Result from removing gloss from neck

[no-logic]

I have a Gibson Money Bass which has a painted and glossy neck. I have read most of the threads about sanding or using a 3M pad or fine steel wool to break the gloss from the back of the neck to get rid of the "sticky" feel. My questions is if I use a fine steel wool or 3M pad on it is it going to look like it was sanded? I don't want to detract from the value of the bass by having the back of the neck look like it was sanded or the like.

[9mmMike]

I was a little gun-shy about doing this until I bought a '57 AV RI (from here on TB) that had this treatment. It was fantastic. Since then I have done this to a couple of my basses. I use 000 steel wool and it simply knocks the gloss off. No sanding scratches. The basses I use the most have probably all seen a rub-o-da-wool. Mine were not painted with any color though. I am not sure that I would do this on a painted (as opposed to tinted) neck, especially if it was a dark color.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by no-logic

I have a Gibson Money Bass which has a painted and glossy neck. I have read most of the threads about sanding or using a 3M pad or fine steel wool to break the gloss from the back of the neck to get rid of the "sticky" feel. My questions is if I use a fine steel wool or 3M pad on it is it going to look like it was sanded? I don't want to detract from the value of the bass by having the back of the neck look like it was sanded or the like.

If it's a painted neck it will look different than the rest of the bass for sure. Even if it was natural wood with a gloss finish.

So it will devalue the bass somewhat. If you do it carefully you can restore it to gloss before selling it by buffing it out with the appropriate materials. Just be careful you don't remove too much of the paint when de-glossing it. There will probably be a clear coat over the paint so you should be okay if you work carefully.

I've done it with most of my basses but never worried about resale value. Most basses depreciate so much anyhow I don't know if you would notice. If the next guy buying it is getting it because it plays well he'll like it anyhow.

[Rick Auricchio]

A ScotchBrite pad is better than steel wool. There's no chance of little bits getting stuck onto the pickups.

Also, a tiny bit of steel wool can get stuck in the wood grain. This causes two problems: You can pick up the steel as a splinter, or it can begin to rust and stain the wood.

[no-logic]

Thanks guys. Rather than ruin the finish, I think I will try a good carnuba wax and see what that does. Some say it works.