Refinishing Bass neck, what sealer and glue to use?

[myke.nytemare]

(reposting from bass forum)

I have a bass neck (fender p) that I recently sanded down to get the thick yellow lacquer finish off of. I now want to seal it so it is not only smooth and fast to play, but also keep the natural, light color of the wood. I also bought a graph tech nut...what is teh best way to affix that?

What sound I use to seal it and where should I buy it from. I see there are aerosols, oils, brush-on lacquers, satin finish, gloss finish, etc!

Thanks for any input.

[62bass]

Any oil based sealer you use like tung oil, thinned varnish, gun stock oil, etc. will over time darken. The oil itself darkens with age so you'll never keep it perfectly white. In fact, even adding the sealer will darken the colour of the wood somewhat. Probably your best bet would be some sort of a lacquer product which won't darken as much. Brush on lacquers are a pain to work with. Aerosols are a bit easier because you're putting on thinner coats. You'll need multiple coats, sanding lightly between coats. Steel wool after the last coat dries will give you a sleek finish that won't stick.

I myself would use something like Minwax wipe on poly as a sealer. While it's oil based and will darken somewhat, it's not as bad as some others. It soaks into the grain of the wood and gives good protection. I apply one coat and keep it wet for 20 minutes or so to soak in, then wipe it off. After it's dry I do two more coats, leaving each on only a few minutes before wiping off. Steel wool after the last coat is good and dry.

[myke.nytemare]

After that last coat and the steel wooling (with 0000 i presume), do I need to do anything else? Does the finish need to be waxed or reapplied periodically?

[62bass]

I don't wax mine. When I have, in very hot and humid conditions, it seems to get a bit sticky. You may have to re-apply a coat of the sealer evey few years as it doesn't build up to a thick coating and constant playing will wear it down to bare wood. It's easy enough to do-just clean the neck thoroughly with naptha or mineral spirits (paint thinner) to get off dirt, oil and any wax, if you used it. Then lightly steel wool (oooo steel wool), clean off the neck to get rid of steel wool residue, then apply a new coat.

Opened cans or bottles of these sealers tend to harden in the can fairly quickly so you will probably need a new one. It may look okay but might have little hardened particles in it which won't smooth out. Also, old varnish type finishes (which these are) may not dry properly because the metallic drying agents lose effectiveness with age.

[steveb98]

hum in the past what my friends and I would do is sand it down close to the wood, but not completely. Left enought finish to keep the wood sealed. Then polished the wood with various fine grits of crocus cloth. Neck was left very smooth and still sealed.

[bassman blue]

i just had the neck on my g&l reshaped and then sanded the back down with 220, 300, 600 and fine steel wool. i applied minwax wipe-on-poly (3 coats) then applied a coat of minwax sealer and couldn't be happier.