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Defender2000
Well-known member
From my experience....the wax is essential! It kinda takes away the stickyness of the oil and smooths out the neck for a fine finish. YMMV
HTSMetal
Well-known member
Gotta agree with Defender...I was worried about the very same thing, but after the initial gunstock oil/wax treatment, that ASS neck played smoother than I could've imagined.
Jack FFR1846
Well-known member
I agree too. I'm coming from 2 directions with my answer. My Al, Axis and ASS were nice from the factory while my Sub 1 was sanded by me and then tru-oil'd and waxed. As it seems nobody near me stocks Birchwood Casey gunstock wax, I took the advice of the guys at the gun shop to use a good car wax. I had some Zymol from my show car days and it worked absolutely fantastic. If you want your hand to stick to my Sub's neck, you're going to have to hot glue it on and quickly wrap duct tape around the neck and your hand. Otherwise.....ain't gonna stick.
If you're re-tru oiling a neck, I'd clean it well and lightly sand it with something like 360. Then DO NOT FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE BOTTLE!!!!!! Put on a coat with a paper towel. Let it sit for like 45 seconds and wipe it off. Wait a little......few minutes....half hour. Do a second coat just like the first. 45 seconds, wipe it off. Wait overnight and apply the wax and buff it out nice.
If you already have some tru-oil on the neck, you can get by with a single thin coat. The wax protects the tru-oil from wear.
If you're re-tru oiling a neck, I'd clean it well and lightly sand it with something like 360. Then DO NOT FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE BOTTLE!!!!!! Put on a coat with a paper towel. Let it sit for like 45 seconds and wipe it off. Wait a little......few minutes....half hour. Do a second coat just like the first. 45 seconds, wipe it off. Wait overnight and apply the wax and buff it out nice.
If you already have some tru-oil on the neck, you can get by with a single thin coat. The wax protects the tru-oil from wear.
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I agree about using the wax....it is essential in the process. I also agree with Jack about hitting the neck with a fine grit sandpaper (though I usually go finer than 360)......just light passes to clean the wood of surface buildup. You're not trying to sand the neck down. I oil with 1 quick application....let sit for about a minute then wipe off excess and then repeat the process with the wax.....then buff. I don't wait anytime at all to apply the wax after oiling, and I've always had great results. I'm not so sure the timing is too critical, except that you don't want to leave excess oil or wax sitting on the neck for any length of time....get it off there relatively quick.
beej
Moderator
For additional slickness ... there's also a BC conditioner. Tommy used it on a neck he sanded down for me a while back- it was super slick, even more so than the wax.
cm_17
Well-known member
I've treated my Axis with Oil/Wax combo and it ended up as a totally smooth, non-stick neck surface. It's almost too slippery! Several new Balls I played in stores have more of a wooden feel to them, but after my treatment, my Axis neck has a seemingly hard and ultra-smooth feel. I love it.
look_at_her
Well-known member
I think it`s about time to create a sticky called : Oil & Wax treatment step by step .
Regards
Regards
alf cockle
Well-known member
I*ve had good results using Tung oil,wipe down after a minute or 2,then I used an old can of Johnson*s floor wax[a bit smeared on a paper towel].buffed that up ,and bingo...Slick City....the wax does make a difference.I find the Tung oil less sticky than the Tru oil.
davetcan
Well-known member
Anyone know if Fret Doctor would do the job on the back of a maple neck, followed by wax of course. My AL also feels very "woody" and I'm pretty sure there is no finish on it at all. Compared to both my Axis and silhouette maple necks it feels rough.
FantasyMetal
Well-known member
When I first received my first Morse back in September the back of the neck was extremely rough, but I found that after one application of D'Andrea Lemon Oil the neck was much cleaner and also much smoother. I never bothered with a wax application, but I would use the Lemon Oil every time I cleaned the fretboard and it seemed to keep it in good shape. Just my two cents!
In all honesty the way EBMM applies the tru oil is not as it's intended. They basically wipe it on and then wipe it right back off, then wax it. So it is just barely more than a raw maple neck with a slight bit of protection. Don't get me wrong it works great, but it is not how it is intended to be used by birchwood casey. You are supposed to apply several light coats allowing many hours in between for drying, then buff it with 0000 steel wool clean the dust and reapply. Then after the desired coats you steel wool it nice and smooth, clean off the dust and wax it. This leaves much more of a protective varnish like finish and adds quite a luster to the wood as well as some tint. It's nice and smooth if done right, but you do lose that bare wood feel. Here are a couple of before and after pics of a neck I did for reference. It's not an EBMM neck so if it's a no-no mods feel free to delete them.
bare maple
tru oil and wax
bare maple
tru oil and wax
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Spudmurphy
Well-known member
I just get by using the oil. Wipe on - wipe off straight away. ( I learnt from my mistake of letting it sit for too long before wiping off - baaaaaaaad mistake!!)
Personally I prefer just using the oil as the wax gives it too much of a sheen and not like the neck when it comes from the factory. You can always "knock it back" with some fine grade wet and dry. Experiment - ya not gonna hurt it.
Personally I prefer just using the oil as the wax gives it too much of a sheen and not like the neck when it comes from the factory. You can always "knock it back" with some fine grade wet and dry. Experiment - ya not gonna hurt it.
Spudmurphy
Well-known member
LawDaddy
Well-known member
I don't use the wax. The feel with the gunstock oil and 1000-grit sandpaper is enough for me.
tonelover
Well-known member
After a year of hard use I just gave one of mine the full treatment. Murphy's oil soap, gunstock oil and then the wax. At first it still felt a bit sticky after the wax but an hour or so of drying time and it was smooth as silk.
