CV neck finish question

[Presto]

Hi everyone, I just got a Squier CV 60's as a backup guitar and I really like it, especially for the price. But my favorite kind of neck is a satin finish. I had two questions I was hoping someone could answer or point me in the right direction to find an answer.

1) The kind of sticky feeling on the back of the neck, I've heard that goes away after being played for a bit. Have you guys found this to be true?

2) Has anyone refinished a CV neck to make it have more of a satin feel? If you have, how?

[Spudman***]

I've read about some guys taking a 3M scratch pad to the back of their necks to take some of the stickiness off. I've left mine stock and it doesn't seem to be as sticky as it was for the first 10 months I owned it. Occasionally I think of doing the scotchbrite pad treatment myself.

You can always just sand all the finish off the back of the neck and do the tung oil or gun stock(Tru oil) oil treatment to it. That would get you what you want. Just be sure to remove the neck from the guitar to do the process, and go slowly so that you don't inadvertently change the shape of the neck by using to coarse of a grit of sandpaper.

[FrankenFretter***]

I've read about some guys taking a 3M scratch pad to the back of their necks to take some of the stickiness off. I've left mine stock and it doesn't seem to be as sticky as it was for the first 10 months I owned it. Occasionally I think of doing the scotchbrite pad treatment myself.

You can always just sand all the finish off the back of the neck and do the tung oil or gun stock(Tru oil) oil treatment to it. That would get you what you want. Just be sure to remove the neck from the guitar to do the process, and go slowly so that you don't inadvertently change the shape of the neck by using to coarse of a grit of sandpaper.

+1 on the Scotchbrite.

[ZMAN]

Before I would go sand papering my new guitar I would try some fluids that can take the stickiness off. I know on nitro finishes a big complaint is that they are sticky when you first get a new guitar. A lot of guys use lighterfluid, or naptha to wipe down back of the neck. With the poly finish I don't know why it would be sticky, unless there is some goop on the neck.
If you are going to keep the guitar by all means do the sanding thing. But if you ever decide to sell it, it might be a negative to a future buyer.

[Robert****]

I used fine steel wool, and it works great as a light sander.

[Presto]

Thanks guys. I'll give those a go since I'm not really concerned about the resale because I don't sell guitars anymore as I tend to get sentimental about them so I regret selling every guitar that I have so I don't do that anymore. lol

Besides, the guitar is really nice. I was surprised Squier made such a quality guitar.

[paztormike]

I've done a lot of relic-ing and neck work on guitars over the past year. I haven't tried with a CV yet. I have a CVC and have been toying with the idea of getting the neck to a satin type finish.

Here's what I know...
Fender uses a really thick and gooey poly finish that bonds with the wood on their MIM guitars, and I am assuming that the poly is similar in the CV guitars. The coat of poly is pretty thick and if you want to get through it, you will need to do a substantial amount of work to sand it correctly and not damage the wood.

Here's what I would do...
1. Remove the neck, take the tuners off.

2. I would not mess with any part of the neck that touches the body of the guitar, because you don't want to change the fit of the neck with the guitar body. I would make very light markings that I would not sand past on the base of the neck.

3. On the headstock, if you want to make sure that the Squier logo stays intact, I would only use some steel wool. (and then follow the finishing techniques for the rest of the neck.)

4. On the back of the neck, I would start with a coarser grain sand paper and then work my way to a fine grain sand paper and eventually to some fine steel wool.

5. I would use the coarse (100-110 grain) paper and thoroughly sand down the entire back of the neck. Alternate going long straight strokes to circular strokes. (Always end with long strokes though) When you do this, the poly will come off like a powder. Don't worry, it's not sawdust, it is just the poly. Do this in a well ventilated area, as you won't want to inhale the poly dust. Once the whole back of the neck looks super dusty, use a grease cutting dish soap to clean the dust off. I like to use clorox wipes that you would use in the kitchen. (If you don't clean as much dust as you can off, when you sand, you are just smearing poly by reheating it and digging it deeper into the wood.) Once you break through the poly to the wood, you will know because the dust will be dry and brown rather than white. I'd prefer to not break through to the wood until you are using a finer grain sand paper.

6. After doing this with the 100 grain, move to a finer paper and repeat. If you break into the wood, stay away from the area where you broke through until you get through to the wood at the same depth on the rest of the neck.

7. As far as the headstock is concerned, you have to decide whether you want to strip the logo off or not. If you don't, just rough it up smoothly with a very fine grain paper and use the same clorox wipes to clean off the poly dust. You will want to treat the headstock with the same oil that you use to treat the rest of the neck.

8. An important thing to note is that on the headstock or even on the neck, you might still see some scuffed up poly remaining there. As long as you have scrubbed it off as much as you can with a clorox wipe, the oil will take care of the powdery look. Don't feel like it has to look perfect before you treat it with the oil.

9. I like either Tung oil or Linseed oil to finish. I think that most people are partial to Tung oil. I would liberally apply it to all areas that you have sanded, and let it sit for a couple of hours. when it is done sitting, it should feel a little sticky still. Take your finest steel wool (i use #0000) to go over the oil. This should take the sticky off. There have been several times where I applied the oil 2-3 times to get it looking and feeling right. If you don't like how it looks, You can always sand a little more and then apply oil again.

I did this to a MIM Strat neck not long ago, and it feels absolutely perfect to me. I did this to a Squier 51 neck as well and it just turned out amazing as well.

I hope that helps. I have a CVC that I am toying with doing the neck on, but the whole guitar is so dang beautiful that I don't know if I can touch it with sand paper for a while. We'll have to see.

[Spudman***]

Mike
That's a really good step by step process. Thanks for posting it.

Why don't you stop over to the fret players forum and introduce yourself. You seem to have some experience that can really be appreciated around here.

[Tig***]

paztormike, that is one well detailed, useful set of instructions,
and your first post!

Welcome to The Fret!

[NWBasser]

Welcome to The Fret, PaztorMike!

And thanks for the detailed neck refin. instructions.

I have a question though, since I'm lazy and usually pretty short on time to do my own refinish work, can someone here recommend a strat (or good copy) that doesn't use a thick poly on the neck?

I very much prefer satin or tongue oil finishes to thick poly.

[marnold***]

Phew! That's a heckuva first post! Great info. I absolutely hate those glossy finishes. Blech.

[NWBasser]

I absolutely hate those glossy finishes. Blech.

Yep, me too!

[deeaa*]

I really don't see any difference with glossy or other finishes in 'real life'. I have quite moist hands but I never had a sticking problem with any finish there is...or maybe that's because I have moist palms. I guess if the neck is real thick a satin finish might help...but most of mine are glossy lacquered, a few satins and one just somehow oiled or beeswax treated, I'm not sure actually what. Doesn't make any difference to me which one I play in any case.