waylay00
Member
I have been dying to get that EB neck finish feel on all of my guitars recently, so I started with my old Ibanez RG550. It originally had a sticky back finish, which I hated. So I proceeded to do the following after some research.
This was what I wrote in my blog, but I'm still not 100% sure if I did it correctly. Is one coat of oil and wax enough to protect the wood from moisture?
"My first order of business was the neck. The Ernie Ball necks have always felt great to me, and I learned that they use a special combination of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and Gun Stock Wax to achieve that superior, worn-in feel. After some research, I felt pretty comfortable with performing the operation. First, I sanded down the neck to its bare state using a variety of sandpaper grits (600, 400, 200). Following that, I used Murphy's Oil Soap (diluted 3:1) to give the neck a thorough cleaning from its built-up grime and sweat. The next night, I applied the the coat of Tru-Oil with a paper towel and old T-shirt, distributing it evenly down the neck. A lot of this stuff goes a long way, so I only used a small amount. It also becomes extremely gooey within a matter of minutes, so I let the oil sit on the neck for about thirty seconds, wiping the excess off immediately afterwards. Then, the neck was left to dry overnight. The next day, I buffed the neck with some fine 0000 steel wool and then applied a coat of the wax. With the wax, I simply poured a little on the neck and rubbed it across the neck until its surface was covered. I opted to apply one more coat, but this is merely a personal preference as to how "sticky" you want your neck. The result is the one of the best feeling necks I've ever played. If you've ever played an Ernie Ball guitar before, you'll know what I mean."
This was what I wrote in my blog, but I'm still not 100% sure if I did it correctly. Is one coat of oil and wax enough to protect the wood from moisture?
"My first order of business was the neck. The Ernie Ball necks have always felt great to me, and I learned that they use a special combination of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and Gun Stock Wax to achieve that superior, worn-in feel. After some research, I felt pretty comfortable with performing the operation. First, I sanded down the neck to its bare state using a variety of sandpaper grits (600, 400, 200). Following that, I used Murphy's Oil Soap (diluted 3:1) to give the neck a thorough cleaning from its built-up grime and sweat. The next night, I applied the the coat of Tru-Oil with a paper towel and old T-shirt, distributing it evenly down the neck. A lot of this stuff goes a long way, so I only used a small amount. It also becomes extremely gooey within a matter of minutes, so I let the oil sit on the neck for about thirty seconds, wiping the excess off immediately afterwards. Then, the neck was left to dry overnight. The next day, I buffed the neck with some fine 0000 steel wool and then applied a coat of the wax. With the wax, I simply poured a little on the neck and rubbed it across the neck until its surface was covered. I opted to apply one more coat, but this is merely a personal preference as to how "sticky" you want your neck. The result is the one of the best feeling necks I've ever played. If you've ever played an Ernie Ball guitar before, you'll know what I mean."
