Musicman neck (re)finish questions

rojo412 · #1 03-12-2011, 12:49 AM

Okay, I've stripped and refinished a lot of cheaper bass necks with the Tru Oil and the results are amazing... love the stuff!

My most recent acquisition (yet to arrive) is a 95 Musicman Stingray. The purchase is sight unseen, but the description makes it sound like it's in need of a neck refinish. Well, actually, if it's dinged at all, in my mind, it needs to be fixed.

If this is an oil finished neck (pretty sure), is the finish close enough to Tru Oil that I can just smooth it out, apply as much tru oil as I want and be done with it?
Or is it "down to bare wood" to get it right?

rojo412 · #2 03-13-2011, 09:20 AM

Nobody?

rayzak · #3 03-13-2011, 10:36 AM

I'm far from a luthier, but here's what EBMM says: An infrequent dose of gunstock oil will help to keep the neck maintained; we recommend and use Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil, but any good quality gunstock oil will work. Clean neck first. Use a small amount of Tru-oil, leave it on for 5 minutes, then wipe it off with a paper towel. Then apply Birchwood-Casey Gunstock Wax. Be sure to douse the paper towel with water before disposing of it! Read the wax and oil manufacturer's instructions regarding disposal of these used paper towels.

So, from that, I would clean it(neck and fingerboard) with a high quality Lemon Oil, then apply tru-oil to the neck, and finish it with some gunstock wax or a paste/bowling alley wax.

I have two Lakland's(waxed necks too) that i'm getting ready to treat, but they suggest Orange Oil for the neck and fingerboard, Howards Feed n Wax for the fingerboard and Howard's Clear paste wax for the neck and buff off with #0000 steel wool.