Refinish a maple board.

[fett]

I have this maple neck that just about all the finish off of it. We are not talking about a little finger wear. The board has lost 90% of the finish. It is dark and I am not sure how much of that is dirt. My inclination is to use a razor and clean it up. Is there anything I can use to lighten up the board? Once it is clean, do I just give it light spray of "What"? This is a USA Fender neck and I don't want to screw it up. Help me.

[toejam]

It's probably all dirt if there's not much finish left on it. Just use some lemon oil and a tootbrush, scrub hard. You can try some naptha first, if you want, as well as a razor blade. You don't really need a finish on a maple board (like Jackson and Charvel ), and I think Fender's clear gloss is too thick and doesn't feel all that great. If you do want a finish so it won't get as dirty over time, use a very light matte satin finish like Carvin does.

[fett]

Thanks Toe. I'll do the blade 'cus there is still some finish hugging the frets. I'll do the satin as well. I just didn't want to do one of my: "I'll try it out and see if it works." The neck is too sweet and it's an '83.

[fett]

I just saw other thread on the same topic. Sorry for the redundancy.

[Budman68]

fett, if you don't like the idea of scraping all the wood away, you can try using some bleach to lighten the wood and the stains that are in it. Be aware that it does dry out the wood though so be sure to condition as well.

Personally, single edge razor blades are one of the best tools for guitar work, they're essential!

I like to use the utility knife kind for when I need a good heavy "scraper" type blade and then get the really thin ones with the "spine" on one side for light duty work.

[fett]

Razor blades and a Swiss Army knife. I thought about bleach. And I may still try it. What's the worse that could happen? A reliced guitar?

[len]

What's the worse that could happen? A reliced guitar?

:ROTF:
i am still trying to figure out the whole reliced guitar thing..

[slash]

:ROTF:
i am still trying to figure out the whole reliced guitar thing..

Don't get me started on that one.

[Bengal65]

Does the neck have a hard finish on it, like a Fender? If you want to get it off with out scratching the fretboard and sanding it back, try some paint stripper after all the dirt is off. Then you can go do an oil job on it after some light sanding with 600 grit.

[sully]

yeah, but if you put stripper on the fretboard, you may lose your inlays. strippers have been known to melt them. i'm with dave; razor blades are indispensible when it comes to tech stuff.

what is the end result you're looking for? just to clean the neck up? hit it with some naptha on a rag to clean it up, scrape the rest of the clear off (if you're so inclined), then oil that bad boy up!

sully

[Jackson-Charvel]

On an average how long does it take for oil to soak in an unfinished Maple fretboard? Seems like I recall it taking quite alot longer due to the tighter pores than say Rosewood. Like overnight on the fretboard kind of longer...

[fett]

I'm just testing to see if I get that nasty message.

[sully]

On an average how long does it take for oil to soak in an unfinished Maple fretboard? Seems like I recall it taking quite alot longer due to the tighter pores than say Rosewood. Like overnight on the fretboard kind of longer...

i wouldn't leave oil on for longer than a couple of minutes. you may need to do another coat, but that's not a big deal.