Official Luthiers Forum!

My son has had a Gibson 335 for almost 15 years. Whenever the neck got grimey he cleaned it with a damp rag and it was like new. This time, it will not clean. A little soap and water just makes it seem to get worse and cloudy. He has always tried to keep his hands clean before playing, to avoid any damage to the finish. (I had a similar problem on a Kohno, but I got vaseline on it, which was a solvent for the finish, and the finish would never get hard again.) The problem on the Gibson interferes with playing, because it grabs his thumb. My first thought is to remove the neck finish and play it on bare wood. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Use some 0000 steel wool to remove the sticky layer. If you want a shiny surface, follow with Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish. No water. As you have found out, nitro lacquer can absorb water to the point that it gets gummy.

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John