How to relic / age a Squier Bass neck?

[Derek Mcquickly]

Anyone had any success they could share? Just looking to 'yellow' it out a little with a subtle stain - don't need artificial dents, scratches or sanding /wear. If coffee grinds and flax oil will tame the Indonesian Squier new white look a bit, I'd give it a go. Thought I'd check here before trying anything. Thanks in advance!

 

[RVRSCO]

So you’re not really looking to relic the neck, just give it a vintage tint correct?

 

[turf3]

Practice eight hours a day and come back here in 20 years.

 

[smatanovic]

Anyone had any success they could share? Just looking to 'yellow' it out a little with a subtle stain - don't need artificial dents, scratches or sanding /wear. If coffee grinds and flax oil will tame the Indonesian Squier new white look a bit, I'd give it a go. Thought I'd check here before trying anything. Thanks in advance!

You can apply vintage tine with a nitro lacquer like these from StewMac.

 

[Deleted member 407575]

Modern poly finishes are very durable and transparent. A homemade “finish” would wipe off very easily. You'd need to spray something tinted like the nitro lacquer smatanovic posted.

 

[Derek Mcquickly]

So you're not really looking to relic the neck, just give it a vintage tint correct? .

Correct - just a tint. It needs a dimmer switch right now and I want it to look just a bit darker/aged. Was hoping for diy stain ideas if anyone had good results. If not, I'll hit the hardware store

 

[Phreaky Phriday]

You will have to sand off the existing finish first, i doubt it is shipped as raw wood

 

[friskinator]

I tinted this one with ColorTone vintage amber nitro. Just did a quick scuff sand on the back, nothing on the fretboard. I had to polish the frets before assembly to remove the paint, but super easy.

 

[J Wilson]

Roast it?

 

[MojoPin]

Practice eight hours a day and come back here in 20 years.

That might not even do it with those thick poly finishes.

 

[JazznFunk]

Given that the days of playing in smoky establishments are over - for the most part - is the 'vintage tint' thing even relevant anymore? I mean, it's a throwback to when instrument wood was aged/discolored by tobacco and nicotine.

 

[JGbassman]

Oxford guitars makes some great amber tint finishes for necks. The sell rattle can paints as well as traditional sprays. Just rough up the finish a little, apply the tint to your liking, then finish with a clear coat. They have good quality stuff, and I’m getting ready to refinish a ‘51 knockoff with their paints and tints.

 

[shojii]

Kiwi brown shoe polish; it's a thing -

Kiwi neck tint results

Got a couple new necks that are white and wanted to tint. I've tried shellac before, honey amber trans tint, tung oil, etc. Some were better than others. So I figured I'd tried the Kiwi approach. I remember my grandfather, who was an expert woodworker if ever there was one, would use Kiwi all...

www.tdpri.com

Using Kiwi Brown Shoe Polish tint maple necks

Over the weekend I tinted two of my Squier Affinity Tele necks. The white one got only 1 coat and the BSB got 2 coats. Not sure if the pics do them justice, but they look much better in person! White Before: White After: BSB Before: BSB After: Replaced the tuners on the BSB too:

markweinguitarlessons.com

That said, YMMV

 

[smatanovic]

Correct - just a tint. It needs a dimmer switch right now and I want it to look just a bit darker/aged. Was hoping for diy stain ideas if anyone had good results. If not, I'll hit the hardware store

The one I linked to is definitely DIY. I darkened the neck of this bass (a Fender Player neck) using the StewMac lacquer. I recommend sanding down the poly, then go slowly and be patient.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

I’d tinted a bronco bass neck using brown shoe polish once. Simply apply a light coat, then buff it off just like you would a shoe. It turned it more brownish amber, rather than the more yellowish amber.

The photo is of it afterwards. Before it was a stark white affinity neck.

 

[covermego]

THIS. I've tinted quite a few pieces this way and it turns out well. Lots cheaper than Nitrocellulose Lacquer, fo sho.

 

[BassNugget]

The headstock in my profile pic was sanded bare, then I used two stains from home depot, an amber one and a mahogany. Let dry, add waterslide, and then 3-5 coats of poly spray lacquer.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Here’s a pic of that shoe polish tint vs other maple headstocks. You can see the rather stark difference between the Bronco and the new white maple on the Mustang to its right.

 

[BlueNorth44]

I did the Kiwi finish on one of mine. Dead simple, no sanding, just time and a couple coats. Here's a link to the thread with some photos:

Maple to Kiwi stain

I highly recommend it, but you have to find Kiwi polish. I tried a different brand first and it didn't take at all.

 

[JTNuney]

You might just try putting it in the sun for a while (covering the body if you don’t want to age that too).

I’ve seen pics (I think on TB) of an older Squier CV that must have spent its life in a store window - the maple neck had darkened up a LOT, and the LPB paint had become more green than blue, kinda like vintage LPB does. I was surprised to see that, given the pretty thick poly finishes on the CVs.

My own CV (same model and color) has darkened a little over its 15 years - nowhere near the orange of Squier’s latest “vintage tint” necks, just a slight yellowing of the original blinding white. It doesn’t get direct sun, but it does hang on the wall rather than live in a case.