Black Sanded Neck - Anyone done it?

JRod4928

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Considering sanding the neck of my PRS CU24 (V12 finish) to remove the gloss and make it less 'sticky'. But the entire back of my PRS is black, so I'm concerned what it'll look like after sanding. My goal is not to remove paint down to bare wood, but remove just enough of the gloss finish so that it's smoother to play.

Would like to see if anyone else has done this to their black-backed PRS and can post pictures of what it looks like? Glad you did it? Any other comments?
 
I got my Custom 24 Core as a trade-up. The original owner said that the neck was professionally sanded. It certainly looks that way. He bought it originally from SW, but I'm not sure whether SW did it or someone else.

I do like it a lot. Helps quite a bit with the sticky feeling.

https://ibb.co/x6pm9ZT
x6pm9ZT
 
Considering sanding the neck of my PRS CU24 (V12 finish) to remove the gloss and make it less 'sticky'. But the entire back of my PRS is black, so I'm concerned what it'll look like after sanding. My goal is not to remove paint down to bare wood, but remove just enough of the gloss finish so that it's smoother to play.

Would like to see if anyone else has done this to their black-backed PRS and can post pictures of what it looks like? Glad you did it? Any other comments?[/QUOTE
Just get some Scotch-Brite and go to town. It'll give you a nice satin-y feel instead of sticky.
 
The coarser you go the lighter (grey) it will look.
@Henry2 's guitar looks fantastic with that satinized neck.

If I were doing this I would start with very high grit 3M flexible polishing paper and go to lower and lower grits until I like the feel and look. Scotch Brite works too, assuming it's going to be the right feel/look for you.

There is nothing really hard about it, it's hard to screw up when using fine grits, but it's not 100% reversible either (if that's a concern): you can certainly sand back to higher and higher grit and then buff, but it'll be hard to get a perfectly gloss black finish without micro scratches left under bright light.
 
I always just put several coats of Meguiar’s cleaner/ car wax on the neck. Do that every other day for about a week, and then we’ll talk about not being sticky.
 
I sand the gloss off most my necks. It was never an issue for me to grab a scotchbrite and do it on a maple strat neck. The black and blue PRS necks I was more hesitant about. I took my time and it turned out great. I couldn't be happier.
 
Thanks guys - upload any photos if you have some!

How has sanding the neck impacted the value of the guitar? Of course, I'm sure none of us experienced GAS and sold any of our PRS's, so obviously this is a theoretical question :)
 
Thanks guys - upload any photos if you have some!

How has sanding the neck impacted the value of the guitar? Of course, I'm sure none of us experienced GAS and sold any of our PRS's, so obviously this is a theoretical question :)
If you do the Scotch-Brite, you can polish it back to the gloss if you're selling. If you sand, you may be negatively impacting the value. Depends on the potential buyer, of course.
 
I usually stop at grey Scotchbrite and a coat of car polish.
If I were to go to white Scotchbrite the car polish it would look real close to the factory finish only without the stickyness.

Bob
 
Here's what I used. What's said about polishing back was true for me between passes. I guess it may be able to now but would take more than I have. There is a point of no return between coats. I went a little further than that. I wish they came like this from the factory and wouldn't want to go back to polish. It looks killer and plays better.

Screenshot_20201127-234151_Gallery9a123816f7eff953.jpg
 
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I was thinking about satin-ifying my SE Hollowbody Std's guitar neck. The problem is I have like 3 or 4 other guitar projects already in the queue. I spend all my time working for my job or working on my house or cooking or cleaning.
 
I have another one I plan to do but picked up some micro mesh to try out. I did try fine grit wet sand on my blue one in hopes to remove some factory finish bubbling flaws but it didn't really help, and I was too timid to go to far since they are cosmetic and don't impact playability. In the end I preferred the scotch brite over the wet sand. We'll see on the micro mesh.
 
Man, I’d like to try this but taking abrasive pads to my finish is a bit scary. I’m watching others here, gaining some confidence first.
 
Man, I’d like to try this but taking abrasive pads to my finish is a bit scary. I’m watching others here, gaining some confidence first.

Use the scotchbrite above and do light even strokes with the grain. Even Meguires scratch remover will bring back the gloss if not happy. I was nervous with the sand paper too, it could get a little more serious. I not only picked up some micro mesh to try and also the good 0000 steel wool. Steel wool may get a bit messy but supposedly the good stuff doesn't as much. I use a brand for my watches that has a polish in it that I'm guessing is much the same.

There's a 3c pack painters tape on Amazon that has 3 sizes I found helpful too. Really once you start the fear goes away, especially after I put a coat of scratch remover on it between passes and realized the gloss will come back.
 
Use the scotchbrite above and do light even strokes with the grain. Even Meguires scratch remover will bring back the gloss if not happy. I was nervous with the sand paper too, it could get a little more serious. I not only picked up some micro mesh to try and also the good 0000 steel wool. Steel wool may get a bit messy but supposedly the good stuff doesn't as much. I use a brand for my watches that has a polish in it that I'm guessing is much the same.

There's a 3c pack painters tape on Amazon that has 3 sizes I found helpful too. Really once you start the fear goes away, especially after I put a coat of scratch remover on it between passes and realized the gloss will come back.

So do you just tape it off and run the Scotchbrite over it a bit, or do you Scotchbrite then polish then repeat in some number of steps, or what? Enquiring minds want to know...
 
So do you just tape it off and run the Scotchbrite over it a bit, or do you Scotchbrite then polish then repeat in some number of steps, or what? Enquiring minds want to know...

LOL! I couldn't be happier with the results and below is how it worked for me. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again and already have plans for another but only you can decide. I went past a point of no return. I didn't start out there but was so happy with the results it was worth it to keep going.

I taped it up first and tried a couple different ways on different necks and between passes. I tried spot wet sanding (on a different neck than below), scotchbrite, wax, and scratch remover. I have micro mesh multi pack and liberon 0000 to try on another neck. Note the mico mesh rating is different than sand paper and liberon is the best steel wool. I won't comment on how that works yet but can about how I'd use the scotchbrite (see above post on which), tape, and wax.

1- Tape up the guitar what you don't want sanded with blue painters tape, get the 3 pack multi size.
2- Start light pressure passes with the grain up and down the neck palming the scotchbrite- Don't dig into it. Take your time.
3- Use the Meguiars scratch remover in between a couple or few times. This step really helps give you confidence to show up to point its easily reversible.
4- Approaching "point of no return" Make a couple more passes without scratch remover and using a micro fiber cloth to wipe away dust between passes. Once you are here the scratch remover won't be able to make it gloss again atleast without serious elbow grease. Worth it to me but you were warned!
5- Take your time, go slow, and check it frequently to desired smoothness between passes.
6- OPTIONAL Use a light coat of wax on it after


This is a shot when I was around the "point of no return".

Screenshot_20201127-232939_Gallery70945e9a93b089e2.jpg



In contrast this is after the initial runs of the scotchbrite, showing I brought it back to gloss early on. Notice the sanding dust along the painter tape.

Screenshot_20201127-233306_Gallery68e9c54518a467d7.jpg


I think the heel turned out killer! One of my favorite parts aesthetically. This is where the really thin painters tape helped tremendously.

neck-heel2255b9a513f0cd385.jpg
 
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