Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

[Dolan]

I dont care too much for the thick poly type finish and would like to sand it off the back of the neck on one of my guitars. Whats the best way to do it and what grit paper do you start and end with?

[sully]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

easiest way to do it is to take some 600 or 800 grit paper, or 00 or 000 steel wool and scuff the clear. it'll give you something close to an unfinished feel. way easier, less of a hassle.

[Dolan]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

Thanks.............I'll give that a whirl and see what happens.

[noodlesatf]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

+1 to what Sully said, it works great. There really is no need to go all the way down to the wood.

[Newc]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

BUT, if you do so choose to go to the wood, start with some 60 grit paper to break through the clear and get to the paint. You can use an electric sander if you know what wood looks like (that's when you stop, by the way).
I just got done sanding a painted neck down to the wood and it took about 2 hours to get all the clear and paint off, using mostly an electric sander with 60 grit paper to bust through the clear and the majority of the paint, and a sanding sponge wrapped in 60 grit (since the sponge is a lighter grit) to finish it up.

The clearcoat will come out from under the sander as white dust, and when you see colored dust, that's when you're in the paint. Once you see bare wood, move to a new area.

Stripping a neck this way is a royal pain in the arms, however [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Haven't decided if I'm going to tung oil the neck or paint it.
Any good tutorials on tung oiling a neck, as well as product recommendations?

[sully]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

i finally got off my ass and made a tutorial. this should hopefully end this kinda thread! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Econ]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

Thanks Sully for the information. Question: Can you follow the same procedure for stripping a body?

[sully]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

yep!

[Newc]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

[ QUOTE ]

I'd like to stress that you shouldn't use an electric sander for this stuff; yeah, it's faster, but it's also a fast way to reshape the neck in ways that you don't want to do. Once you take wood off, it's kinda hard to put it back on. Use your hand and take your time; if you don't have a few hours to do this, wait until you do.


[/ QUOTE ]

Wuss [img]/images/graemlins/eviltongue.gif[/img]

[img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img]

[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

whatever, captain krylon!

[noodlesatf]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

Hey Sully, I notice you made no mention of the sealer when sanding down a neck. I've sanded several Jackson necks down in the past, and I always go through clear, paint, and then sealer.

You might want to make a note about the sealer in your sticky. Something about it being easy to spot, because it looks like bare wood, only shiney.

[Newc]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

Honestly, using an electric sander to strip a neck isn't rocket science, you just gotta refrain from plowing into it. Let the sander do the work, you paid enough for it [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
Press down just until you break through the clear to the paint, then when you see colored dust, ease up and check your progress. When you see a small patch of wood, don't bury the sander in that area, but just glide over it until the patch gets bigger. As the patch gets bigger, expand your work area, but DON'T GRIND IT INTO THE NECK LIKE YOU'RE A NEANDERTHAL [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[noodlesatf]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

http://images.lowes.com/product/6630...8&cvt=jpeg

Ingersol Rand random orbital air-powered sander. Tons of power and control.

[sully]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Sully, I notice you made no mention of the sealer when sanding down a neck. I've sanded several Jackson necks down in the past, and I always go through clear, paint, and then sealer.

You might want to make a note about the sealer in your sticky. Something about it being easy to spot, because it looks like bare wood, only shiney.

[/ QUOTE ]

thought i made mention of primer in there.... either way, go to the wood! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Dolan]

Re: Sanding a finish off the back of a neck

Thanks everyone. Sully, glad I got you up off your arse on this topic!!

Being I'm a drywaller/painter by trade, I wont have a problem sanding the neck down to bare wood and what to use. I thought maybe there were some "guitar tricks" as working on wood in houses is a bit different than guitars. I personally would rather have the "plain wood" finish that I have on my reissue Charvel and will get cracking soon.

Oh, my apology if this topic has been beat to death.