Seal & grain fill painted neck?

[JayT]

Question, should I seal & grain fill the back of a neck (set) that I'm going to paint same as the body & headstock?

I've seen that to improve playability of a painted neck you can/should sand it down (1500 grit) to a mat finish. Also that "perfectly smooth" necks have less slide than one with a slightly uneven surface -- less surface area=less friction (oddly claimed to be proven out in one case by a guy painting/sanding the bottom of a racing boat)

So, if I skip the sealing and pore/grain filling on the back of the neck only - then paint along with the rest of the guitar wouldn't that have the same (or similar) results as sanding back after painting?

Edited September 25, 2020 by JayT

[Bizman62]

21 minutes ago, JayT said:

So, if I skip the sealing and pore/grain filling on the back of the neck only - then paint along with the rest of the guitar wouldn't that have the same (or similar) results as sanding back after painting?

I guess not. Sanding to a satin finish with 1000 grit wet'n'dry sandpaper will give you myriads of microscopic grooves while painting natural wood will end up with tiny shiny valleys. What could I compare them to? Quicksand to ball pool? That's about how big the difference is.