Maple Guitar Neck refinish

[Walker]

Hello,

   I would like to refinish a Fender Squier Affinity Stratocaster guitar. To the best of my information, the neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard. The fingerboard will not be refinished. The maple appears to have a thin coat of a satin polyurethane clear finish. I was wondering if a tinted wipe on polyurethane finish would work to cover the existing finish. If so, any suggestions for brands or techniques would be appreciated.

   The body will be stripped and then painted. This I should probably ask in a seperate questions.

Thanks for any assistance

Walker

[TerryMcK]

It might be poly but knowing Fender it might be an acrylic finish on the cheaper Squire range - difficult to say without looking at the spec of Squires. Coating it with shellac before coating with something like General Finishes Arm R Seal might work. You will end up with a thick feel to the neck though.

I personally would rub it back to wood and coat it with satin nitro cellulose out of a rattle can.

[bob493]

All squiers are painted with polyester resin clear coats, not polyurethane (I'm 10000% positive on this). Applying another type of clear over top would  not be the correct way. You should strip it back and paint. That said, unless you're unhappy with the color, I would leave well enough alone. The fretboard has no finish at all, except on the sides. 

 

If you do sand back, the side of the fretboard should be sealed, CA would work best. 

 

Wipe on poly would be an absolutely terrible finish for a guitar neck. It will not be truly hard, and when you rub your hand up and down it will get sticky. 

 

 

edit: while Im on the subject, since you're asking this type of question, and working on a squier, I will assume this will be a "First go" kinda thing. Do yourself a favor -> TAKE YOUR TIME. Rushing a project is a good way to get a guitar looking like crap. I've refinished around 100 guitars in the past year or so, and here are some things to consider 

 

1) dont skimp on sandpaper, and make sure you work through the grits properly. GOOD sandpaper will cost you more, but ultimately is totally worth it. Mirka sandpaper is the best I've ever used, and I feel I've used them all. Its not horribly expensive on amazon.

 

2) paint properly. You can get a decent result with rattle cans (recommend you get some "real" paint, but I appreciate cost is a factor for these things), but you must take your time and do it right. Don't lay color and try to clear a couple hours later.  Don't use polyurethane anything. Nitro or 2k on the body; nitro, 2k or oil on the neck. Polyurethane is ok for furniture, not for guitars. 

 

3) In general when "poly" is mentioned on a guitar, they are speaking of polyester resin, not polyurethane. Fender is the only company that has used a polyurethane to my knowledge. They also used a very expensive UV cleared polyurethane that the average joe cant use anyway. 

[Walker]

It might be poly but knowing Fender it might be an acrylic finish on the cheaper Squire range - difficult to say without looking at the spec of Squires. Coating it with shellac before coating with something like General Finishes Arm R Seal might work. You will end up with a thick feel to the neck though.

I personally would rub it back to wood and coat it with satin nitro cellulose out of a rattle can.

Hello TerryMcK,

    Thank you for the advice and experience. I am pretty sure it is poly. Was trying to get the vintage amber tint on the neck in satin and maybe gloss the top of the headstock. I will certainly double check the finish. Kind of afraid of the spray can and the required attention to between coat sandings and such. Done some cheap wood chair with paint on and some gunstocks with tru-oil. But will keep the information on file in case it turns out the best. You shouldn't put nitro over poly, correct?

Walker

[Walker]

All squiers are painted with polyester resin clear coats, not polyurethane (I'm 10000% positive on this). Applying another type of clear over top would  not be the correct way. You should strip it back and paint. That said, unless you're unhappy with the color, I would leave well enough alone. The fretboard has no finish at all, except on the sides. 

 

If you do sand back, the side of the fretboard should be sealed, CA would work best. 

 

Wipe on poly would be an absolutely terrible finish for a guitar neck. It will not be truly hard, and when you rub your hand up and down it will get sticky. 

 

 

edit: while Im on the subject, since you're asking this type of question, and working on a squier, I will assume this will be a "First go" kinda thing. Do yourself a favor -> TAKE YOUR TIME. Rushing a project is a good way to get a guitar looking like crap. I've refinished around 100 guitars in the past year or so, and here are some things to consider 

 

1) dont skimp on sandpaper, and make sure you work through the grits properly. GOOD sandpaper will cost you more, but ultimately is totally worth it. Mirka sandpaper is the best I've ever used, and I feel I've used them all. Its not horribly expensive on amazon.

 

2) paint properly. You can get a decent result with rattle cans (recommend you get some "real" paint, but I appreciate cost is a factor for these things), but you must take your time and do it right. Don't lay color and try to clear a couple hours later.  Don't use polyurethane anything. Nitro or 2k on the body; nitro, 2k or oil on the neck. Polyurethane is ok for furniture, not for guitars. 

 

3) In general when "poly" is mentioned on a guitar, they are speaking of polyester resin, not polyurethane. Fender is the only company that has used a polyurethane to my knowledge. They also used a very expensive UV cleared polyurethane that the average joe cant use anyway. 

Hello bob493,

   Thank you for the information and advice. Looks like I have more research and planning ahead. The guitar is a bolt on neck with a rosewood fingerboard. I was going to tape that off. Didn't want to strip or sand the neck so I didn't mess up the decals and such. The quitar is very inexpensive. Was hoping to have some fun and learn some stuff. All seems to depend on what the neck finish is. My inexperience also shows in my inability to understand your standard abreviations, like CA and 2K.

Walker

[Walker]

Double checked the Squier/Fender website and it specifically mentions polyurethane for the body and the neck finish. So then maybe a spray tinted poly might be used????? Use naptha to clean?

Thanks again!!

Walker

[Tom Cancelleri]

I find this to be a good finish

http://www.lmii.com/products/finishing/finishes/ktm-%E2%80%93-water-based-finish

[Tpt life]

Polyester. Polyurethane is not well suited to long hours in sweaty hands.

[TerryMcK]

It's difficult to determine what Fender use nowadays nitro, (poly) urethane or polyester. Their website is a little confusing http://www.fender.com/news/finishing-touches/ although as Bob says it's most likely polyester. Tough as old boots BTW.

Rub back to bare wood and put some nitro on is my advice. And no don't try to put nitro over the top of polyester polyurethane. You can even buy replacement decals if you want. Although I wouldn't touch a headstock front myself. Try to leave the serial number untouched too.

A rattle can is easy to do. Don't put heavy coats on as it will run, mask the fretboard with masking tape/newspaper, and put a few coats on. I reckon 10 to 12 thin coats of nitro is good for a neck rubbing down very lightly with 1000 grit wet between coats. That'll be around 1/2 to 3/4 of a 400ml can.

Leave finish off at the neck to body joint and try to get wood to wood join. Much better for sustain.

[Walker]

I find this to be a good finish

http://www.lmii.com/products/finishing/finishes/ktm-%E2%80%93-water-based-finish

Thanks much. Will investigate and see it's properties over polyurethane. Still reluctant to strip the neck......

Walker

[Walker]

image.jpg

Polyester. Polyurethane is not well suited to long hours in sweaty hands.

Howdy C Shaffer,

     My model is the Affinity, just above the cheapest version and it shows that it is the polyurethane.

Thanks for your time!

Walker

[Walker]

It's difficult to determine what Fender use nowadays nitro, (poly) urethane or polyester. Their website is a little confusing http://www.fender.com/news/finishing-touches/ although as Bob says it's most likely polyester. Tough as old boots BTW.

Rub back to bare wood and put some nitro on is my advice. And no don't try to put nitro over the top of polyester polyurethane. You can even buy replacement decals if you want. Although I wouldn't touch a headstock front myself. Try to leave the serial number untouched too.

A rattle can is easy to do. Don't put heavy coats on as it will run, mask the fretboard with masking tape/newspaper, and put a few coats on. I reckon 10 to 12 thin coats of nitro is good for a neck rubbing down very lightly with 1000 grit wet between coats. That'll be around 1/2 to 3/4 of a 400ml can.

Leave finish off at the neck to body joint and try to get wood to wood join. Much better for sustain.

Howdy TerryMcK,

     If as it shows on the above snippet, that the finish is indeed polyurethane than I must stick to polyurethane should I not  choose to sand the old finish off, correct?

Thanks for the help!

Walker

[bob493]

Wasn't aware the affinities were polyurethane, my bad. But again, the polyurethane they use is a UV cured product, and NOT what you get off the shelf from lowes. Fender brand for the MIM and USA models use PPG polyester resin, and behlin for their nitro.  

 

You're still either better off leaving well enough alone OR sanding it down and starting from scratch. Why are you afraid to strip the neck? Unless you REALLY go nuts with 40 grit on a power sander, you're not gonna screw anything up. Even though its a cheap guitar, you may as well do it right.  Putting off the shelf polyurethane over their product won't give you a good result. 

[Walker]

Wasn't aware the affinities were polyurethane, my bad. But again, the polyurethane they use is a UV cured product, and NOT what you get off the shelf from lowes. Fender brand for the MIM and USA models use PPG polyester resin, and behlin for their nitro.  

 

You're still either better off leaving well enough alone OR sanding it down and starting from scratch. Why are you afraid to strip the neck? Unless you REALLY go nuts with 40 grit on a power sander, you're not gonna screw anything up. Even though its a cheap guitar, you may as well do it right.  Putting off the shelf polyurethane over their product won't give you a good result. 

Hey there bob493,

   There are several possible problem areas, I envision. My lack of experience, The edges of the fretboard and the fretwires and I guess I am stuck, no matter what, the care and technique of sanding between coats of finish. I was hoping for a cleaning of the neck, some coats of rattle-can, steel wool type of thing. Not looking so good now!!

Appreciate you time and knowledge, thanks

Walker

[Walker]

A modification of the question. If I wanted to leave the top of the headstock unsanded, and just tint coat it with a polyurethane, is there a product that could be suggested? I would do the light coat and wet sanding. This would allow me to try to match the rest of the neck with a nitro tinted satin finish. Or would something like Tru-oil, Danish oil or something similar be effective?

Thanx

W

[wtnhighlander]

I think poor adhesion would be an issue if you try to layer another finish over the poly without at least 'scuff sanding' to provide some texture. Cured polyurathane does not re-dissolve and bond with later coats the way shellac does.

[bob493]

Hey there bob493,

   There are several possible problem areas, I envision. My lack of experience, The edges of the fretboard and the fretwires and I guess I am stuck, no matter what, the care and technique of sanding between coats of finish. I was hoping for a cleaning of the neck, some coats of rattle-can, steel wool type of thing. Not looking so good now!!

Appreciate you time and knowledge, thanks

Walker

 

 

 

Don't get experience by not doing things  

 

It's not as bad as you think it is, give it a go. Just work slow, not in a hurry. 

[Walker]

I think poor adhesion would be an issue if you try to layer another finish over the poly without at least 'scuff sanding' to provide some texture. Cured polyurathane does not re-dissolve and bond with later coats the way shellac does.

Good Day wtnhighlander,

   Another bit of I didn't know that. I can do that.... Thanks for the tip!

Walker

[Walker]

Don't get experience by not doing things

 

It's not as bad as you think it is, give it a go. Just work slow, not in a hurry. 

Isn't that the truth!! I've read on a guitar forum of various success of shooting nitro over polyurethane on guitar necks. Again I come back to the head stock front and back, because of the decals. It is stated that the StewMac tinted spray over a scuffed coat of poly would work, or not. Supposedly Fender has done this????

The rest of the neck I am relegated to sanding down and using the nitro. This seems to indicate I would have to seal the raw wood. Another question!!

Is this a possibility?

Thanks again.

Walker

[bob493]

You can spray nitro over polyurethane, that would work. Pointless, but it would work. And yes, fender did that... I wanna say on the original Highway 1 guitars? Im not sure, but I know they did that because I remember the annoyed feeling I got when I read about it lol. What decals are on the back of an affinity anyway? 

 

Maple is extremely tight grained, and does not "need" sealing, but a coat of shellac never hurt anything. I don't bother sealing maple necks anymore, as its a useless extra strep. I might be getting around to finishing my EBMM neck today, so check out my journal if you'd like to see my process.