Moisture in wenge necks & fretboards

[gleneg61]

I need some advice from those in the know or even from the tech dept at Warwick. My 2 thumbs were sitting in their gigbags in the front room & I noticed some mold spots from moisture on the rear of my '97 b/o thumb 5 fretless neck, wiped it down but some spots remained in the pores. Same prob only on the fretboard of my '05 fretted b/o 5 with the ovangkol neck. I wax them every 2-3 months but it has been quite a wet winter here in Japan & I'm worried about long term effects of this as I can feel a slight ridging on the back of the fretless where the wood laminate lines are joined. Should I not wax them until early summer to 'dry out' or should I wax immediately? Of course I'll be strictly watching the humidity levels in the room from now on but any advice or expertise is appreciated. Thnx, G.

 

[throbgod13]

you are not supposed to wax the necks on Warwicks.. don't wax Wenge at all, the wax just gets pressed into the very open pores..

get some denatured alcohol and a non-snagging, lint free rag and wipe your bass down to remove the wax build up.. then go back and with a very fine emery paper (600 grit) gently sand back any irregularities you feel, remember *sand with the grain*.. after which, i would use a very light mineral oil and wipe the bass down, then wipe the excess off.. heat the Warwick wax to soften it.. wipe it on in very light amounts.. let it cool.. then buff it off.. the more you buff, the nicer it looks.. don't use too much wax, as it will make the wood look dull..

if you have dents, depressions, prior to the sanding process you can steam the dents out using a 100w soldering/flat iron and a slightly dampened cloth.. an old t-shirt works well, just have more than 4 layers folded over before heating.. steam, check level, repeat until the dent lifts.. you'll raise the grain around it, but then you'll end up sanding it back later..

good luck..

 

[gleneg61]

Thanks for your reply, throbgod (great name!) I've actually only beeswaxed the wenge neck fretless once & never the ovangkol's fretboard so should be ok but as I'm an unco with woodworking, I'd definitely leave all the great advice you gave to someone without 10 left carpentry thumbs, hell, even opposable thumbs would work, which is basically where my handicraft skills lie. Oddly, I'm good with setting up my own basses though??!! Go figure!? Thanks again.