Removing the gloss from the back of neck

[bfloyd6969]

Is there a good way to remove the gloss finish from the back of the neck to have a satin feel? I really don't care for gloss necks, and don't want to wait the 15 or so years for the gloss to wear off so was wanting to know if there are some good ways to do this. Of course there is going to be the trasition from the gloss heel and back of headstock and was hoping that there is a good way to transition from the gloss to satin, back to gloss again. Currently, the entire guitar is high gloss. Thanks.

[Kitchen Guitars]

000 steel wool, then 0000 steel wool. I would Frog tape the body, take off the tuners and make the neck an even look. Unless you happen to have a Sunburst transition to contend with. You will alter the value.

[nacluth]

There are many ways to scuff up a glossy finish. What you'll really needs a very fine abrasive. To put satin finishes on our necks, sometimes we'll use Scotchbrite pads - a synthetic fiber pad to take the gloss out. Though steel wool could do the same, it maybe harder to control. I might recommend some 1000+ grit wet sandpaper. It won't take much.

[bfloyd6969]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Resale value is not important as the guitar has such an amazing voice it is a keeper. So how far do I go with the steel wool? Just enough to break the finish, or to actually remove some of the finish? The guitar in topic is a Carolina II JO-26 and the gloss finish is pretty thick. Thanks.

[charles Tauber]

I'd suggest a rubbing compound. There are many brands to choose from as they are common in the automotive finishing field. One that I've used and liked is Maguire's brand. There are a variety of grits to choose from, from course to very, very fine, depending upon what level of sheen you want.

Rubbing compounds are easy to use, and if hand rubbed, pretty hard to screw up. Rubbing can be done with a paper towel or a cloth.

[brianwong]

Hi,

I have a whole thread on this topic and I did it quite successfully. Check it out with before/after pictures.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=205382

[runamuck]

Use rubbing compound instead of steel wool.

Jim McCarthy

[bfloyd6969]

Thanks for the link and suggestions. Will the rubbing compound actually remove the gloss to make it satin? I always thought rubbing compound was used to add a gloss... no?

[bfloyd6969]

Originally Posted by brianwong

Hi,

I have a whole thread on this topic and I did it quite successfully. Check it out with before/after pictures.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=205382

Brian, how did you transition from the satin neck to the gloss headstock - or did you remove the gloss from the back of the headstock too? Your pics look nice.

[Kitchen Guitars]

So far my builds have been French Polish finish. The neck I put on a couple coats of shellac then sand/polish to 12,000 grit. The only remaining Shellac is for sealing the pores.
Here is how to get to 12,000 grit (the price has gone down on these!)
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sa...st=3&xsr=31685

[brianwong]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Brian, how did you transition from the satin neck to the gloss headstock - or did you remove the gloss from the back of the headstock too? Your pics look nice.

Yea, I took out the machine heads and sand the headstock as well.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Thanks for the link and suggestions. Will the rubbing compound actually remove the gloss to make it satin? I always thought rubbing compound was used to add a gloss... no?

There are rubbing compounds and there are polishing compounds and each come in various grits; rubbing compounds are courser than polishing.

Jim McCarthy

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Thanks for the link and suggestions. Will the rubbing compound actually remove the gloss to make it satin?

Yes. In short, it abrades the surface, making the surface less regular, thereby increasing the scattering (diffusion) of light that we perceive as a duller surface.

I always thought rubbing compound was used to add a gloss... no?

No. No necessarily.

Lacquer finishes are usually abraded (sanded) to level them dead flat. Sanding/abrasion is a process that leaves scratches. One abrades using progressively finer (smaller) sized abrasive particles to leave progressively finer and finer (smaller) scratches. The smaller the surface imperfections (including scratches), the glossier the appearance. (The smoother the surface the more the light reflected from the surface provides a spectral (i.e. mirror) image, rather than a diffuse one.)

There is no reason that the process can't be reversed - using progressively less fine abrasive to make the surface less smooth, less glossy. In doing so, however, there is no need to use intermediary grades - just use the one abrasive that gives the desired finished level of gloss.

As for "rubbing compounds" being courser than "polishing compounds" - it's semantics. It's a continuum from very course to very fine. The finer compounds sometimes include waxes and other additives. (Wax coats the surface making it more smooth/regular, hence adding to the shine.)

The difference between "gloss" finishes and "satin" finishes is that small particles are suspended in satin finishes to make the surface texture less smooth (regular). (It is purchased that way from the manufacturer, just as you buy paint from Home Depot that is "Satin", "Semi-gloss", "Gloss", "Eggshell"...) Otherwise, a "gloss" and "satin" finish of the same type are the same material. Normally (commercially), a satin finish is not just a gloss finish that hasn't been polished as much. Why not? See below.

One potential outcome of taking a gloss finish and abrading it to add surface imperfections, thereby lowering its gloss, is that the finish will appear full of small scratches, often making the finish a little less transparent. It can take on a slight milky tone to it. But, it depends in part on the size of the scratches (i.e. coarseness of the abrasive).

[Ozsi]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Is there a good way to remove the gloss finish from the back of the neck to have a satin feel? I really don't care for gloss necks, and don't want to wait the 15 or so years for the gloss to wear off so was wanting to know if there are some good ways to do this. Of course there is going to be the trasition from the gloss heel and back of headstock and was hoping that there is a good way to transition from the gloss to satin, back to gloss again. Currently, the entire guitar is high gloss. Thanks.

I actually took some steel wool (grade 00-0 it says on the box) to my guitar necks just last weekend in an effort to reduce the sticky gloss feel on some of them.

The plan was to strip it right back to wood if I could, but after literally only a minute or so of rubbing there was already a lot of powdered finish building up on the steel wool. The neck is still finished - it's far from raw wood, and I still wouldn't call it satin - but it already felt smoother and "slicker". So I left it there and have been very happy with the improvement. So much so that I gave the same 1-minute treatment to a few of my other guitars with similar good results.

So that might be a safer first step to try out before really getting stuck in.

That said, I'll probably try going a bit further with my beater guitar this weekend to see if there's further improvement to be had with more rubbing!

[murrmac123]

I did exactly the same thing with my Lakewood guitar many years ago, I too hate the feel of a high gloss neck, but after taking the gloss off, (with steel wool) I then applied a little pure beeswax and rubbed it really well.

The wax improved the slickness of the neck dramatically.