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I've been burnishing the neck up to 600-800 grit and wiping on a dark oil based pore filler (my last can of McFaddens) which colors and fills the Mahogany. The technique was suggested by Addam Stark.

What's your schedule for staining or coloring the neck and using Timbermate Josh?

Thanks

Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Shellac?

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久保
美智え

Tell you what, it's much easier to spray three coats 20 minutes apart one day, and level sand then machine buff the next day and be done with it than it is to spray and spray, wait a week, sand back, spray some more, sand, let sit for a month, sand ultra fine, machine buff, and then hand buff for the final finish.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Go back and read my previous post. As for the body of the guitar it is done in a normal way with what ever finish you use (i.e. Nitro, French Polish, Poly or what ever). The neck is handled as a separate operation. If the neck is attached to the guitar then just mask off the body.
I French Polished the body on that parlor as well as the front of the headstock. I did the FP on the front of the headstock first and oil on the backstrap and the back of the neck last. Since I wanted the back of the headstock and the heel to be glossy I did how I said in my previous post.

Bob

I use waterlox. I also do not pore fill the neck.
Lately I have been staining almost all of them with Trans Tint dark walnut. Waterlox goes on right over that.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Waterlox for me. I french polish the headstock face and wipe on waterlox on the rest. After a couple of seal coats I apply a one or two coats with 400 grit wet or dry paper to fill the pores. Then a few more coats and rub with 400 steel wool hand buff with a soft cloth. Great feel and a nice low lustre sheen. I do like the look of Burton's neck though, so I may skip the pore fill on the next one.

I simply wax my necks with Briwax polish, apply a couple of coats then buff to a nice shine, sometimes a bit of eggwhite first. Maintenance is merely cleaning with methylated spirits then rewaxing. They feel super smooth.
this is a sapele and maple one.

Do you finish the whole neck with TruOil or just the shaft?

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Terry, I sand the neck to 220 and fill with Mahogany coloured Timbermate filler. Sand the filler back with 220 and then apply one or two light coats of shellac. Then I start on the Tru-oil. I don't generally do any tinting or colouring beyond using the mahogany coloured filler. However I have successfully tinted the shellac seal coat and then put the Tru-oil over top.

Steve, I am finishing the whole back of the neck with Tru-oil. I'm still spraying gloss on the face of the headstock. I spray my gloss coats after the shellac sealer and before applying the Tru-oil.

For anyone interested I apply 5 light coats of Tru-oil with a blue shop towel. I rub these coats on leaving a very small amount of finish on the surface, generally 1.5 - 2 hours between coats. I let that dry over night and sand very lightly with 320. Repeat the process 3 times until you have 20 coats. I let that dry while the body is curing and to finish I rub out with fine steel wool (sometime sanding lightly with 800 first if there are any nubs in the finish.This gives me a satin finish with no pores showing. I'll admit that I do like the open pore look, but that is not my standard finish.

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Thanks Josh, I may have to try that approach on a neck I just re-profiled. It's a slot head and the whole headstock is gloss nitro but the rest of the neck is bare now. Might be a good time to try it out.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

While it's not exactly my style the fit and finish and attention to detail is beautiful on that guitar. It's like you knew how the camera would capture the reflections of light around all the joints. Bravo.

Thanks! I wish I could say I took those pictures - instead someone who really knows what they are doing took them. It makes a difference!

Also - with the Waterlox I am using the original, in the red can. Usually about 10-15 coats wiped on thin and then after 20 seconds or so vigorously wiped off and buffed. It still builds pretty fast. If I get a small run or something I would almost rather strip it and start over, I have not had luck getting the same even sheen if any sandpaper touches it. I'm also sanding up to at least 600 before applying. I can see 320 scratches (not easily, but....) and going that extra bit gives a beautiful even coat. It doesn't get the real perfect satin smooth feel for a while, maybe a few weeks. It can feel the slightest bit sticky. Still very playable, but after those weeks it feels just about perfect to me.

Also, some way to keep air out of the can is a must. Bloxygen etc... if any gets in there it goes fast. If it comes out thickened at all don't bother trying to make it work, just get some new stuff. My opinion, of course-

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

You didn't mention what aspects of nitro you disliked, but if you're looking for an alternative lacquer finish that has more durability, i.e.: chemical resistance, than nitro, try butyrate dope instead.

In the aviation world, nitrocellulose lacquer is known as nitrate dope. Nitrate dope makes a a wonderful primer because it sticks to most materials and almost all finishes stick to it. But, its lack of chemical resistance makes it a terrible top finish.

That's where butyrate dope comes in. It's still a lacquer, but because of its different formulation, it is highly resistant to most chemicals, including alcohol, gasoline, nitromethane, etc. Only chemicals like acetone, toluene and MEK are able to soften the finish. Butyrate makes a poor primer because not much will stick to it but more butyrate.

So, the standard finishing schedule is to prime and fill with nitrate dope, then apply butyrate as the top finish coats. This results in a long-lasting, durable finish.

Additionally, there are two types of dopes --tautening and non-tautening. The tautening has a high-shrink rate designed for use on natural fabrics like linen, muslin, etc. The non-tautening is designed for man-made fabrics like ceconite, polyester, etc. which are shrunk with heat prior to applying the finish. The non-tautening still shrinks, just not at the same rate, or to the same degree as the tautening variant.

I'm currently re-topping a 1976 Ovation Custom Legend and I'm applying a nitrate/butyrate finish from Randolph.

The two types of dopes, thinners and retarder shown in the photo below cost less than $75 and will give me all of the benefits of a lacquer finish with none of the drawbacks.

Some great ideas here and different looks which I think is important depending on your desired end result. I have been using more and more poly as a finish. With good prep the finish can be extremely thin yet durable. My last 3 I have dry polished the neck with these micromesh pads from Stewmac. No visible scratches under magnification but not sticky like a buffed neck.

Tim

+1 for Tru-Oil

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

I like Target Coatings EM6000 WB Lacquer. I hear good things about the EM 9000 WB urethane too, gonna try that.

I've used TruOil for most of my banjo necks and all of the guitar necks that I've done. BUT I tried PolyWhey on a couple of banjos - necks and rims and I like it a lot.

Wipe on, non smelly, dries for recoat in 4 hours. Looks like milk going on and dries clear.
I bought it from Rockler.