really going to help you.

Once you understand what you're trying to do, you'll have a much better chance of doing it right.

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i see. i just dont want the neck to start to warp in a few yaers or months. maybe this is a stupid question but does a stain/finish on a neck help protect it? im a little confused on that

I'm new to guitar building, but have been woodworking for many years.

Wood shrinks and swells with humidity changes. It will swell in the summer, and shrink in the winter. An infinished hunk of wood will absorb quicker, possibly causing cracks because the wood won't shrink or swell at the same rate. If the wood is quarter sawn, which means the grain runs up and down (Fretboard to back of neck), the neck shouldn't bend that much, but if the grain is diagonal to the neck, as the wood shrinks and swells it will have a tendency to warp.

Now, if you put a stain on it, it's not doing much to protect the wood. It's a color that gets absorbed into the wood, the fluid that the color is disolved in, water or alchohol will evaporate and leave the color. Not good for protection. If you only stain a pine chair and stick it outside, it's doomed in a few years.

If you put a sealer on it, eiter several coats of a penetrating oil, or a varnish (Which lays on top of the wood, absorbing a ver small amount), or poly, this seals the wood. It doesn't allow moisture to get in there for the most part. This being said, no matter what you do, the wood will change moisture content. Epoxy, and Poly will allow some moisture to get through, the trick is to slow it down to where it doesn't affect the wood. If you slow it down enough, the dramatic changes in moisture won't affect you.

Does that answer your question? You want some kind of finish to keep the dramatic humidity changes from warping your neck.. Doesn't have to be a lot.

-John

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yes john that answered my questions. i have gone through half of the tutorals and havent found the answers im looking for. your right mickgaurd, i dont now what im doing thats why im trying to figure out :D

i have looked threw some tutorals on the project gutiar website and havent found answers to my question. from what i understoon the finish gave the guitar extra protection from keepnig it striaght. my neck feels like there is nothing on the neck at all. other guitars in this model have necks that are bent HORRIBLY i dont want the same fate to happen to mine. please note that im not going to touch the guitar neck till i kno 100% what is it on and what i wnat to do. but like john said helped me out. i could not find the difference between stain and finish. now i kno. squier told me that they put a sanding sealer on it. thanks for your help. ill research morei didnt see the tutoral section on this forum ill go threw that. first! thanks again

Edited by toolfan88
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