refinishing neck thrus

[Elton]

How do u refinish neck thrus? how would u sand them? how do u put on new binding and stuff or do u just leave it on? i need to cover the fretboard somehow when im refinishing right?

i was planning to use aerosol laquer. dont i have a risk of the paint cracking and stuff. or is this just as good as a factory finish.

[Morben Guitars]

Lots of questions...While I'm not a fan of refinishing a guitar, doing a neck through or a set neck guitar is not very different from doing a bolt on.

First determine the current finish...is it a poly or a nitro? Then take the necessary steps in removing that finish. Stripper and sanding are most common. I'd suggest keeping the binding intact unless you have some experience with binding..sometimes finding a suitable replacement is difficult.

after you've preped the wood for a new finish you'll want to mask the fretboard if it's not maple.

Will it look just like a factory finish? Well, that's hard to say - if this is your first finishing job, probably not. I'm not trying to insult - but it does take a lot of practice to produce a great finish. Will it crack? possibly..nitro will "craze", which look like little cracks or spiderwebs..super cool on a 57 les paul...not so cool on a new finish...this is caused by changed in the tempurature when spraying ..Temp and humidity need to remain constant while it is curing.

I assume you are talking about using a Nitro Lacquer - if that's the case, you'll need to wet sand the finish after it has cured for about 6 weeks. Read up on this (try reranch guitars). I prefer the Nitro even tho it's more work.

But before you start sanding - ask why you're refinishing the guitar...It will greatly reduce the value (if that's a concern) and you could end wishing it were back to the way it was 4 weeks from now. I suggest either buying an inexpensive "kit" guitar or building a body...once you get finishing down, THEN try a refinsh.. Hope that helps and best of luck! Keep us posted.