Double Bass Deglossing bass neck?

[Michael Case]

cool, I will just clean the gunk off the board with a rag. thanks!

 

[gruffpuppy]

Originally posted by Chris Fitzgerald


I seem to remember that the spell check program seemed to crash a lot, causing you to lose your post at the same time.

That it did.
Heck my computer is next to my bookshelf so I do it the old fashion way. I only use words I can spell.

 

[arnoldschnitzer]

I use soap and water to get gunk off my fingers....

 

[Michael Case]

Well, the neck is done and I just came home from a gig (4 hour bar gig). I'm glad to say the feel is much better without the gloss. Maybe this was just my imagination, but I think that without the feeling of having to drag my thumb over the heavy gloss on the back of the neck I didn't get as tired as I used to. Fast position shifts were like nothing!
Thanks for all of your advice!
Mike

 

[rablack]

Fellow bassists with thick-finished bass necks -- DO THIS! -- It is worth the effort.

I've been meaning to degloss the neck on my bass for awhile and finally took the plunge after reading this thread. I masked off what I didn't want to sand then started with 100 grit to get the thick Strunal finish off the neck. For the heel and head I used a razor blade as a scraper (see Frank Ford's great website www.frets.com) to get a clean line. I worked my way up through 150, 220 and 320. I tried staining to get a darker look but the maple absorbed the stain inconsistently and it looked blotchy so I sanded that off and worked through the grits again. I then applied boiled linseed oil per the directions in this thread (including the 0000 steel wool).

Report - What a difference. Shifts are much easier, the neck just feels faster, less gummy. Most definitely worth the hour or so it took to do (subtracting the abortive staining attempt). Thanks to the luthiers on the board for the guidance.

(now if I can find the time to refinish the whole day glo orange finish to a more tasteful brown ... this could get dangerous)

 

[gruffpuppy]

Just a couple of questions on the subject.

How much of the neck did you guys sand?
Are we talking peg box to heal.
Couldn't you have gotten the same effect by just sanding the gloss out of the varnish instead of sanding all the way to the wood?

Just wondering because it sounds like a great idea for my Swingmaster.

 

[rablack]

Gruff -

I sanded from the "bend" at the pegbox to the "bend" in the heel. Used a scraper to make a fairly clean line. I sanded over the line to ease the transition between wonderfully smooth wood and thick finish.

I can't say for sure, but I suspect that cutting the gloss on the thick poly glop finish would be an improvement but still wouldn't feel a good as the oil finished wood.

 

[gruffpuppy]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I will give it a shot this weekend. I talked to a guy that does woodworking down the street from me and he said: Cutting the gloss would not fix the problem, it might for a little bit but the friction of the thumb would bring the gloss back in time. Thus putting you back were you started.

 

[Michael Case]

I sanded the finish off the neck between the lines on the pegbox and neck heel, I left the finish there because it's the same as the rest of the bass. I had tried to just get some of the heavy gloss off the neck, but it really didn't work. As long as there was any of the finish on the neck it was a problem. It's really not that much work, totally worth it if your neck has a finish like a 2002 Chevy.
Mike

 

[gruffpuppy]

Started last night, all is well.
Kind of hard trying to sand the clear finish off a Swingmaster. Have I got to wood yet? I think so.
Pretty much sanding until there is not stick, it happened before I got to the ebony fingerboard so all seems well.

 

[Michael Case]

If the finish is gloss on the Swingmaster, you'll know when it's gone. Good luck, and be sure to use the boiled linseed oil. You won't be sorry you did it!
Mike

 

[jimclark68]

Gruff, just be very patient and use good light - the weapons-grade varnish on my Engelhardt came off very easily in some spots, but in others, the wood seemed to really absorb it much deeper. I'm no woodworker, so I'm not sure if I'm describing things correctly. It took me several passes before I got all the finish off, and having good light helps identify these spots. You really have to dig in around the heel, where not only do you have to contend with the varnish, but the stain as well. Well worth the effort and relatively little time, much more playable.

 

[gruffpuppy]

Thanks for the tips.
You're right about the lighting Jim, it took me a couple of days to get the finish off, only because the sunlight seemd to show the finish best. Better than 3 lamps. I have the finish off and the neck oiled. Truly 100% better than stock.

2 new quesitons.
Is there any maintenance that needs to be done other than a wipe of the dirt and sweat?
How slick should the finished product feel? It is very nice the way it is now but I wonder is some more work could even make it better.

The path I took:
100 grit to remove the finish, then 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, 1500. Then some 0000 grade steel wool.
Wiped the dust off with a cloth, put some oil on a rag and applied it, (didn't take very much) let it sit for about 2 hours put on another coat and let it sit for 20 hours. Last night I put some oil on the steel wool and rubbed it in, let it sit for an hour and rubbed it off with a rag.

Pretty anal but what the heck.
Thanks again.

 

[pea]

The reason your thumb stuck to your neck was because the neck was probably varnished. Hands perspire when you play, and varnish isnt a very slipery finish against moisture, infact its awful. Its good that you want to do something about it. You have made a good choice in oiling it. There was another choice though, which would have been to french polish it. This apparently works well, but the french polishing technique is a tough one sometimes!! The good thing about oil is you can restore the finsh if it gets a bit worn, just wipe on more oil and leave for a bit then wipe of, try not to play it for a day to let it cure a bit though. Failing all this, castrol gtx grease, applied to the thumb, will do the job, and you can oil your wheel bearings on your car afterwards!!

 

[pea]

itll cure over time more and more, and you can give it a light sand with 1000 grt to make it so slippery your hand will slip off the damn thing when you try and play beebop real quick!!!

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Hrm... when I used to fiddle with slab guitars I used to:
*Clean using Naptha to get rid of any nasties. Very light and dries nice.
*Sand down/smooth necks using only fine fine fine steelwool. Gave my necks a nice smooth feel.
*I think I used Tung Oil once or twice to oil unfinished wood. Very nice and light and dries nice too.

A lot of this stuff (including rubbing varnishes for violins and the like) are available from www.stewmac.com.