 
First, please read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. I'm not a company selling information here. I'm just an enthusiast writing down some of the things I've learned.
Relicing (or antiquing, distressing, aging...) is an art form and it's all about subtlety. Remember that you can always relic a guitar more, but you can't go back and relic it less! If you're like me, you get into a project and have a tendency to over do it. Don't.
Necks are tricky for a variety of reasons, so I go very light on the neck relicing. For instance you don't want to rub off all the finish on the back of the neck because this allows oil and sweat from your fingers to get into the wood and can cause warping over time. I'll describe an alternative below. I've also messed up a few headstock logo decals and one fret by accident while working on necks as well.
If you haven't checked out my list of recommended tools and materials, you'll probably want to do so.
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I start with lightly distressing the surface in general. If you look at original vintage guitars, you'll notice that in addition to dings and scratches, there is a subtle uneveness or motling on the surface from being handled over and over for many years. To make the finish so it's not pefectly uniform and shiny, I lightly wet sand it with very fine grit paper. Some people use parafin wax as a lubricant, but I think water works great for this purpose. Just fill a bowl and sand gently all over the body with the woodgrain. I start with about 1000 grit and work up to 1500 or 2000. This should leave a satin finish--fairly even but not glossy.
Take special care around the headstock decal! You should avoid sanding over it as it's probably adhered to the top of the finish as opposed to being covered under it. This includes the Fender® Custom Shop decal on the back of the headstock if you're working on a Custom Shop guitar. I also don't recommend weather checking (described on the Bodies page) on necks! It can be done a tiny bit, but you could easily screw something up... |
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Steps 2 and 3 are optional and even a little controversial. If you want, you can give your neck a tinted amber look to mimic the lacquer having yellowed with age. You can also wear away the finish from the back of the neck as if it's been played for many years. Both of these require refinishing the neck with Nitro Lacquer, drying, sanding, and buffing. If you'd rather not do these things, skip on to step 4.
If you want to wear away the finish from the back of the neck, use lacquer thinner and a rag or paper towels. Saturate the rag and rub the finish off in a way that appears to have been caused naturally through years of playing. Take it easy and don't over do it. And be careful of drips because the thinner will affect the surface of any lacquer it touches!
Once this is done and the neck is dry and clean, I recommend a TINY amount of dark woodstain on a rag to darken the area on the back of the neck where the finish has been removed. Just a trace amount of the stain though, you don't want to make it too dark! The stain should sink into the wood where the lacquer has been removed but wipe off where there is till lacquer. Again, don't overdo it. Wipe it down with a clean rag to remove any excess. Once this is completey dry, you're ready to move on.
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If your neck is finished in Nitro you can darken the finish by spraying amber tinted Nitro over it. If I'm doing a neck with a Maple fingerboard I spray the whole thing, frets and all (minus the heel where it attaches to the body's neck pocket). If I'm doing a neck with a Rosewood fingerboard I obviously just spray the back and headstock. I don't tape off the fingerboard however. You want the finish to cover the back and sides of the neck, including the sides of the fretboard where the little dot markers are--just not the front face of the Rosewood fretboard.
Anyway, once you've done the surface sanding described in Step 1, you're ready to spray. Of course make sure the neck is completely dry and clean first. You can either do one side at a time and lay it flat to dry, or you can hang it up by one of the tuner holes and spray it all over. Use a wire hanger or whatever works best for you. Start with even strokes and coat the surface while holding the can or sprayer about 10" away. The more coats you do, the darker the amber will be. But keep in mind it will darken as it dries thoroughly, so take it easy. Some folks will disagree with this, but I usually give it the desired number of coats with an hour or two of drying time in between. This won't allow it to dry all the way through, so don't go grab the neck after an hour! But as long I've allowed two days of complete drying time before doing any sanding, I've never had a problem.
If you want to do refinishing the "proper" way, visit the Reranch website. The techniques I'm describing are just steps I've found to work well for relicing.
If you've done this step and have sprayed Nitro, you'll need to repeat Step 1 (sanding) before you move on.
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Once the finish is wet-sanded down to a fine 1500 or 2000 grit, I buff the whole neck to bring back the shine. After all, even vintage guitars are generally shiny! You can use a 'real' buffer with soft cotton, but I use the budget buffer: a power drill with a buffing wheel attachment. Mine is a 6" soft buffing wheel you can find at Home Depot, Lowe's, or other hardware store. The main thing to remember on this step is to keep the buffer moving around on the surface of the neck--don't stay in one sport EVER or the friction will heat up and smudge through the Nitro finish in an instant. For the same reason, don't press too hard. The results you want will occur with gentle, even pressure and by gliding the buffer back and forth over the finish evenly. This process should bring back the shine but with just enough subtle inconsistencies to make it look old.
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The last thing I do for necks are a few dings to the edges of the headstock and maybe some cigarette burns. Again, keep it subtle. I sometimes take the headstock and lightly tap the edges against some rought concrete or hit it with a small chain. If you want accentuate the dings a bit, take a tiny amount of your dark wood stain on a rag and rub it into the dings and scratches. Then wipe off any excess with a clean rag so that a little residue of the stain stays in the indentions in the finish. This should set off the marks on the headstock nicely. For cigarette burns on the headstock near the low E string tuner (like you hold your cigarette their while playing), I've found the old fashioned way is best--light 'em up and stick your cig there while you play! |
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!
| Note: By reading this site and using any of the techniques or materials shown, you agree that you do so at your own risk and at the risk of your instrument. Using aging techniques and materials that were designed for something else to make a guitar look prematurely antiqued is a volatile and unpredictable process. You or a loved one could get hurt or even killed. Your guitar or some part of it could get damaged or ruined beyond repair. You agree to hold me, my friends, family, co-workers, employees, agents, attorneys, acquaintences, distant relatives, alter-egos, descendants, ancestors, and anyone I've ever known or will know, completely harmless and not liable for anything, anywhere at anytime. |
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