Great stuff. You are the only guy who made this process: simple & easy to digest. Too many people on here making it like Brain Surgery. Neck looks silky-Smooth.
Do ALMOST the same process, but I set it in the sun until the excess disappears. Then I buff it with jeweler's rouge on the buffing wheel. Fantastic feel, with never any resistance
It is a great idea. It looks great there is no question it enhances tone. No paint or chemicals to deal with where screw ups can be very painful. You can safely clean it off maybe once a year and give it a fresh coat. Thanx
Thanks for the Video. I somehow damaged my matt finished neck but I do not want it to be clear matt coated again so now I just sand it down, oil it with my Lemon oil and wax it to get it refinished.
If you want to speed up drying, add a few drops of Japan drier to the Tru Oil. The naphtha in the Japan solvent will dramatically speed up dry time. Another great finish for necks, IMO, is boiled linseed oil. Thanks for the great video.
Looks good to me! Have you ever tried Crystlac Brite Tone mat finish? It's unbelievable finish however it takes more time and drying between coats but so smooth and slick when it's done
Tony…great stuff…I like what you said about paper towels being a fine grit sand paper…I’ve done the same with newspaper in these situations…I bet that neck feels amazing 👍
This sounds great, my question is this; can I use this method on the entire fretboard and neck that is maple. I don't know why I'm thinking I have to use lacquer on maple to seal it? 🤔
You used tru oil here which is supposed to make a somewhat glossy finish itself. I am concerned that I end up with a sticky neck again. Birchwood Casey also has a product called "Genuine Oil" which is supposed to make a silky finish. Does anyone have experience with genuine oil or had the same concerns as me?
Great vid, I’ve got an unfinished p-neck that I’m doing, I’ll probably do a couple of coats, the wax seems like it would also act as a sealent. I’m going to apply my logo on the headstock is rubber stamp and India ink, then poly it, with enough coats that is pops overtime, Thanks
Nice! Is it possible to apply the wax on a stained and sealed body? I would like to build an SG kit and I like the feel of bare wood. My idea was to first apply a black filler (to fill the pores and raise up the grain figure), then apply a vintage cherry stain. Instead of then apply a lacquer, could I put wax on? Thanks!
*You can always use a fine grit on finished necks with a little mineral oil and resurface it so it feels like an unfinished, silky smooth bare wood neck.* I've done countless necks with clear enamels, clear lacquers and clear poly then wet sanded it so it looks and feels unfinished but has the protection as an incognito finished neck. *In my experience, oil and wax finished necks will always eventually become "squirrely".* It might take 20 years or it might take 2, but they will eventually develop a mild twist to the left because most of us play right handed and our left hand curls up from that side of the neck. *That force eventually adds a twist and a bow, even if it takes 30 years.* Myself personally, nearly ever neck I've ever owned does it at the 2 year old point. *At that point, you need to heat press it back to it's flat and even former self.*
@@fpcawolff necks typically have a clear sealer on them. If it's a painted neck, it has both the paint and the clear coat on it and they are sticky or can be at times. If you use a fine scuffing pad or a very fine wet sandpaper, you can sand away the silicates at the top that have been polished to the surface so it's so shiny. That's what can sometimes make it sticky.
I also have a really dry rosewood finger board on a cheap chinese P bass ( probably not real rosewood but its not bleeding dye into the applicator cloth).I applied boiled linseed oil several thin coats. Can I do a final application with True oil?
Thank you for the tip, the Maple neck i have including the fretboard is untreated, could i also use the Tru-Oil and wax on the Fretboard (again Maple untreated) as well?
I'll bet going with a thin satin finish will give you better tone than a thick heavy finish. Looks great Tony 👍. Can't wait to hear your guitar when it's done.
For rosewood I personally would tape it off and not get Tru Oil on it. It is oiled naturally and doesn’t require finish. If your maple neck is not roasted, I personally would do more than one coat. Probably 2-3 thin costs whipping it off right away as he does. If the fretboard is unfinished maple then I would apply the oil on it as well. Ive seen some people do this process diluting the Tru Oil slightly with mineral spitting
I have several guitars. I do like the feel of the neck of the guitars with a wooden neck. For some reason, my hand doesn't flow as smooth and fast on glossy finished necks (compared to wooden necks). Any suggestion what I can do on the guitars with the glossy finish?
Hi Tony, can you put the wax on a maple fretboard the way you have on the back of your tele neck to give it some protection? Many thanks in advance, Mark
Typically a maple fretboard already is finished in poly and does not need any wax. Only if the fretboard is unfinished should you add wax for protection.
Pro tip. If you don't want to buy tru oil, or just want to get custom with it, you can just mix your own finish with urethane, tung or boiled linseed, and thin with spirits for hand rubbing. Really, you can just mix any concoction you want out of oil based coatings. That's all these premade ones are.
I have a couple of ultra thin coats of rub on poly followed by feed and wax. Not sure if I have enough protection on the neck. Can I go over that with a thin coat of true oil or should I first sand off the existing?
I think that to use wax is completely not necessary because it will come off after few sessions anyway, I apply the Tru-oil only, however I use few coats It stays put for years undisturbed.
Would I be able to sand down a Squier CV entirely (neck and body) and then treat it like this? Or would you advise against that idea? Thanks for the thourough info. Take care
If the neck is maple front and back it would be difficult to sand down the fret board side. You can however sand down the back side only. Not the best solution but it could work for you...
Interesting. I have a couple of Charvel guitars (Skatecaster, Desolation) that have an oiled finish mahogany necks, but I'm not sure of how to clean them and restore the smoothness they had since I've had them for a while, and I'm not sure how different they would react compared to other woods. Do you have any advice?
I’ve wood stained my neck red and then used 5 coats of tru oil.. problem is my thumb turns red when I play. Do you think this wax would seal it? Thanks man
No. Do not use Lacquer. It will defeat the purpose of a smooth satin finish. You will have Shiny neck, sweaty-hands and a stick to it while playing (unless that's the feel you prefer) ?
hi, so i recently got an unfinished neck from warmoth, & i want to do this exact method! that being said, the unfinished neck is an insanely pale, almost white maple on the back side, & it’s pretty ugly. will the oil/wax treatment stain it at all to make it just a bit darker?
Can i use any wax? i just remove some old poly from a guitar neck still has some orignal paint but there is some maple showing after i sanded of the loose poly do i need to wax or oil?
I've done handful of kit and scratch builds and I've almost exclusively work with truoil. But by no means does that make me an expert, but with only 1 coat of truoil I don't think it's doing much other than just absorbing into the wood. I would bet that if you just did the wax finish it would probably be indistinguishable from a neck with 1 coat of truoil. One recommendation however would be the thin the truoil with naptha or in my case lighter fluid (I live in a state where I can't legally buy actual naptha). Thanks for the video, I do close to a dozen coats of truoil, than do what I refer to an oil sand with truoil and 1500 grit sandpaper to level out and knock back the gloss, than apply renaissance wax for that silky smooth finish and a deep oiled wood look
1 coat (wiped off) of Tru-Oil then a thin coat of Feed'n'Wax... that can't protect the neck very much, can it? Might feel good, but how is it in a month? Do you need to reapply?
Your hand puts oil in the neck too, and think about butcher boards they see tons of abuse and get washed alot a little oil and wax protects wood for a very very long time. Tru Oil if youve never used it before is more like clear coat than oil. Ive finished gun stocks with and it last a lifetime.
Did I misunderstand, or did you say you waxed it first, then put on the Tru-Oil? That's backward... you don't want the wax on there when you put on the oil. If there is wax on it, remove it, then apply the oil. Any wax on there first will prevent (or at least reduce) the oil from absorbing into the wood, which you want. I think this is what you did probably, but the way you said it, it sounded like you still had wax on it when you applied the oil. I love oil on necks. I have used Tung Oil or sometimes BLO, followed by wax after really thorough drying, in addition to TruOil.
Oiling wood, there is a process. You oil it every day for one week. After that you oil it once a week for a month, after that you oil it once a month for a year. After that you oil the wood annually. This should be common knowledge but I can see some of your fathers have failed you.
Great stuff. You are the only guy who made this process: simple & easy to digest. Too many people on here making it like Brain Surgery. Neck looks silky-Smooth.
Thanks
I sit here with a brand new unfinished neck and followed your instructions. The result is perfect, thanks for sharing!!
Thanks, I was looking for someone just using one coat. I like as close to natural as possible.
Terrific idea. I’ll be doing it soon
thank you so much! I now have enough confident to try it out myself. Greetings!
fantastic - i have an old j45 neck that i tried this on. sanded to 600 and followed your steps. Worked great - pleasantly quick process. Thanks!
Do ALMOST the same process, but I set it in the sun until the excess disappears. Then I buff it with jeweler's rouge on the buffing wheel. Fantastic feel, with never any resistance
It is a great idea. It looks great there is no question it enhances tone. No paint or chemicals to deal with where screw ups can be very painful. You can safely clean it off maybe once a year and give it a fresh coat. Thanx
Thanks! I've never done the wax portion. This is super helpful!
Thanks for the Video. I somehow damaged my matt finished neck but I do not want it to be clear matt coated again so now I just sand it down, oil it with my Lemon oil and wax it to get it refinished.
Great video! Can confirm this is a quick and simple way to get a superior neck finish! Thanks Tony!
You bet!
If you want to speed up drying, add a few drops of Japan drier to the Tru Oil. The naphtha in the Japan solvent will dramatically speed up dry time. Another great finish for necks, IMO, is boiled linseed oil. Thanks for the great video.
Thanks for the tips!
Wow, looks great! Thanks Tony 😊
Looks good to me! Have you ever tried Crystlac Brite Tone mat finish? It's unbelievable finish however it takes more time and drying between coats but so smooth and slick when it's done
I like the thought of using that stuff, how many coats are you using?
Super Nice 👍 I’m definitely going to do one! Thanks Tony
Looks great. If I ever do a Tele I’m gonna do this.
Great job
What if you are applying decal? Should you skip the wax step? Thanks.
Maybe I missed it in the video but what grit did you send the neck to before you started?
Tony…great stuff…I like what you said about paper towels being a fine grit sand paper…I’ve done the same with newspaper in these situations…I bet that neck feels amazing 👍
It really does
This sounds great, my question is this; can I use this method on the entire fretboard and neck that is maple. I don't know why I'm thinking I have to use lacquer on maple to seal it? 🤔
wow, that is exactly what I was looking for to make mu necks as similar as my sterling and Music Man guitar necks.. can really be so similar?
You used tru oil here which is supposed to make a somewhat glossy finish itself. I am concerned that I end up with a sticky neck again. Birchwood Casey also has a product called "Genuine Oil" which is supposed to make a silky finish. Does anyone have experience with genuine oil or had the same concerns as me?
Great vid, I’ve got an unfinished p-neck that I’m doing, I’ll probably do a couple of coats, the wax seems like it would also act as a sealent. I’m going to apply my logo on the headstock is rubber stamp and India ink, then poly it, with enough coats that is pops overtime,
Thanks
Also would love to see the whole build with some noodling as a follow up
@@Nugmania1 check out my other videos. It’s in there…
Great job Tony. Thank you for sharing the process.
Thanks for watching!
Great channel and info my friend. :)
Just did it on a new bass with unfinished maple neck, came out great than
Hello is this only for bare necks i have one i plan to stain can i then do this on to of stain?
Great job! Thx!
Nice! Is it possible to apply the wax on a stained and sealed body? I would like to build an SG kit and I like the feel of bare wood. My idea was to first apply a black filler (to fill the pores and raise up the grain figure), then apply a vintage cherry stain. Instead of then apply a lacquer, could I put wax on? Thanks!
Thanks
Can I do this without removing neck from body or does the heal need to be done also
you can, but if you wanna do it right, I would take off the neck
Looks great Tony!
I also use Howards Feed & Wax exclusively on my guitars.
Does wonders for the fret board.
Agree - me too.
is it really supposed to be put on the fretboard
It's made for unfinished wood!@@Thresher-ls9zq
@@Thresher-ls9zqI’ve used it for years on all my son’s guitars. Well worth it.
*You can always use a fine grit on finished necks with a little mineral oil and resurface it so it feels like an unfinished, silky smooth bare wood neck.* I've done countless necks with clear enamels, clear lacquers and clear poly then wet sanded it so it looks and feels unfinished but has the protection as an incognito finished neck.
*In my experience, oil and wax finished necks will always eventually become "squirrely".* It might take 20 years or it might take 2, but they will eventually develop a mild twist to the left because most of us play right handed and our left hand curls up from that side of the neck. *That force eventually adds a twist and a bow, even if it takes 30 years.*
Myself personally, nearly ever neck I've ever owned does it at the 2 year old point. *At that point, you need to heat press it back to it's flat and even former self.*
Thanks for the info.
What does that have to do with the neck finish?
@@fpcawolff necks typically have a clear sealer on them. If it's a painted neck, it has both the paint and the clear coat on it and they are sticky or can be at times.
If you use a fine scuffing pad or a very fine wet sandpaper, you can sand away the silicates at the top that have been polished to the surface so it's so shiny.
That's what can sometimes make it sticky.
Fake news, total fake news. NEVER heard or even read about the issue of neck twist from regular playing.
What grit did you sand the neck to before applying the oil and wax?
Don't use anything lower then 600
Should I stain my one piece raw maple neck before using Tru Oil?
Great vid , like my music man .. any input on removing poli ?
A good quality stripper or a heargun would work.
If I was going to apply a headstock decal, should I do that prior to this?
I also have a really dry rosewood finger board on a cheap chinese P bass ( probably not real rosewood but its not bleeding dye into the applicator cloth).I applied boiled linseed oil several thin coats. Can I do a final application with True oil?
Thank you for the tip, the Maple neck i have including the fretboard is untreated, could i also use the Tru-Oil and wax on the Fretboard (again Maple untreated) as well?
Yes you can.
I'll bet going with a thin satin finish will give you better tone than a thick heavy finish. Looks great Tony 👍. Can't wait to hear your guitar when it's done.
how about the fretboard itself? Thanks!
I only hydrate the fretboad if it is rosewood or ebony. I don't for maple.
Great video ! What do you do for the fingerboard ?
What would you do for a raw maple fretboard ? Thanks
For rosewood I personally would tape it off and not get Tru Oil on it. It is oiled naturally and doesn’t require finish. If your maple neck is not roasted, I personally would do more than one coat. Probably 2-3 thin costs whipping it off right away as he does. If the fretboard is unfinished maple then I would apply the oil on it as well. Ive seen some people do this process diluting the Tru Oil slightly with mineral spitting
I have several guitars. I do like the feel of the neck of the guitars with a wooden neck. For some reason, my hand doesn't flow as smooth and fast on glossy finished necks (compared to wooden necks). Any suggestion what I can do on the guitars with the glossy finish?
Hi Tony, can you put the wax on a maple fretboard the way you have on the back of your tele neck to give it some protection? Many thanks in advance, Mark
Typically a maple fretboard already is finished in poly and does not need any wax. Only if the fretboard is unfinished should you add wax for protection.
Pro tip. If you don't want to buy tru oil, or just want to get custom with it, you can just mix your own finish with urethane, tung or boiled linseed, and thin with spirits for hand rubbing. Really, you can just mix any concoction you want out of oil based coatings. That's all these premade ones are.
Thanks for the info!
I notice the fret tangs/nibs aren't visible on the side of the fretboard. Does this neck have black binding?
I have a couple of ultra thin coats of rub on poly followed by feed and wax. Not sure if I have enough protection on the neck. Can I go over that with a thin coat of true oil or should I first sand off the existing?
Could this method be used successfully on an entire unfinished guitar body? Would only one coat of Truoil provide lasting protection?
It would probably need more than just one cot but yes it would work. Truoil is used to protect gunstocks all the time which get more abuse overall.
I think that to use wax is completely not necessary because it will come off after few sessions anyway, I apply the Tru-oil only, however I use few coats It stays put for years undisturbed.
Wax is more for the feel than anything else...
What do you think regarding the application of the feed and wax in general (not only on the neck) on satin finishes?
It’s good for hydration but will need to be reapplied regularly
Would I be able to sand down a Squier CV entirely (neck and body) and then treat it like this? Or would you advise against that idea? Thanks for the thourough info. Take care
If the neck is maple front and back it would be difficult to sand down the fret board side. You can however sand down the back side only. Not the best solution but it could work for you...
Interesting. I have a couple of Charvel guitars (Skatecaster, Desolation) that have an oiled finish mahogany necks, but I'm not sure of how to clean them and restore the smoothness they had since I've had them for a while, and I'm not sure how different they would react compared to other woods. Do you have any advice?
A little 00 or 000 steel wool would do the job.
спасибо!!!классно!!!
I’ve wood stained my neck red and then used 5 coats of tru oil.. problem is my thumb turns red when I play. Do you think this wax would seal it? Thanks man
The true oil may not be completly dry yet. Give it more time.
Tony what neck is that? I like the profile. I guess is like MM Axis.
Its a neck from Guitar Anatomy...Cheers!
Is this better then satin lacquer? And will it protect the wood from absorbing moisture real good?
The wax will help avoid the moisture seeping into the wood, but I think lacquer would actually work better. It's more a question of feel.
@addictedtogear would i every have to reaply the wax after a while?
No. Do not use Lacquer. It will defeat the purpose of a smooth satin finish. You will have Shiny neck, sweaty-hands and a stick to it while playing (unless that's the feel you prefer) ?
hi, so i recently got an unfinished neck from warmoth, & i want to do this exact method! that being said, the unfinished neck is an insanely pale, almost white maple on the back side, & it’s pretty ugly. will the oil/wax treatment stain it at all to make it just a bit darker?
It will make it a little darker yes.
@@addictedtogearright on, thanks!
How did it work out for you? I’m about to do the same thing.
The feed n wax is good for the fretboard? Is it rosewood or ebony?
Yea it’s good for both
Is the wax required? I passed the oil and let it dry should i still apply the oil?noe thst the oil is dry still ok tk add the wax
No it's not required however it does provide an additional layer of protection.
Does tru oil work well if you stain your neck first?
Yes, you can also apply the stain in with the TrueOil depending on the type...
Can i use any wax? i just remove some old poly from a guitar neck still has some orignal paint but there is some maple showing after i sanded of the loose poly do i need to wax or oil?
Best to use a good quality wax for wood.
More cool stuff I can do to my guitar and possibly ruin it oh well it was 200$ so what do I have to loose
I've done handful of kit and scratch builds and I've almost exclusively work with truoil. But by no means does that make me an expert, but with only 1 coat of truoil I don't think it's doing much other than just absorbing into the wood. I would bet that if you just did the wax finish it would probably be indistinguishable from a neck with 1 coat of truoil. One recommendation however would be the thin the truoil with naptha or in my case lighter fluid (I live in a state where I can't legally buy actual naptha). Thanks for the video, I do close to a dozen coats of truoil, than do what I refer to an oil sand with truoil and 1500 grit sandpaper to level out and knock back the gloss, than apply renaissance wax for that silky smooth finish and a deep oiled wood look
Thanks for the tip. Your technique sounds solid.
Have you tried applying oil with steel wool method?
I don't like how the steel wool shavings stick to the surface.
1 coat (wiped off) of Tru-Oil then a thin coat of Feed'n'Wax... that can't protect the neck very much, can it? Might feel good, but how is it in a month? Do you need to reapply?
Your hand puts oil in the neck too, and think about butcher boards they see tons of abuse and get washed alot a little oil and wax protects wood for a very very long time. Tru Oil if youve never used it before is more like clear coat than oil. Ive finished gun stocks with and it last a lifetime.
Did I misunderstand, or did you say you waxed it first, then put on the Tru-Oil? That's backward... you don't want the wax on there when you put on the oil. If there is wax on it, remove it, then apply the oil. Any wax on there first will prevent (or at least reduce) the oil from absorbing into the wood, which you want. I think this is what you did probably, but the way you said it, it sounded like you still had wax on it when you applied the oil. I love oil on necks. I have used Tung Oil or sometimes BLO, followed by wax after really thorough drying, in addition to TruOil.
Oil first wax after.
If you do that on a Warmoth neck they will void your warranty.
Probably, but I don't need to stinking warranty! LOL
I use the blood of my victims…
Can u put this on nitro to darken the maple?
Yes you can.
@@addictedtogear thanks!
Oiling wood, there is a process.
You oil it every day for one week. After that you oil it once a week for a month, after that you oil it once a month for a year. After that you oil the wood annually.
This should be common knowledge but I can see some of your fathers have failed you.