How To Relic A Guitar Neck|Quick & Easy
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2020
- In this video I show you how to relic a guitar neck. I start by showing you how to sand it down with 220-320 grit sanding pads. Next how to apply a stain to the wood along with a finish to protect the natural wood. This video is for all guitar players who don't like the stickiness on the back of their guitar necks due to the lacquer that is used. I show you how to go about removing this and applying a new and easy wood finish to give you a smooth and natural feel.
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Supplies:
Klingspor Sanding Foam Pads
Stewmac Tobacco Brown Stain
Linseed Oil and Beeswax mix from Stewmac
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This is *EXACTLY* the kind of process I was looking for! I've got a Friedman Vintage-T and a AVRI Strat that both have this kind of "bare wood" relic'ed neck, and I love the way both feel. I've been wanting to do the same to a couple other guitars of mine, but was never really satisfied with the other videos/websites that I had found online... this was laid out so simply, so straight-forward that I actually think I could do this, now! Thanks!
Did you do it? I also have a Vintage T-love it. Almost as much as my Nash T-57. Looking to reproduce that feel with an MIM Strat.
@@CentaurusRelax314 I did end up doing it on a G&L ASAT (aka, Tele) of mine... maple neck, no paint/finish... it doesn't feel *exactly* like my Friedman, but that's probably much more about my execution of the project. I think this process is still the best/most straightforward process I've found, so I'm going to try it on a couple of other guitars that I have.
And yeah, that Friedman neck is just fantastic all around...
Love the relic look!
Beautiful work man, thanks for passing on the inspiration
Thanks Greg!
That matte black with the double binding is beautiful!
Thank you!
Nice tips thanks. That tele looks absolutely amazing.
Thank you!
That headstock is amazing
I’m old school, I played my guitar for more than 30 years,and hey presto, it is now officially a relic.😉
Amazing craftsmanship
Great point about the linseed oil catching fire. Seen it personally.
That's wild ! I never knew it would do that. Good thing I watched this video beforehand lol
Great info…. Thank you ! Like how u keep it simple, but you know woods ! 👍🏼👍🏼
Great video, I like how you gave the reasons for your process. I have done some things similarly, I like to spray nitro on the neck then sand back the wear spots, but I think it's probably about the same result at the end. Thanks for sharing!
Great job! Now I'm waiting for a tutorial about that amazin open grain finish!!!!
The best way to practice, is with a friend's guitar
😂
🤣
We don’t want it to look fake lol but we are faking it. Awesome, thanks 🙏. I’m also trying to relic my SG.
Very good result! 👍👏
gotta say....I've always thought Teles are hideous, but yours looks killer!! Good job!
True oil also works great
I love Tru-oil, especially finishing full guitar bodies with it!
Hey man. I love this video. Can you make one talking about the steps of painting a guitar? I’m trying to paint a parts caster, and want to give it a relic nitro look.
Thanks man! Yeah I can work on making a detailed painting video in the future!
Beautiful work man
Thanks a lot!
Love your work ! Any chance you could tell us what kind of tint you used for the head stock ?
It looks amazing !!
Thank you! Yes, so I use several tints. I mix both the neck amber and tobacco brown tints from Stewmac together with the clear coat until I achieve the tint I'm going for. If you don't have a spray setup of your own and are using aerosols, then I would recommend using the tinted clear coat from Stewmac, that will give you a nice brown tint. Then you can use the tinted neck amber from Reranch which will give you a slightly more orange tint. I will very very lightly apply both until I achieve the look I want. Make sure that you use a main clear coat first to build up the base and give you a level surface, and then finish it off with the tinted coats, then one more clear on top to avoid sand throughs of the tinted coats. Just makes sure you don't spray on bare wood w/o a sealer coat b/c the pigment will bleed into the pores of the wood and look terrible. Hope that helps!
@@VanHoutenBuilds could you help me with links 😭🙏🏼 ive been really wanting to do this for the longest time but i couldnt find the right products. I would really appreciate!
Cool. Also like your range of slacks.
awesome job!
Thanks!
That is one sexy guitar! That open grain finish on the body with that gold pickguard looks so good! Then the headstock looks incredible too!
Thanks Doug! I'm super happy with the way it turned out!
Nice one, thanks for sharing 👍
I held my neck and stencilled around my hand while holding an f major open chord. Sanding back from there uoto around the 12 fret. Graphite and fill it in. Sanding sealer over the bare wood. Satin nitro for the rest and into the freezer for checking.
Thanks man! Not gonna lie, I thought the whole not painting the entire neck was a mistake and would never look blended, but it came out awesome.
I am about to do this on my latest build. Fingers crossed.
Thanks! Good luck, feel free to reach out with any questions!
Hello, just found your channel, awesome stuff. If you have time I have a question, I bought an expensive used Tele that had a lot of wax type substance in the neck pocket and being an idiot I scraped all of it off assuming it was the previous owner who did it. I now realize it was probably from the factory. After doing that and lightly adjusting the truss rod I feel that the guitar is way less resonant. Should I bring the guitar to a luthier to add the wax back or is it the slight truss rod adjustment that deadened the instrument? The guitar was extremely resonant before and now it’s still very resonant but not like before. Sorry if the question is dumb!
Hi Anna,
I'm honestly not sure what that wax substance would have been. That is not something you would typically find in a guitar cavity. Pickups can be wax potted, but other than that it seems weird that the neck pocket would be full of wax. It also seems weird that it affected your resonance. If remove material around where the neck meets the body it can affect how much vibration you get throughout the guitar. I would recommend taking it into a luthier to help you identify what it could have been and how it may have affected your resonance.
Looks great man! I have a guitar with a gloss poly finish I would like to this to. Noticed your neck was bare wood, and started with the 230. Do you recommend starting on a different grit if the gloss poly is on there? Thank you.
I would recommend starting with the 230 and working down to the bare wood. After you've removed all of the finish, then start working your way up to 600, make sure to pop the grain several times. Then apply the linseed/beeswax to the wood. Let it soak overnight and then start sanding it up to 2000 grit, until it's smooth.
I love the gold transparent pickguard. Do you know where I can find one like it? good job on the Relic
Thanks! Yeah so I make them myself. I cut them out of plexi, mask the top side and spray with gold spray paint! There aren't any companies that I'm aware of that make those gretsch style transparent pickguards for other styles like a tele. However, you can buy a transparent pickguard online(ebay or reverb), tape off the top side and spray paint the underside gold! It's super easy and looks fantastic! Just make sure to go on light with the fist coat as you want it to be as even as possible.
@@VanHoutenBuilds Thanks I am going to give a try..super!
This is such useful info! Thank you. I’m curious how you obtained the aged yellow color for the rest of the neck. Stew Mac and other nitro brands have so many different amber/brown/etc nitro sprays and I’m confused about which ones to use
It's a mix and match. Before I had a spray setup, when I used rattle cans, I would spray with the reranch neck amber and also with the stewmac tinted lacquer. I would mix them until I achieved the color I wanted. Now with a spary setup, I mix in both of the stewmac, vintage amber and tobacco brown, colortone dyes until I achieve the tone I want. Just remember it's super easy to overdue it, less is more. and you can always lay down a bunch of light tinted coats to build up to the color you want.
@@VanHoutenBuilds Thank you so much
Love your video, waht did you use for staining the headstock if I may ask ? tx
I used a tinted lacquer top coat from target coatings. It's a nitro replacement. I mixed in the stew mac stain to it until I achieved the amber color I wanted, then sprayed it on.
after you put on the liquid stain you sand it again before using the truoil, did i get that right? what grainsize? and after you let the oil dry you polish with a very smooth sandpaper right?
Yes, I lightly sand after staining to knock back any grain that has popped up. You can use anywhere from 400-800. Then I oil. After oiling and cure time, I sand again with higher grits until I achieve the look and feel that I'm going for.
Hi, did I get it right, instead of Liquid stain, you could put a quadruple steel wool in a glas with vinegar and wait until it results in some brown water you could then put on with a paper towel?
Yeah! That's one way you can do it. It will bring out the tannins in the wood. You won't have as much control over the color as each wood contains a different amount of tannin. After applying the vinegar mixture and letting it dry, you would still want to apply a protective oil like one I mentioned.
This is a great video! thanks man! I just bought the liquid stain & linseed oil from Stewmac, but I got a little bit confused... do u pop the grain after u fine sanding the neck or before? and what type of sandpaper u used after you pop it cuz in the video it seems u used 320 grits, isn't that too aggressive after a fine sanding?
Hey there! Glad the video was helpful! So you will want to pop the grain after fine sanding. The 320 pads I use are pretty dull and worn out so they aren't too aggressive. You also don't want to go up too high in grit, because you want the oil to penetrate the woodgrain. So I wouldn't go up more than #400 before applying oil. After applying the oil and it has "cured," then I sand with 1500-3000 grit for an ultra smooth feel. Also make sure to sand with the wood grain and not in a circular motion. Hope that helps clarify!
@@VanHoutenBuilds Ohh ok, thank for the tips man! so to clear it out- the prosses is: pop the grain, sand it with 320 sandpaper X3 than to put the woodstain sand it again with 800-1200, oil it and sand it with higher grit? and also how much time should I wait for the woodstain and the oil to get dry?
@@amitaykehaty3483 So pop grain, sand with 320, then pop grain and sand again two more times. Just enough to remove the wood fibers that rise after popped. Then apply stain. After that dries, 20ish minutes, lightly sand with 800-1200. Oil and then let it sit for 12-24 hours, then lightly buff with 3000+ grit sand paper or a terry cloth. Hope that helps!
@@VanHoutenBuilds Thanks man!! thanks for the great videos I'm really grateful, keep upload stuff love that channel!!
i have a natural relic on my jackson guitar neck, i just bought it second hand, the back of the neck looks so dark, and i can feel the neck joint near the headstock, should i worry about it?, my concerne is if my sweat constantly suck into the joint and make it moldy, damp and crack, (i'm a sweaty palm guy), should i put a glossy finish on it?
I would recommend cleaning it very well and then either using shellac or tru oil to fill that area in.
Going to try this on my guitar! How do tru oil and tried and true linseed oil compare?
I prefer Tried and True linseed oil. It soaks into the wood offering protection from the inside out and has a much more natural soft feel to it. The tru-oil hardens on top of the wood almost like a shell and protects from the outside. It doesn't feel as natural to me. It's a bit different.
I just stained my telecaster neck with instant coffee and seal it with furniture wax and then sand it with 3500 grit. I looks and feels pretty much the same. :)
Bro your sur name is perfect “van houten” means “ from woods” in dutch 🇳🇱
Yes, I know! Haha. Thank you! Maybe that's why I love wood working so much!
I was thinking about getting a good stock wood stain kit for a fearless guitar project I’m about to start. Any thoughts?
You can honestly get some great looks with the Minwax stains from Home Depot, otherwise Stewmac has pretty basic/decent stains. Just make sure you use the correct top coat for oil vs. water based stains.
@@VanHoutenBuilds I got the kit at cabelas. It had a stain, oil and a “ stock sheen” made by birchwood Casey. Either way the stain I didn’t like and got some minwax early American 230. Coming out good so far. Giving the oil 7 days as directed before I put the sheen and conditioner on as directed.
Love the tele! Did you buy the body and paint it or?
Thanks! No, I did not buy the body, I do my builds from scratch, necks and bodies. So I go down to the lumber yard and hand pick the wood I want to use, then I mill it and glue up the blanks, then route everything out. I also do all of the painting myself as well.
I always wondered about putting some abrasive on a fingerless glove and playing the guitar for natural wear....
Sounds extremely uncomfortable, but there's only one way to find out what will happen. Voice in the back of my head...."do it." haha
Do you have a video showing how to do the open grain on the body?
I don't yet, but I'll add it to the list! Thanks for the suggestion!
Do i put the tru oil over a clear laqer? Or how do i do that, do i use the tru oil as a finish
No, you should apply the tru-oil directly onto the wood. You will build up coat by coat of true oil until you get the finish you want. Basically you apply a thin coat directly to the wood and let it cure for a day or two, then hit it with some 0000 steel wool, then reapply another thin coat. You can do that over and over again until you achieve the finish you want. You can also polish it out too, if you want. Tru-oil form a kind of shell like finish similar to lacquer. It does not absorb into the wood like the other oils.
Hey, great video. I’m very eager to try this on my vintera 70s jazz bass. It’s got a gloss urothane finish. What do you recommend to start sanding the back to get to the point where your video begins? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Hey David! I'm actually putting a video out on this soon! I tend to avoid using a palm sander too much on the back of the neck b/c it can easily take off too much material. If I do, I will use around a 220 grit at the beginning and remove the top layer of finish with that. Then switch to a foam style sanding block before I get to the wood. I usually don't go below 150 grit to avoid making to deep of scratches. I will also not completely take off all of the finish towards the headstock and at the heal b/c I want it to look as natural as possible. I will almost fade the old finish out on the ends with sanding. I keep the sanding around 220-400 and then stain and finish it out like in the video.
@@VanHoutenBuildsdid this every come out?
So neck was first finished. Then you removed a section of finish, right? What were the Sandi g steps you used for that?
I'm looking to relic/age more so along the top and bottom back edges of the fretboard (as opposed to full back meat of the neck). Assume I can use these same techniques to my small/thinner sections.
Thank you for the video.
Hey Keith! I didn't finish the whole back of the neck just to cut down on sanding time. I overspray the finish at the headstock and the heel and then sand it back so that it looks more natural. I start with 220-320 grit, then around 400-600, then 1000, then 2000-3200. Up to you how smooth you want it. Yeah you can use the same technique for the top and bottom edges of the fretboard. Good luck!
@@VanHoutenBuilds thx, think i got it. I'm actually doing this with a neck that's already finished, so I assume I have to get to bare wood, before I can do that tinting and oil finish??
Hey mate, I’m back, what would be your process for getting the relic style on the front of the guitar? Like in between the frets? On a maple board?
For a maple board I would first find a picture of a relic that you really like or the look you are trying to achieve so that you can reference it. Leave a pair of strings on the guitar so that you will know where to relic in between them. You can use an exacto knife with a rounded blade to get the lacquer removal started. I wouldn't go all the way to the edges of the wear lines. I would then take a higher grit sand paper, 400-800 grit, and start sanding the finger marks until you achieve the look you're going for. After you've removed as much lacquer as you're comfortable with, then start playing. Your fingers will darken up those areas of the wood pretty quickly. I'll add this to my video list for when I have my new shop finished out!
Awesome. Thank you so much. I’ll take some of the gunk poo water mix to it too when I’m ready to darken things up a bit. I’m thinking to work on the headstock too to kind of get a consistent look to it. So it matches the rest of the guitar as much as possible.
Hey mate, thank you for being so awesome about my questions. I’m currently relic’ing a classic vibe neck and I didn’t want to misrepresent so I sanded off the logo, side note, classic vibe logos are UNDER the gloss coat. Any advice for making this section look more “natural relic?”
Also, what would you charge for me to send you the neck to relic?
@@LukeHammer41 Yes, all waterslide logos are under the lacquer just above the sealer coat, almost like a lacquer sandwich. I've done this to a couple of my classic vibe guitars as well. I sand down the whole neck to bare wood and refinish it in nitro. That way I can apply a new custom decal and tint the lacquer how I want it to look. It's very difficult to relic a poly type of finish and make it look convincing/authentic.
Nuevo sub!!! Buen video!!!
Where can you get the sand pads? Every hardware store I look they don’t have anything in stock or nothing with super fine grit
You will have to order them directly from Klingspor. They are top quality and will last for a long time.
Is there a video about how you tinted the head stock??
I'm actually working on filming a video about that right now! I use an acrylic lacquer (Target Coatings - EM6000) and stew mac tints do get the color I'm looking for. If you don't have a spray system, you can also buy the stew mac nitro tinted lacquer which works really well in combination with reranch neck amber in rattle cans. The reranch is more orange and the stew mac is more brown. using them both together will give you a more authentic aged look with the nitro. I've gotten excellent results with the spray cans as well!
Hey friend. I have a question. How many coats of true oil do you put on the back of the neck?
Hey there! It all depends on the feel and the amount a seal you are going for. If you want a solid sealed wood, then you will want to put on 3-5 coats. Apply them very lightly and allow for enough dry time in between coats. make sure to lightly sand with 0000 steel wool between every coat. You can then buff out to a shine or leave it matte, depending on the feel you are going for. You can also use the glare of the sun or a light to determine if the oil has filled all the pores of the wood and is level. It's all personal preference with how many coats you apply. Heavier coats may require more sanding/polishing. Hope that helps!
I have a unfinished maple neck and I'm trying to decide if I should put tru oil on the front and back or not. If I leave it unfinished will my natural hand oils be good enough? If I use tru oil will it block my hand oils? I wanna get a natural dirty look like eddies by playing it.
Hey Dave! So if you put true oil on it, it will be protected from most of your hand oils. If you leave it unfinished, it's going to get super grimey. Protecting the wood from moisture is key, you can still have the best of both worlds with a worn in look and some protection. I would recommend something like Fromby's Tung oil or Tried & True Wood Finish from StewMac, these both sink into the wood and offer protection from the inside out. It is not a top drying oil like Tru-Oi, so you won't get a shell finish on the top of the wood. I really like to use Tried & True Wood Finish from StewMac, it is a mix of beeswax and Linseed oil. That may be your best bet! Just make sure that after applying any of these oils, you soak the application rag in water and leave it outside on concrete to dry, they can spontaneously combust and cause bad fires!
@@VanHoutenBuilds ok thanks brother
Difficult to get the Stewmac stuff here in the UK so I’m going to try the 0000 Steel Wool trick. Neck is rubbed and ready to go. How much wool and vinegar and how long should I leave it to brew..
I hear ya. Not sure if you've heard of Rothko and Frost, but they are in the UK and have a bunch of great guitar supplies. So with the vinegar and steel you'll want to leave it for several days. You may want to leave it uncovered as oxygen helps the chemical reaction to occur more quickly. Use a glass jar. When it looks like poop water, that's when you know it's ready.
I’m in the UK too and thinking of using the vinegar steel wool trick on a neck!
I’ve used it before on a relic style pedalboard I made and it worked really well. Boil the vinegar outside if you can (it stinks!)
@@VanHoutenBuilds I haven’t heard of them but will check them out! Thanks for the help and great videos!
@@VanHoutenBuilds So...I’ve done the neck on my tele with the shit solution and it looks fantastic!! Just need to get some linseed on it now and fit the Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar pups..I’ve relic’d the body as well which looks great as it’s a sunburst...just need some old style tuning pegs and a brass saddle ash tray bridge...Forget the CS prices! £400 American Standard DIY!
Curious where you got those foam sanding pads from? Thanks!
They are from Klingspor. They make amazing sanding materials!
Where do you get those volume knobs? Please and thank you
Radioshack!
Is the vinegar stain white vinegar and 0000 steel wool mixed?
Great question! Yes, it's white vinegar!
How long do you leave the finishing oil on before you buff it out?
I leave it on over night. At least 24 hours.
Just gig with it for twenty years plus !
I use Tru oil!!!! I don't like the lacquered necks, so I sand them all down and tru oil them for slickness. I have to ( choose to ) redo them maybe every 6 months or so.
Nice! Yeah, that is definitely one of my go-to's! I also have to re-apply once or twice a year.
How many coats of Tru Oil would you recommend using on the back of the neck?
@@jaraffblu3887 I typically put it on pretty light. So I usually do about half a dozen or more.
@@jaraffblu3887 I would recommend 5+ until you get it where you want it to be. Just remember to go light with it and then hit it with 0000 steel wool after the coat has dried and before applying the next coat. I go by look and feel. When it's where I want it, I stop. Just remember the less you have, the more of a natural wood feel you'll get. The more you add, the more of a harder shell lacquer feel you'll get.
is it impportant to use tru oil?
It's important to use an oil, but you don't have to specifically use tru-oil.
Do you provide any relic or refinishing services?
Please feel free to reach out to me via email: info@vanhoutenguitars.com
Check out Rubio Monocoat oils too, great stuff! I have done several custom amp cabs with Rubio and had fantastic results... Cheers
Yes! I've used Rudio Monocoat for furniture, but wasn't sure how it would hold up on a guitar body over time. Are you finding that you have to reapply or is it holding up well with regular use?
@@VanHoutenBuilds I have only done amp cabs with it and so far so good. They do have a maintenance oil that I use too which is recommended. I don't think I would do a body per say but the back of a neck I would certainly try and plan to do up a Tele soon.
@@65Corvette Awesome, maybe it's time for me to try that out! Thanks!
Where do you get your sanding pads?
I get them from Klingspor! They are way better quality than anything you will find at your local hardware store. I highly recommend giving them a try!
@@VanHoutenBuilds Klingspor factory plant is actually about 20min from my home
how many time should I apply the oil after letting it dry? once is enough?
and how long till I can play my guitar?
@@alwan1414 Depends on what type of oil you are using. Different types of oils have different cure/dry times. If you are using the linseed beeswax mixture I am using in the video. I let it sit for 24hrs and then buff it. I also go off of feel. If it doesn't feel smooth enough I will apply extra coats before buffing. It's important to build up very thin coats to avoid it getting sticky and not drying properly.
@@VanHoutenBuilds ahh okay then, I think I need to reapply it and let it dry more. Thanks for the reply, really enjoy your relicing series!
So the linseed oil would seal the wood better then the gunstock oil, is that right??
No not necessarily. They are just different. Linseed oil penetrates the wood and cures from the inside out. gunstock oil cures on the top, giving the wood a protective coating like an eggshell. If you want to be able to really "feel" the wood, then use boiled linseed oil. Both oils have to be reapplied after time depending on use.
@@VanHoutenBuilds Ok awesome thanks for the reply.
Diesel & used motor oil 🛢 no joke, it makes a great inexpensive stain water sealant.
Hey dude this looks great I’m excited to do this to my strat… How long does the process take from start to finish?
Thanks! It depends on how long it takes you to sand down to the bare wood on the neck. Otherwise, it should only take an hour or maybe two!
Cool thanks man! I’m sanding a rosewood fretboard Strat, would you recommend taping off the fretboard before sanding?
@@DeadCatBounce1980 You may want to use painters tape to keep the dust off of it, but do not leave it on too long. I've seen it pull some of the rosewood off before. You don't have to tape it, you can clean with naptha or lighter fluid afterwards and then oil it.
Ok great I was nervous about sanding off the edges off the fretboard and making the frets feel rough or jagged. I’m pumped and nervous to do this to my beloved 62 hotrod RI strat, but I had an old 80’s Squire Strat with a sanded and oiled neck and I loooooved it….So here goes nothin… 😬
@@DeadCatBounce1980 Just make sure you don't overdue the sanding with lower grits. I would use a 220 and then when you get to the wood, switch to 320. Also the foam sanding pads work really well!
супер!!!это отлично!!!!
Where did you get those pickguard???
I made it! I use acrylic plexi material and spray paint the underside only.
@@HunterVanHouten please enlightened me on those. Need a vid 😘
;) Good video!
Thanks!
Who was that who helped you out.."Tree Tone Guitars"???
Yes, Tree Tone helped me with the type of paint I am currently using for a nitro replacement. What to use, how to mix, etc.
NATURAL!!! NAAATURAAAL!!! 😅
What about the fingerboard?
I need to make a video on relic'ing a fretboard!
we go like scrunn-a-futt and bimble butt, innit oh yes… it so frutti oh rooti. bonga donga whooo. oh yes
This is one of those guys who likes to look at himself on the camera more than anything....you can tell everytime he is looking at the camera, he is looking at himself....haha
It does look very good….but my strat is cringing as I type this…🎸
Haha Thanks Stephen. Apologize to your strat for me.
You didn't show us the finished product!
Did u mean treetop or treehouse?
No, I said Tree Tone Guitars. www.treetoneguitars.com/
Less face, more guitar neck!
For this to look good it would require several passes. Go on reverb and look at old strats, they don’t look anything close to this
Thanks for your comment. It's all subjective.
Be careful applying tung oil to a neck that you haven't completely removed the poly from. If you still have some poly in the wood grain, the oil may cause bubbling down the road. That's what the techs at Carvin told me ages ago. I never tested that, but there you go.
Poop water is best for bringing out them oh-so-sweet-vintage toanz.
I'm refinishing my guitar. If I screw it up, it's "reliced".
Exactly! haha
@VanHoutenBuilds In all seriousness, I'm finishing it with Danish oil. I've put 3 light coats so far. Should I be wet sanding it? It's a maple neck and fretboard. I'm not looking for high gloss, but I do want it to look as nice as I can get it.
@@indiedavecomix3882 You could probably wet or dry sand. Just make sure to use higher grits
@@VanHoutenBuilds Thanks.
The real question is not HOW... but WHY?
Or.....WHY NOT? For me personally, I prefer a neck that doesn't gum up and get "sticky" when my hand sweats while I play...which it tends to do when the neck is lacquered. Some prefer a gloss, some prefer a natural feel. If I'm doing it for the feel, I'm going to try and make it look as natural as possible.
@@VanHoutenBuilds wow, great answer.. And great videos. I love your channel. Greetings from Chile
If you want a natural look, try actually looking at what neck wear on vintage guitars is like. A tan line across the 12th fret is really unnatural and a dead giveaway that you spent more time sanding your neck than playing it. Most guitarists don't spend much time above the 9th fret and even then there will still be wear all up and down the edges of the neck along the fretboard, sometimes all the way up to the body joint on one or both sides. The middle of the neck usually will still have finish up to between the 12th and 8th frets, creating a big, exaggerated upside down V or U shape, not a horizontal tan line.
On the headstock end, there is usually wear on the high string side all the way up to the nut. On the low string side, thumb wear usually terminates around the 1st fret, so the wear line in very asymmetrical and skewed to one side.
That said I've seen fake looking neck relics come out of the Fender custom shop, and the relic job in this video didn't look any worse than those, but it was definitely fake looking. For the love of god people, do some proper vintage guitar research before taking this kind of thing on if you don't want it to look corny.
Yeah, so this is for more of the natural wood feel on the neck rather than looking vintage perfect. I mean come on, I haven't even been building guitars long enough for them to actually be considered vintage yet haha. This is not meant to fool anyone. Obviously if you want the authentic relic, we all know, you just have to play the hell out of the guitar. In the end, it's all subjective, and some people prefer this look and feel. Myself included.
That’s not necessarily true. A lot of players like a satin feel to the neck, some people’s chemistry reacts with nitro and makes it feel sticky. A lot of players hit the back of the neck with steel wool or a a scouring pad every so often.. over years, you eventually get through the finish. Plus, it’s all about feel, pick up a custom shop that looks “fake” and tell me it doesn’t feel like heaven..
@@jadeblanco2896 Trust me, I know how it feels. That's why if it's a custom build I would just not finish the neck at all, or maybe go with an oil based stain. If you're going to apply and then remove finish or otherwise try to fake a "worn" look there are ways to make it look realistic, otherwise what is even the point going for the "worn" look over the "naked" look?
I'd love to know what was said to make you think I had anything against bare necks, all I suggested was that it's easy to make it look more natural than a straight tan line. People who know what they're doing with the steel wool technique don't just go up and down with the wool, stripping finish like an imbecile, they spend more time on the high traffic areas of the neck and also spend more time on the areas where the finish is wearing through the quickest. Seems counter intuitive but it actually simulates playing the guitar, only if you had shark skin, so it's basically a time hack. You get the same "heaven" feel but a more random and natural look than you do with a straight horizontal line where the finish abruptly ends.
Don't wanna be rude and dismissive, just that you didn't really point out what i said that's not necessarily true, so I can't really take your comment on board.
Seems like a lot of hard work… well, at least it looks super lame and kooky! 😂
Hey no need to hate even if it's not your cup of tea. We're all just out here trying to have fun and do our own thing. Could you imagine if every guitar player like the same exact thing, this world would be a pretty boring place. Thanks for checking out the video!
Vende humo...
How stupid! Ya play the damn thing, It'll "RELIC" itself! duh!
Unfortunately that's not the case with today's poly finishes. They're specifically made to hold up and not really wear in over time like a nitro finish would. Yes, you can also refinish in nitro and then just play it and wear it in naturally, but some people like to help the process along a bit especially those who would rather play a guitar that really feels a bit more "worn in."