Plan on oiling some necks - which oil?

[DonP]

Does anyone now for certain what branch and tone of oil Charvel used back in the day? I'm thinking of going with Watco Golden Oak. Maybe in Natural?

"Gunstock oil" is not an answer - what brand and color of gunstock oil?

Why am I doing this? I have some neck with flame, but the flame doesn't "pop" as good as I think it can. I'm thinking of sanding down the finish and using the oil to pop the flame.

Thanks.

[coloradoman25]

evoo is my favorite for necks.

[Hellbat]

My understanding is Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil.

http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Finishing/FinishingDetails.aspx?ProductID=e9fc9501-7a61-46c5-8e93-c13b1036016d

[sully]

They do use Gunstock oil/tru oil, and I don't know that it comes in any other tint. If you were going to use a tinted oil, the Watco Golden Oak is what Mike recommended to me once.

Sully
::picks up that dropped name so no one trips::

[j2379]

i know its probably wrong but i used coffee to tint a neck, followed by a finishing oil. came out suprisingly well. rag dipped in coffee, apply quickly, then oil and wipe it off, and repeat as needed. I think i did 3 or 4 coats and it looked really nice. the rag with coffee wasnt really wet more like damp. home depot has tinted oils, IIRC they had amber and honey amber, i just got the natural stuff.

[atomic charvel guy]

i know its probably wrong but i used coffee to tint a neck, followed by a finishing oil. came out suprisingly well. rag dipped in coffee, apply quickly, then oil and wipe it off, and repeat as needed. I think i did 3 or 4 coats and it looked really nice. the rag with coffee wasnt really wet more like damp. home depot has tinted oils, IIRC they had amber and honey amber, i just got the natural stuff.

that's a cool move dude, that's Space Program genius material there.
I wish I was great at the work side of guitars but i was too busy
partying and playing, so i'd spend a fortune just in setups alone, much less getting mods done, neckwork, etc.

[Predator1]

I use the Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and it only comes in one tint. I apply several very light coats allowing each to dry several hours.After drying, each coat is followed by a scuffing with 2000 grit wet / dry auto finishing paper. I then use Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax ( Any good Carnuba wax will do although it must be silicone free). I have been doing it this way for thirty years. I was shown this method by Grover Jackson at the Glendora facility back in the day.

[DonP]

My DK1 neck looks like it had coffee used to tint it.

[xenophobe]

i know its probably wrong but i used coffee to tint a neck, followed by a finishing oil. came out suprisingly well. rag dipped in coffee, apply quickly, then oil and wipe it off, and repeat as needed. I think i did 3 or 4 coats and it looked really nice. the rag with coffee wasnt really wet more like damp. home depot has tinted oils, IIRC they had amber and honey amber, i just got the natural stuff.

That's old school. I bet it came out really well.

[decadence5423]

My DK1 neck looks like it had coffee used to tint it.

I never thought it about it until now but my (newer) DK1 neck is really bright but my RR2 neck is quite a bit darker. I assumed the cuts of wood were just different. I already have pictures of the backs of both, while the DK1 has more light on it you can still tell the difference in the thumbnails.

[jacksonluvr]

I use the Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and it only comes in one tint. I apply several very light coats allowing each to dry several hours.After drying, each coat is followed by a scuffing with 2000 grit wet / dry auto finishing paper. I then use Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax ( Any good Carnuba wax will do although it must be silicone free). I have been doing it this way for thirty years. I was shown this method by Grover Jackson at the Glendora facility back in the day.

That is also the way Mike Shannon told me to do it at a NAMM show once.

Ernie Ball also sells a product that they use from the factory that is pre-blend oil/wax.

[j2379]

yes maple can be very white or golden. also as finishes and oils age they tend to amber a bit.

I just looked thru a bunch of old pics, the guitar and pics are long gone. Actually someone here on the JCF owns it, its a Yellow 1 hum strat w ebony board woodburn strat neck, the neck has a bit of flame to it. I thought it came out nice, my buddy thought it was nice enough that he left me his strat to relic.

[Emerald]

Here is an email from the great Terry Atkins who was at Hamer in the late eighties as a finisher and was one of those who left to go to the Washburn Custom Shop.
He was responsible for the great SS signature model Washburn's and hand built many of SS's personal geetars.
I asked him about the cleaning of Washburn's original oil finished necks and he told me how they do it on guitars like the Nuno's ect.
Here is what he said:
I can’t remember what we used before. I can tell you what we use now.
First, you may never get all of the staining out of the fingerboard, but you can try to minimize the problem. Acetone would be what I would try first. You can buy it at the hardware store. Don’t douse the fingerboard. Start by soaking a cotton cloth first and then wiping the fingerboard down. If you get the fingerboard fairly damp it will not harm it. Acetone evaporates so fast it will not raise the grain. Go at it a few times and then steel wool the fingerboard with 0000 steel wool.
We now use a concoction we make here. I buy Lemon essence, which is pure pressed lemon oil. Google “Essential oils” and find some. You can get a pint for about $16. You won’t need that much. We then heat the lemon oil on a hot plate and melt in Bee’s wax. We use a 2” square cube of bee’s wax for every pint of oil. The wax will take a while to melt, but will melt completely into the oil. Let it cool over a few of hours and it will start to thicken. Once it thickens up use it to finish the neck. The oil will get into the wood and condition it, but in doing so it carries the wax down into the wood fibers. The wax prevents the wood from drying out, and skins over on the top surface to prevent debris from working into the wood. Polish it up with a cotton cloth when you have enough worked in and it should be very smooth and very fast feeling.

Terry Atkins
VP of Manufacturing
U.S. Music Corp.
444 E. Courtland St .
Mundelein , IL 60060
847-949-0444
Fax: 847-949-8444
[email protected]
My history of the SS Washburn's:

http://www.vintagewashburn.com/Electrics/SteveStevens.html

Sorry about the colors!lol

Emerald

[algeriet]

Birchwood, BABY!

[ParaP14]

Interesting info in this thread.