Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

I don't want to sand it down. Nitro cannot go over Poly. I'm going to try a can of brush on Minwax one step Oak stain Gloss Poly over the Satin Poly. They didn't have natural, but I'm thinking the oak stain should blend with my tinted Swamp Ash body well enough.

I went that exact route and the neck turns out looking too brown! Trust me..If you want it done right,get the vintage amber stuff from Reranch or Stewmac...I resanded my neck 3 times because I tryed doing it wrong!

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Poly can go over Poly..no problem.
Poly can go over Tung/Tru oil and vice versa.
Poly cannot go over Nitrocellulose lacquer...not sure about Tung/Tru oil over Nitro ( I suspect not).

All the Nitro Spray Tinted Amber cans do turn wood yellow AFAIK..which isn't a real satisfying vintage tint..Its beyond me, and I have no idea how the pros do a natural tinted wood that isnt yellow, but they do .

I'm looking for good basic amateur results. If the Minwax works okay, I'll post pics. Maybe I should wait for to see if I can get the "natural" tint instead of the "oak", but the body is pretty oakey looking, so it might work.

I'm not gonna sand the neck, and About my sig? Thats not a bad idea..

Not true! I just used the Stewmac amber about 2 weeks ago...Neck came out honey/golden color..You need to add the right amount of coats and coat it with their celluose laquer..Just went down this road and with MM neck...I had some issues with laquer lifting because I didn't remove the MM poly coating correctly..

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

If you don't mind the finish getting a bit thicker, you can prep it to take another coat of tinted poly, which you apply with a spray gun. Or maybe you can find a rattle can poly that is already slightly tinted.

If you cannot deal with any more thickness, you need to strip and refinish.

But remember that this is a Mighty Mite neck. They are not expensive. If it really needs to be stripped and refinished, is it worth it? Might as well just sell and order one with the specs you want (or buy a used one), or buy a used Fender neck from a MIJ or MIM '50's reissue.

This MM neck is really great...No fret buzz anywhere,nice rear shape and contour,22 frets,9.5 radius...I payed $70 for mine...Got a deal on mine! Comfortable,smooth playing neck..Very happy with it.This whole guitar came out great actually.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

How about leaving it in a bar or a bingo hall with a bunch of smokers for a month or so?

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

How about leaving it in a bar or a bingo hall with a bunch of smokers for a month or so?

Naah...thats the cheapo wimpy way of doing it....Do it right and be done with it!

 

[AniML]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

This MM neck is really great...No fret buzz anywhere,nice rear shape and contour,22 frets,9.5 radius...I payed $70 for mine...Got a deal on mine! Comfortable,smooth playing neck..Very happy with it.This whole guitar came out great actually.

$70 MM. May I ask where?

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

$70 MM. May I ask where?

Don't know why it was so cheap? E Bay...

 

[ErikH]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

The neck on my Frankenstrat tinted naturally, by playing it a lot. It has a satin poly finish on it that I wiped on with an old t-shirt. I just used min-wax poly satin. They have a clear and a tinted version. I put on the clear but the neck was already tinted from years of playing and being in smokey areas.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Naah...thats the cheapo wimpy way of doing it....Do it right and be done with it!

Meh, I was kidding. I wonder if it would look more natural than a spray tan though.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Meh, I was kidding. I wonder if it would look more natural than a spray tan though.

I wanted my neck to have that old 50s vintage honey/amber color,but without the wait...I'm happy because mine looks like it's been this color since then...Wasn't done this way on purpose,but it looks cool,plus the blonde ash body had some nicks and dings,so it's kinda lightly relic'd... ;o)

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Just put it on the BBQ for a couple minutes.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Take it to a solarium for a few hours under UV lights. I've read about someone who did that, they said at first they didn't see a change, but after twenty or more hours, it worked. Might depend on any supposed UV inhibitors that are in the finish, if any. It just speeds up the natural process that can take years.

I love how everyone completely ignored crusty's suggestion about using UV. It actually works. I had a neck on my Fender that was really white (MIM poly finished). I left it on a stand near a South facing window positioned where the sun's rays wound hit it directly for about an hour each day. It took a while, but that neck is a healthy vintage amber now. I'll bet doing it the way crusty suggested would work a lot faster.

100% agree. I have two Strats that became significantly tinted after spending some time in front of a south-facing window. It works, and it's quicker and easier than anything else mentioned in this thread.

Truth be told, the reason those vintage Fenders have that amber tint is from UV light "cooking" the finish for years and years. They weren't that colour when they left the factory.

 

[lex666]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

I've actually been trying this trick for a couple of years now with a white Fender pickguard. I'm pretty sure its been hanging in the window for over 3 years now. Unfortunately, it hasn't aged at all.


Not saying it won't work for guitar necks. Just doesn't work on plastic like I thought it would.


Next step: coffee/tea bath.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

I've actually been trying this trick for a couple of years now with a white Fender pickguard. I'm pretty sure its been hanging in the window for over 3 years now. Unfortunately, it hasn't aged at all.


Not saying it won't work for guitar necks. Just doesn't work on plastic like I thought it would.


Next step: coffee/tea bath.

A polyurethane finish is a different material than a pickguard. My Strat started to tint after a few weeks facing the window. A high-powered UV light would probably accelerate the process.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

I've actually been trying this trick for a couple of years now with a white Fender pickguard. I'm pretty sure its been hanging in the window for over 3 years now. Unfortunately, it hasn't aged at all.


Not saying it won't work for guitar necks. Just doesn't work on plastic like I thought it would.


Next step: coffee/tea bath.

I may be dead soon and so I don't want to wait several years for the neck to turn color...Plus not all necks/finish turn color. ;o)

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

A polyurethane finish is a different material than a pickguard. My Strat started to tint after a few weeks facing the window. A high-powered UV light would probably accelerate the process.

Actually the Poly finish holds up better...The nitrocelluose laquer that Fender used in the early days turned color...The poly finish may not turn into that honey/amber color? This is also the reason that the Nitro finishes didn't stay on the bodies or the maple necks..

Some laquers are actually tinted or will tint and there are different laquer options to make things more confusing for all of us! ;o) I just stuck with Nitrocelluose for the amber and then the satin finish over that..

 

[AniML]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Tru oil tints really nicely over time, though Ive never applied it on top of poly so Im not sure if it bonds well

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Tru oil tints really nicely over time, though Ive never applied it on top of poly so Im not sure if it bonds well

The idea with using Tru Oil,is to have it get deep into the pores/grain of the wood..If you use it over the poly or the laquer,it can't do that.

 

[AniML]

Re: Any way to tint a Satin Poly neck?

Yeah good point