SBMM AX40D Neck refinish project

[edhalen]

Hi all - I decided to refinish the neck on my AX40D to match my Reflex. So, I sanded off the sealer on the neck down to bare wood. Then, two coats of BC Tru-Oil and two coats of BC wax. Wow, what a difference! Feels amazing and looks great!. A few before (Scooby likes it!! ) and after pics:

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[edhalen]

A few more pics of the finished job:

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[jzeijen]

Nice! Nothing like the feel of a freshly treated neck. I had a Sub 1 of which I also sanded the neck, felt so much better after the oil/wax treatment. That black finish required some heavy sanding though...

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

That looks great! Im glad you did it, now it probably feels like an ebmm, mine does! And with time they feel even better.

 

[edhalen]

Thanks!

Yes - the finish feels a LOT like my Reflex. With some playing time I'm thinking it will become even more like it. I'm very glad I took the time to do it. All told it probably took me about 4 hours. It was fun.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

Totally worth it! After this mod they do feel almost exactly like ebmm necks with some time and playing.

 

[edhalen]

Played it for about an hour last night - the more I play it the better it gets! Like butta!!!

 

[evh5150]

Hi Ed, i was planning to buy an ax40d as backup for my 1993 evh. What Kind of sand paper have you used? Can you repost the pics? I can't see none of them.

Matteo

 

[banjoplayer]

no pics here too, would love to see them. thanks

 

[edhalen]

See below for the pics. As far as the sandpaper, I used 100 grit and was VERY careful. I used very light pressure while sanding. Using this grit sped up the process. I then used 300 for final sanding. I can say it was VERY much worth the time as the neck turned out really nice. Take your time and enjoy the process. I hope this helps.

These are the after pics:

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[edhalen]

Here are some more. The first three are after and the last two I took during the process. You'll have to make sure to fold the sandpaper into a small square to be able to get right up next to the frets. It will take some time but it will be worth it. I used the same tru-oil and wax treatment on the neck after it was sanded as we do to our EBMM guitars.

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[Eric O'Reilly]

I was one of the first to do this and it came out very well, i remeber edhalen asking me what i used! Lol! Now you can listen to his knowledge since he to has done this mod. It really is worth it, and i say go and feel a real ebmm neck ( if you havent already) as a reference. You can get almost identical results, i did.

 

[evh5150]

Wow, thank you! I'm seriously thinkin' on buying a Purple ax40d as backup and sanding the neck. The only problem is that translucent purple. It's not really like the old EVH's. That was a gorgeus purple...

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I know.

 

[Monster212]

makes me wanna do this to mine.... now... hmmmm that looks sweet and bet it plays way better now..

 

[Ed Hunter]

It is a shame that due to cost cutting they could not treat these necks with BC tru oil but it has to be done by hand
and i see why they just sprayed them with a thin poly/
These neck are so much nicer after this type of mod!
I did it to my old AX-40. i also installed the custom wound dimarzio's from a axis.
Now they are selling them with those pu's but the necks still need to me modded.

 

[SC1980]

Hi at all! My name is stephan and i'm from germany.

A few weeks ago i had the chance to trade my olp mm1 for an ax40d (purple). I played it in the store and was impressed of handling and processing. I always liked the olp (14 years) but felt it a bit cheap. So i made the deal and so far i'm really happy with my new axe. Off course, the signature or axis would be a dream but i'm somebody who's playing at home just for fun and also the price is too much for me.

Before i got it i've read a lot about this guitar and so i found the thread for refinishing the neck. To be honest, i'm no homeworker but watched many videos about refinishing. So i think it would possible for me although it's my first time of mod a neck.

Otherwise i was wondering about the sanding part in the thread. The neck looks so natural with grain unlike the headstock which looks shiny and glittering. So i thought it is already unfinished. The guy in a video used steelwool (0000) after the sanding part and before the tru oil/wax. So my few questions are:

1. Is it necessary to sand it down or can i only use steelwool before the oil?

2. I also would oil/wax the fretboard but i'm scared about the inlaydots. Will it damaged or changing color from sandpaper or steelwool?

3. Do you removed the neck from body? I guess it's easier to work...

In the end i'm excited for refinishing but it would be very nice to have an almost real axis neck on this guitar. The only thing i'm confused for the moment is that it hopefully works and the neck doesn't take damage... So before i order tru oil and wax i wanted to ask you.

Here's a link of the special video i watched. It's an Ibanez but i think the way he works on it is the same.
Guitar Neck Refinishing : Ibanez RG270 Project - YouTube

Hope for an answer and wish you a nice day! Sorry for my bad english!

Grettings Stephan

 

[spychocyco]

I've stripped a couple of necks in the last few months, and it's not hard. I'd start with a higher grit paper, than Ed did -- 100 is a little too harsh for my taste. I'd start with a 220 or even a 300, just to get the factory finish off. It's a light satin on the SBMMs, so shouldn't be too tough. Then start working up through the grits. I like to take mine to about 2000, which gives it a nice, glassy feel after you apply the oil and wax.

Tape it off where you want to stop at the headstock. Tape off any areas of finish around the heel of the neck that might accidentally come in contact with the sandpaper (or better yet, take the neck off, if you feel comfortable with that). Go slow and easy until you get it to the level of smoothness you want. When you apply the oil and wax, don't leave it on too long. Wipe on, wipe off.

Both of the necks that I've done have had rosewood fretboards, so I haven't messed with those much, but I'd think that a fine grit sandpaper would be OK on the fret dots. Others may be able to shed more light on that part of it.

 

[SC1980]

First of all, thanks for comment spychocyco!
What's about steel wool? Did you used it too before the oil? Another thing i'm interesting in is the sandpaper. I think you're right. It's indeed a light satin on the neck and because of this should i really take 220/300? I wanted to start with 600 and maybe 2000 after this. I trust you but i'm really a bit nervous about the neck. Is it right like the guy did it in the video? I mean the way he works with sandpaper? Short moves or better every time across the whole neck? Last question: What do you mean with, wipe on wipe off? Is no need to let it dry a few hours before the next oil job, especialy if i would use steel wool?

Sorry, so many questions but i just won't make a big mistake!

 

[spychocyco]

You can start with 600 if you're not comfortable going rougher, but it might take you a little longer to get through the finish. The coarser paper will cut through it pretty quick and you can move up to the higher grits. If you go up to 2000 grit, there's really no need for the steel wool, IMO. That will make it pretty slick. I tend to work up and down the whole neck, but just don't grind in too hard and keep an eye on it.

Tru-Oil will harden into a finish itself if you leave it to dry -- I've finished a whole project guitar in it, and it will leave a hard shell if you apply a few coats and let dry. I may leave the first coat on for a couple of minutes since a lot of it will soak into the wood, but I wipe before it completely dries. I like the wood to feel unfinished. I do a couple of on-off coats of oil and then one coat of wax at the end, also pretty much wipe on, wipe off.

Now, that all said, I'm not saying this is the "right" way to do it. I don't know the process EBMM uses at the factory. This is just how I do it, and I get results that I like, so I'm sticking with it. I would definitely recommend trying to find a super-cheapie neck to experiment on if you can before you take sandpaper to your number one. My first run at it was on a guitar that I paid $50 for.