Is there anything I can do?

[playas]

Hi guys,

Does anyone know what is the best way to repair this neck?

This is the neck of a '91 strat I bought last year off a friend - has a story behind it, which I wonīt go into right now.

I had been rehearsing about an hour from home and as my wife's brother has a house nearby and we spend time there pretty often, I left the guitar in the house.

I didnīt notice the damp until I was rehearsing one day and the finish flaked off below the high E between the 7th and 8th frets. When I looked, I noticed that the finish has bubbled up and you can see some nasty looking marks on the underside of the neck. Itīs not noticeable to the touch.

Iīm concerned that I would need to refinish the whole neck - something I havenīt done before although I do have another neck Iīm planning to finish with Tru-Oil - to be able to do a repair...and if I did have to, Iīd be concerned about the headstock decals.

Should I at least sand to bare wood in the affected area to avoid it getting worse.


Not sure how the hell the damp got in under the finish like that. Not something I have seen before.

Needless to say I brought it home to avoid it getting worse.

[playas]

Sorry, thought I was in the Guitar Shop...Mincer or one of the other admins. would you mind moving this please?

[Mincer]

Almost looks like moisture got under the finish, which is common on maple necks. My 82 Strat has marks like that, but I will wait till I refret to refinish (coming soon).

[ICTGoober]

Most folks wouldn't worry about damage that light, but since you asked... Your best bet would be to seal that area with a thin CA glue applied very sparingly. You can then build up the finish slowly with more CA, and eventually you can sand it flush and polish it out. Works very well as a finish, and is rock hard.

If you were to remove the finish, you would not sand it. The neck has already been sanded. You would use a chemical stripper and Scotchbrite, then wipe well with acetone or lacquer thinner. You could then finish it with your choice - TruOil is easy, plus it looks and feels nice.

[playas]

Thanks to both of you. Didn't realize it was common.

My primary concern is that it doesn't get any worse.

I had also never heard of CA glue before.
Can I take it that neither CA glue nor tru-oil would have a reaction with the existing finish and it would be possible to refinish with a smooth transition between existing and new finishes?

[ICTGoober]

CA is super glue. Neither CA nor TruOil would react with any finish.

[playas]

Great! Thanks