Removing the poly from a maple neck

[ChrisBowsman]

I've got a Peavey Foundation on the way. It's my first bass, though I've been goofing with guitars forever. The neck on the Peavey is a two-piece rock maple (neck & board). It's really flamey, so I want to leave some finish on it, but I'd like to remove *most* of the poly. I might even go completely bare, and tung-oil it.

I've done this to nearly every guitar I've owned recently, and had no issues. However, given the length of a bass neck, and the different string tension, I wanted to see if I was gonna open up the door to problems.

[DanielM]

don't think so.

[SDB Guitars]

no problems except the PITA that it is to remove poly... lol

[ChrisBowsman]

Awesome, coz I think this will look really good oiled like a Music Man.

[SDB Guitars]

Are you planning to sand that off, or will you use a chemical stripper?

[ChrisBowsman]

I typically spend a lot of time sanding it off with very fine steel wool & sand paper.

[T. Brookins]

Try it chemically. Sand thereafter.

[ChrisBowsman]

What would you recommend I use?

[T. Brookins]

From an autoparts store, you can use any aircraft or automotive spray-on stripper. It usually works best after it has had a long enough time to "work," but not quite enough time to dry again along with the de- natured paint. For best results, scrape waste with a razor blade, almost perpendicular, but turned away from its direction of travel.

Wise investment: A palm sander. These are small, easy to control, and affordable; decent at $35. Some catalyzed finishes are a little more resistant to chemical strippers than others.

DON'T USE HEAT!!

SECOND THOUGHT:
DON'T REPLACE THE POLY!
What is already on there is of higher quality and durability than most consumer grade products! Just texturize it with steel wool. Thst sounds like the best decision.
ALTERNATIVE:
You could just tape off the neck's extremities and strip the shaft, or playing surface of the neck the way many Music Mans are done. That way, you get the feel you want without the trouble of unnecessarily taking the protection of poly from where the oil feel is not needed.

[tjclem]

What about using a cabinet scraper to get the bulk of it off. They are pretty cheap and it will do the job without the mess. Then you can switch over to sandpaper and steel wool or scuff pads.

[mebass5]

Are you doing this to try and change the tone of the bass? Does the poly affect the tone?

[ChrisBowsman]

I've removed the finish from acoustic guitars and heard a tonal improvement, but it's more for feel on electrics. I just really like how a bare, oiled neck feels.

[kringle77]

I steel wool the back of my necks every once in awhile to give it a bare feel while keeping the protection.

[ChrisBowsman]

I decided for now to just knock off some of the poly. Feels really nice.