sanding varnish off neck back; how to tell when it's gone?

[JustDavid]

Hey folks, I'm in the process of sanding a neck's back down to bare wood & then oiling it.

I'm having a heck of a hard time telling when the clear finish is gone & I'm sanding wood.

Any tips on this? Other than 'stop when you see the truss rod '?

[FuzzBoxVoodoo]

Instead of sanding the back of my neck down I went to a local craft/hobby shop and bought a roll of 2.5 wide silk ribbon and then used 3M77 Adhesive to attach it to the back of my neck to keep it from getting that sticky gloss thing going on and it works great and hasnt come off in over 6 months of daily playing,and the thin cloth will actually soak up the moisture.
just my .02

[JustDavid]

Neat idea. Good reference too if you want to keep the thumb centered.

Different path than I'm going though.

[Fetusyolk]

once you start seeing wood

[JustDavid]

Originally Posted by Fetusyolk

once you start seeing wood

Thanks. Clear finish though; OP modified.

[Pilgrim]

Of just scuff it with a 3-M pad enough to take the gloss off and create a satin surface.

[JustDavid]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Of just scuff it with a 3-M pad enough to take the gloss off and create a satin surface.

I normally do that, though I use 800 or 1500 grit sandpaper. It does work great, & is much less work.

But getting rid of it all is Step One of this particular mission.

My issue seems to be telling the difference between sawdust & "varnishdust".

[lolaviola]

Get some tack-cloth. It's a rag soaked in beeswax, available in the varnish and paint stores. It will help mop up the dust, rather than blowing it off, so you you can tell how the neck feels. It should be done to "feel" I think, don't you?

[jbrady]

I just took off some polyurethane, and there was a small but noticeable difference between the poly's bright white to the yellowed white of the wood coming off. The biggest thing to notice, however, was that my palm sander most easily ate through the wood and had a hell of a time going through the poly.

[JustDavid]

Originally Posted by jbrady

I just took off some polyurethane, and there was a small but noticeable difference between the poly's bright white to the yellowed white of the wood coming off. The biggest thing to notice, however, was that my palm sander most easily ate through the wood and had a hell of a time going through the poly.

Thanks! Looking for a slight colour difference & noting the differing resistance to (hand) sanding got me on the right path. A reduction in my paranoia & an increase in my patience also helped