Sanding Guitar Neck

[sosallycanwait]

Hey guys, I have a Custom 24 and would stripping a thin layer of the finish off the mahogany neck hurt the neck?? I've seen many guitars like that just to make it smoother and less sticky.
Thanks

 

[Hopeful Sinner]

Hey guys, I have a Custom 24 and would stripping a thin layer of the finish off the mahogany neck hurt the neck?? I've seen many guitars like that just to make it smoother and less sticky.
Thanks

Nah, won't hurt. I've never done it to a PRS but I'm considering doing my SE, it feels great on my bud's Strat. Get you some super fine sand paper, baby wipes and acetone, dry a couple handfuls of the baby wipes and put the acetone on them, not dripping wet but enough, rub the neck until you get where you want to be and then fine sand to taste.

You'll get a nice satin feel. Be sure to cover any parts of the body with painter's tape or something of the sort, you don't want the acetone to eat the finish.

 

[László]

The only issue would be resale value, which would take a substantial hit. But if it's a keeper guitar and you can't foresee the need to ever sell it, the sanding won't hurt anything unless you screw it up.

 

[JMintzer]

Some people sake a really fine micro-mesh and gently smooth down the gloss finish. It can be easily polished back...


Jamie

 

[JRod4928]

thread revival!

Has anyone done this on a v12 finished PRS? Curious how it comes out on a black painted neck.

 

[Spidouz]

Thank you for this thread and info... I was asking myself this question for a while already.

I have a Brent Mason an I really like the smooth natural neck and I want to do the same for my SE 245 Quilt which could be sticky when I'm sweating.
Since the SE is a keeper for sure, I'm gonna heavily modify it in the coming months (to add two 4-way selector for the P-Rail pickup wiring selection such the 513), it's not gonna be sold anytime soon. So, removing the finishing wouldn't be a problem. But I wasn't sure if I could do it and how I could do it.

What kind of sandpaper (or other) would your recommend?

 

[sosallycanwait]

Funny you should revive this thread because after 3 years of thinking about doing this I finally did it a few months ago and it turned out great. I started off with a 400 grit sandpaper which worked okay but it didn't look great. Then I used a 1500 grit sandpaper and that made it perfect. It looked fine and felt fantastic. Feels like a whole new guitar neck.

Go for the super fine 1500 grit sandpaper because the 400 is too course and can leave some scratches. Go easy and keep feeling the neck to check the progress so you don't take off too much.

 

[Spidouz]

Thanks a lot!! It's probably gonna be a winter project...

 

[László]

I'm that odd person who wishes that the maple neck on my new McCarty WL model had a gloss finish!

I really prefer gloss. The lightly finished satin maple as it is isn't too bad, so I'm not going to have it redone, but...

 

[Spidouz]

Because I'm sweating, the gloss finish feels more sticky to me. I love the the look, mainly if it's a nice flame neck, but it feels more sticky while a natural unfinished neck feels smooth... So I'm confused between look over feel. And that's why it's already been a long time I'm thinking about this kind of mod. But now, I would love to try the feel over the look because I really love the feel I got with the Brent Mason. I could live with gloss before but now that go back and forth with gloss finish and the Brent Mason, it's very noticeable. But that's just me and everyone is different. I definitely understand why others might like gloss better. That's the beauty of guitars. There's no one solution only to fit all. Everyone's different... and that's perfectly fine that way.

 

[DHW]

Thank you for this thread and info... I was asking myself this question for a while already.

I have a Brent Mason an I really like the smooth natural neck and I want to do the same for my SE 245 Quilt which could be sticky when I'm sweating.
Since the SE is a keeper for sure, I'm gonna heavily modify it in the coming months (to add two 4-way selector for the P-Rail pickup wiring selection such the 513), it's not gonna be sold anytime soon. So, removing the finishing wouldn't be a problem. But I wasn't sure if I could do it and how I could do it.

What kind of sandpaper (or other) would your recommend?

I did my se245 last year. I used a scotchbrite pad. Green one out of the paint dept of the hardware store. Worked awesome on that. The finish on the se's is THICK and it's poly, hard to screw up.

 

[Spidouz]

Thanks for the info DHW. I'm gonna do it, that's for sure

 

[The Fight]

I used steel wool on the back of my ce neck and I really like it. I was kinda scared thinking it will be harder to sell. But then again i'v modded all of my guitars. Well except for my 2010 tremonti, but I think I will. Any how, I like my ce way more with a softer neck feel. Now all I have to do is get some awesome jumbo frets instainstalled.

 

[jimistephen]

When I did mine I started with 400 and sanded until I could see wood and then moved up to 1500 and then 2000 and it's smooth as can be. I just didn't tape it off so it kind of looks like a hack job, which I still need to finish up and make it look nice...as a side note, if you do this and don't play it that often then you need to treat the neck with either 3-in-1 oil or lemon oil, etc. (don't use lemon oil on maple, bad things can happen) I you do play it a couple times a week then the oils from you hands should be enough to keep it treated.

 

[Spidouz]

noted, thanks jimi...

 

[JRod4928]

When I did mine I started with 400 and sanded until I could see wood and then moved up to 1500 and then 2000 and it's smooth as can be. I just didn't tape it off so it kind of looks like a hack job, which I still need to finish up and make it look nice...as a side note, if you do this and don't play it that often then you need to treat the neck with either 3-in-1 oil or lemon oil, etc. (don't use lemon oil on maple, bad things can happen) I you do play it a couple times a week then the oils from you hands should be enough to keep it treated.

Can't see the pic for some reason. Is it working for anyone else?

 

[Spidouz]

Nope, no picture here...