Gunstock oil on Axis unfinished neck?

[Courageux]

Hey guys,
Got 2 quick questions here.
1. Where the ernie ball faq says to use gunstock oil to clean the unfinished neck, is it referring to the fretboard and neck, or just the back of the neck?

2. I've notice a small insignificant line on the back of my axis neck, almost like possibly a belt buckle line, Impossible to see unless looking for it, but i can feel it ever so slightly when i slide my hand up and down he neck, Is there a method to filling or buffing this out? It's not affecting my playing in any way but i guess i'm a little protective of my baby and want to have her in tip top condition.

Thanks

 

[Colin]

answer to question 1. just the back.

 

[Courageux]

ok,
Thanks Colin

 

[lenny]

answer to question 1. just the back.

You mean on a rosewood board Colin?........Cause my Axis looks unfinshed on the top of the maple board as well as the back of the neck!so i would assume i could clean the front with it(oil) as well then go over the whole thing with the wax and buff..... am i wrong?

 

[MCBTunes]

about the line....i doubt it, if it were a large dent you could use a drip of water, a towel and a clothes iron to heat up the dent and let the moistureexpand the wood.

 

[Spudmurphy]

re question 2 - difficult one to call without seeing it.
However if you are intent on rubbing some Gun stock oil on the neck, you could use
800
1000
1600
2000
grit, wet and dry papers then seal with the oil.
If as you say that the "insignificant line" isn't that bad, then you should get most or all of it out using the wet and dry method above.

 

[jplacson]

when you guys say rub with "wet" sandpaper... what do you mean by this? wet with water? or the oil?

 

[Spudmurphy]

wet and dry paper is what the automotive industry use to get filler/body repairs to a state which will take a top coat paint repair.
They use it wet to stop the paper clogging and scratching the surface.
I would not use it wet, on a guitar as the wood will soak the moisture up!!

Basically you need to start using a not too abbrasive medium on the wood and then work up to the finest medium - thats why I quote 800 being coarser than 1000 which is coarser than 1600 which is coarser than 2000.
You can get wood specific abbrasive paper in similar grades which is used dry.

Another form of abbrasive material are 3M scotch pads - again using a coarse grade first and finishing off with a super fine pad.

Yet another form of abbrasive material is wire wool starting with a coarse grade and finishing with fine (0000) grade.

Whatever abbrasive material you use, you shouldn't be making clouds of sawdust - if you are you know the abbrasive material is too coarse.

 

[jplacson]

Ok... thanks! So never use the "wet" kind?

Then just wipe the oil on the neck? Is there a special way of applying it or just lightly rub it evenly all over the neck?

 

[Spudmurphy]

Ok... thanks! So never use the "wet" kind?

Then just wipe the oil on the neck? Is there a special way of applying it or just lightly rub it evenly all over the neck?

In the factory they apply the oil with a paper towel, leave it on for 10 - 15 SECONDS
then apply the wax in the same way.

If you put too much wax on you will buff it to a high sheen which is not how the neck came from the factory.

If you leave the oil on for too long it goes all "gloopy" .

I use the wet and dry automotive paper but I use it dry.

 

[blackspy]

I realize there is a FAQ regarding this topic, the FAQ however, seems to not provide enough information for most of us. This comes up in the forum all the time. Would it not be a good idea for an Ernie Ball tech to redo that part of the FAQ in detail with very specific instuctions on neck care. I really don't think there needs to be as much voodoo involved in cleaning and maintaing a neck, but all the 'experts' seem to have their own minor points of difference between each other and therefore we're left to experiment and see what works and what doesn't.

 

[lenny]

I realize there is a FAQ regarding this topic, the FAQ however, seems to not provide enough information for most of us. This comes up in the forum all the time. Would it not be a good idea for an Ernie Ball tech to redo that part of the FAQ in detail with very specific instuctions on neck care. I really don't think there needs to be as much voodoo involved in cleaning and maintaing a neck, but all the 'experts' seem to have their own minor points of difference between each other and therefore we're left to experiment and see what works and what doesn't.

Exactly i have 6 threads of info saved and not one is the same ....some say never use lemon oil on maple and right on the lemon oil bottle it says rosewood or ebony "not for use on maple fretboards" BUT people still insist on telling us to use lemon oil i would like to know how each of the 2 are applied and how it is removed they way the factory does it My silo needs it bad but im a little to confused right now

 

[Spudmurphy]

Our Forumite fsmith was at the EB open day at Slo and he said that he spent quite some time watching an employee apply the finish to the necks. This is what he said...

"Yep, it's not a big secret. It's been documented elsewhere. I was very curious because I've been doing my own necks and wanted to see if I was doing it correctly. I spent about 20 minutes at that station and actually talked to the woman who was doing the finish on the necks.


She applied the oil to the neck wiping a coat over the entire neck and I'd say within 15 seconds she grabbed a paper towel and wiped it off. Then she applied the wax, let it sit for 10 seconds or so and with fresh paper towels wiped it clean and then with another paper towel she did a final wipe down and moved to the next neck. If you blinked she was moving on... I was surprised by how fast she was doing it and asked is that all there is to sealing the necks and she said yes that's it."

I followed those instructions which resulted in the "factory finish".
You may think "let's just rub that in a bit more or let's leave it on a bit longer 'cos it's bound to produce better results - no need!!

Spudo

 

[lenny]

Our Forumite fsmith was at the EB open day at Slo and he said that he spent quite some time watching an employee apply the finish to the necks. This is what he said...

"Yep, it's not a big secret. It's been documented elsewhere. I was very curious because I've been doing my own necks and wanted to see if I was doing it correctly. I spent about 20 minutes at that station and actually talked to the woman who was doing the finish on the necks.


She applied the oil to the neck wiping a coat over the entire neck and I'd say within 15 seconds she grabbed a paper towel and wiped it off. Then she applied the wax, let it sit for 10 seconds or so and with fresh paper towels wiped it clean and then with another paper towel she did a final wipe down and moved to the next neck. If you blinked she was moving on... I was surprised by how fast she was doing it and asked is that all there is to sealing the necks and she said yes that's it."

I followed those instructions which resulted in the "factory finish".
You may think "let's just rub that in a bit more or let's leave it on a bit longer 'cos it's bound to produce better results - no need!!

Spudo

Perfect Spud Thats it thats what ill go by Thats all i wanted to know JUST how they do it at the factory and now i know .....a million thank you's!!!!
And like i siad right on the Dunlaps Lemon oil and others i have seen NOT FOR USE ON MAPLE FRETBOARDS! there had/has to be a reason!

 

[Colin]

You mean on a rosewood board Colin?........?

My apologies, I was thinking of only rosewood when I replied.

 

[jplacson]

Ok... now this is getting confusing... on unfinished EVH maple necks and fretboards... do we use lemon oil or gunstock oil? And what kind of wax for maple/EVH necks/fretboards?

 

[musicman10_1]

I use the gunstock oil and then the wax on my EVH. I will take care to wipe both off much sooner now (after reading what has been posted here). I think the ones I bought were Birchwood/Casey brand. I have only done it once and it worked well - the oil may have stayed on a little too long as it seemed a little gummed up and I really had to do a lot of wiping before applying the wax.

Once I had it finished it felt like new. Of course new was a long time ago and my memory might not be right on this.

 

[jplacson]

Thanks Musicman... now how do you go about cleaning the body/headstock on the EVH/Axis from gummed up wax? What's a good 'cleaner' to use? Then just regular EB Guitar polish after?

 

[jplacson]

yup... just on the body and headstock... it was wood wax... so wood cleaners will be safe? like regular furniture cleaner types?

I'll look for some cheesecloth... I think I can find some.

Thanks!!!

 

[J_Alexander]

its pretty simple to do and this is what i do to my ebmm's. i clean the fretboard every string change. first i hit it with murphy's oil soap wipes and then lemon oil on some cloth baby diapers. i then take a clean one and wipe it down afterwards. for the back of the neck twice a yr i hit the back with the oil soap wipes then hit it with casey's tru-oil. i let that sit for a few seconds and then buff that off. then i hit it with the tru-wax and buff that off. have never flet anything so smooth or stay so clean. just do what it says in the faq which is where i learned it and you cant go wrong.