Taking off a Stingray 4 H neck WITHOUT chipping the paint... how?

[tbonesullivan]

I guess this can be filed under "damage control" and "i'm a dumbass".

The neck on my SR4H is a bit rough, and also it's quite discolored near the neck pocket from a previous owner (pickup poles also have a bit of rounding/rust that I took care of). I didn't want to have Murphy's oil soap getting into the neck joint, so I decided to take the neck off.

I unscrew the neck bolts, take off the bolts/plate, and then start to wiggle/pull slowly to get the neck out. It was pretty dang stuck in there. I think some crud had also infiltrated onto the sides of the neck pocket.

So I get it out half way... almost all the way and then the edge of the neck pocket on the lower cutaway side (you know, the side where this always happens) chips off. There is now yet another missing chunk of Lava Pearl on the bass. Thankfully I have CA glue handy all the time, so I managed to get the two little pieces, which are like 1mm wide and 2 long, back where they belong, and put some CA on top of them to polish/buff out later.

Question is, how could I have prevented this? Or is it just inevitable? Should I have taken the neck out a different way?

oh, and as for the neck itself, I turned half a rag brown/yellow from cleaning it. I am gonna give it another go with water/murphys to see If I can get off some more before I re oil and re wax it.

 

[uOpt]

You need to get it out upwards, not forward.

True for most bolt-ons in theory, although most have wide enough pockets that it doesn't matter.

 

[Holdsg]

can you tape down the body, all around the neck pocket first, such as with painters tape? Don't know if that's helpful or not.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I tried to push it upwards, but it was in there tight. EBMM makes their necks to pretty close tolerances, and also the gunky crap on the side of the neck made that hard. There isn't enough room at the end of the pocket to be able to just lever the neck out either. you've gotta slide it out a bit if you want to even do that.

anyway, I also used this as the opportunity to do some drop fills on the chips on the headstock. I also pulled the cover of the pickup to clean the edges of the pole pieces , which had been exposed to a bunch of sweat over the years.

I had a few rough patches on the back of the neck, so I gently used some 800 grit sandpaper, and now it's ready for tru-oil.

Next week, the 5HS gets cleaning, though the neck is far less dirty, so it will not require removal.

 

[uOpt]

It is more difficult but upwards is safer. Try putting the neck on a table and give the body a good smack with the palm of the hand.

The neck pocket on a high quality Fender style instrument is narrower at the front than the back, so you are squeezing the widest part of the neck through the narrowest of the neck pocket. That's gotta hurt if you have a tight pocket.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Yeah, definitely won't be doing that again. Now I just have to hope the repair holds when I put the neck back in. I've already got it sanded down and buffed out.

It's drying right now after a new coat of tru-oil. I'll put on another coat tomorrow, rub it down, wait 2 days, wax it, and then put it back together.

 

[pete bass]

Piccies please TBone ?

 

[tbonesullivan]

Of the damaged area, or of the neck?

 

[pete bass]

Of the damaged area, or of the neck?

All of it please so we know the pitfalls....

 

[tbonesullivan]

Ok, here goes. these are pretty close up.

As you can see, I was able to glue them back on, but some of the paint was lost, so it's not a perfect repair. it also may become damaged again when the neck is put back on the bass after it dries.

So, to make a long story short, do everything you can to take the neck out straight up, and don't pull it towards the headstock, as this can happen.

Should also be mentioned that the area there is one that is VERY PRONE to cracking, and I have seen many pro and boutique level guitars that developed cracks there in the finish.

 

[uOpt]

Most people would be happy to have an instrument with a tight neck pocket.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Most people would be happy to have an instrument with a tight neck pocket.

as am I. I just wish I had tried harder to lift it right up, but I tried tapping it gently with my palm, and it wouldn't budge.

with F#($*r guitars, you can actually use their "micro tilt" thing to help pop the neck out.

and now, to go put the second thin coat of tru-oil onto the neck. this time I'm going to apply it, and wipe it down immediately.

 

[pete bass]

Thanks for the pics TBone ....Would it make a difference if this work was carried out in colder conditions as we are in the summer and most materials can expand with just a modest increase in temprature...Just a thought ??

 

[sanderhermans]

Thanks for the pics TBone ....Would it make a difference if this work was carried out in colder conditions as we are in the summer and most materials can expand with just a modest increase in temprature...Just a thought ??

better to do it in the summer, as wood expands more from moisture then from heat. but im not sure if this will make that great of a difference.

 

[tbonesullivan]

well, remember that the neck is not finished, so it will expand as well. The neck will probably be just as tight then.

Important thing is to be careful I guess. There's another recent thread regarding a PDN bass that suffered a crack when the neck was removed and replaced. So, keep your neck CLEAN so you don't need to take it off.

 

[pete bass]

Thanks TBone... A very good and important topic....

 

[tbonesullivan]

Also, on finish repairs, super glue is your friend. cyanoacrylate was used as finishing materials for some musical instruments, it is clear, dryes fast and hard, and is about the same hardness as the original finish. I have a bunch of dings from the previous owners on the headstock, and they will also be rectified with CA fills.

 

[Golem]

.................

with F#($*r guitars, you can actually use
their "micro tilt" thing to help pop the neck

...............

You can do pretty much the same trick with
any bolt-on, whether it has micro-tilt or not.
Just back out all the screws about 3/16" and
then start gently wacking them with a plastic
or lead mallet.

Ok, the only hammer you got is steel ? How
typical can we be, huh ? Either pad the screw
heads with hardwood or such, or better yet
just take them all out and replace them with
flathead screws just 1/8" longer. This is the
very best way cuz you can have those screws
sunk all the way in and they'll still be sticking
out by an 1/8". Being sunk fully into their
holes, the longer screws provide more solid
contact, thus better control over your effort.

Perznelly, I've never had a problem with the
original screws and a bit of hardwood [use a
cheapo hammer with a wooden handle and
use its butt end to tap down the screws].

You can STILL chip paint this way cuz the
paint you see on the outside is sometimes
united to a slight bead of paint you don't
see on the inside. But in such a case, it's
just gonna chip anyway, unless you can
perform micro-surgery on the slot before
trying to move the neck.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Yeah, I've seen that too. The edge of the neck pocket often has finish on the inside, which is probably why so many bolt on guitars crack there, without even doing anything.

of course, the dings on the finished headstock are far worse than the little chip by the neck pocket. It was a used bass after all. I'm filling those in as well, but it's taking a lot longer. at least it's not a nitro finished guitar. those take FOR EVER for the drop fill to be ready.

 

[tbonesullivan]

ok, neck is back on. Curiously, I needed to pull up the scratch plate to get the neck into the pocket easily. Now just have to wax the neck, and put the strings back on.