Removing poly from maple neck

[rutledj]

I would like to remove the poly from my warmoth maple neck.  Biggest concern is doing the fretboard.  Would it work to remove the frets, sand the finish off, then reinstall the same frets? 

[henrim]

Not saying it's impossible but you are likely to get bends and dings on the frets when you remove them. I wouldn't install the same same frets if I was going through all the trouble. 

I get the idea of removing poly from the back of the neck but are you sure about the fretboard? Maple fretboard wants to have a hardening finish. Clear coat, boiled linseed oil or something like that. Without top coat, it probably gets dirty pretty quickly as your regular non-hardening fretboard oil doesn't penetrate well into maple.

[Bizman62]

I wouldn't do that. The frets would most likely bend during removal and even if you managed to get them out in shape you would not be able to re-radius them. A radius tighter than the fretboard is recommendable as it forces the ends against the edge of the fingerboard. Something like R8 frets for an R10 fretboard radius and so on.

The original frets seem to be in a good condition since you'd like to save them so although fret wire is rather inexpensive (starting from a fiver for a guitar) I recommend alternative methods for cleaning the fretboard.

First, again assuming it's a full maple neck with a maple fretboard, how about leaving the fretboard untouched and remove the poly just from the palm side? Maple is pale and it will soon gather dirt - not only from your fingers but also from the strings and the chemistry between wood, sweat and metal. You may have seen guitars that have grey fingerprints all over the fretboard where the clearcoat has worn off. Some like it, some don't. Anyhow, the poly would protect the surface there better than any oil or wax.

Second, if you still want to get rid of the poly on the fretboard you can do it two ways without removing the frets: Mechanically or chemically. Both require a respiration filter, poly dust is as harmful for your lungs as the pain stripper fumes. That said, even wood dust is harmful and some species can be really toxic.

The mechanic method is the least expensive, all you need is a sharp card scraper. A single edge razor blade is of suitable side and is readily sharpened. Being small and thin it also fits nicely between the fret wires. Plus you don't have to worry about residues that might prevent your go-to finish from sticking.

 

[henrim]

21 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

all you need is a sharp card scraper. A single edge razor blade is of suitable side and is readily sharpened

Nitpicking a bit. While a razor blade can be useful in this particular situation and it is definitely sharp, it shouldn't be mixed with a card (or cabinet) scraper. A properly sharpened card scraper has completely different edge geometry than a razor blade. Thus they are used in very different manner. Also both can damage the work piece pretty badly if not used carefully. Just in different ways.

Removing an assumably thick layer of poly without removing the frets can be tedious job, which is likely to lead to a subpar result. Once again, not saying It can't be done but if I had to do it I would rather use paint stripper first and then scrape the rest clean. The problem with paint stripper is that if CA glue was used when the frets were installed, the resulted acrylic layer in the fret slots may melt in the process. Which may affect how the frets are seated in the slots.

[rutledj]

Thanks for the suggestions. I may just leave the poly on the frets. I mostly didn't like it on the neck. Was going to go back over it with nitro. I should be able to tape off the fretboard and leave it as is while I spray the remaining wood with nitro.

[henrim]

1 hour ago, rutledj said:

I should be able to tape off the fretboard and leave it as is

Yes, that should go just fine. If you are certain you like nitro on a neck.

I mean, I'm not sure I can even tell them apart as far as playability is concerned. I don't like nitro any better than poly on necks. Bare wood is the feel I like best but that has obvious drawbacks. So, a tiny amount of BLO or or danish oil is what I prefer. But that's just me. We are all different and you are not the first one who likes nitro

[Bizman62]

10 hours ago, henrim said:

Nitpicking a bit. While a razor blade can be useful in this particular situation and it is definitely sharp, it shouldn't be mixed with a card (or cabinet) scraper. A properly sharpened card scraper has completely different edge geometry than a razor blade.

Solid arguments there. I know the difference but not everyone does. That said, for this very purpose both can be used.

5 hours ago, rutledj said:

I may just leave the poly on the frets.

That's the most effortless choice. There's people who don't like the feel of a coated fretboard but that's partially a fingering issue. For a note to ring cleanly pushing the string down enough to firmly touch the fret is sufficient, but some like to push the strings down to the wood. And some like tall frets so they can vary how deeply they push before hitting wood, thus creating interesting vibratos and microtonality (or out of tune sounds).

Like @henrim I'm not a great fan for heavily coated necks. They tend to stick to my palm especially when it's sweating. Just out of curiosity, have you ever tried sanding the coating of a neck matte? That helps a lot and if you're selling the instrument you can easily polish it shiny again! Here's what I did to my acoustic, using 400 and 12oo abrasive felts wet, and some masking tape: