Do I Need Oil On A Stripped Neck

[Ezbass]

I've recently stripped off the finish of two of my bass' necks as they were sticky (one was a MM SUB where the paint had got shiny and started to drag and the other a new Nitro finished neck which the chemicals in my skin sticks to). My question is can I just leave them bare or do I have to finish them with something like Tru Oil? If I can leave them bare are there any drawbacks? Any help gratefully received.

I tried to do a search but can't seem to find a specific enough search string to limit the "hits" to something reasonable.

 

[scottyd]

The main drawback to leaving them bare would be they will stain and look funky and have the tendecy to absorb moisture.

 

[jruberto]

the couple unfinished necks i have are kept bare, though a couple times a year i hit them with very fine sandpaper, then a little lemon oil applied using 0000 steel wool. keeps things nice & smooth, keeps the wood healthy, yet still retains that unfinished feel.

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

If it were me, I'd oil them. The idea that they would be more susceptible to moisture seems like it could potentially cause relief issues (though I'll bet that it's not too likely). It's fairly easy and quick to finish a neck with Danish oil. Also, one of the smoothest necks I've ever played was done with Tru Oil and a little wax...

On the other hand, lots of guys have bare, unfinished necks and never have problems...

 

[Rocky McDougall]

I like to have some kind of finish to keep the moisture out. You can achieve the bare wood feel by sanding all the gloss off.

 

[Ezbass]

Cheers guys, reckon I'll put some oil on, either some gun stock or danish oil.