Neck gone sticky

[paulhersh9]

Hi Rich,

The neck on Ms. Daphne has become increasingly sticky. It's at the point where I must do something about it. The only thing I've tried to clean it with is a 10-year old bottle of Martin Guitar Polish and a flannel-soft Ritz polish cloth. I know the polish is rather old, but it removes grime from the body real well.

When new, the neck had what I consider a thin finish. I know you used copal on the peghead (at my request), so perhaps there is copal on the rest of the neck as well.

I assume my options are along the lines of micro-meshing or steel wooling; or else having the back of the neck stripped and refinishing it.

What would you do, Rich, buff or refinish?

I can do a good buff-out job myself, but I wouldn't try to strip the neck, much less refinish it, myself.

I could use something like Tibetan Almond stick or Fiddlebright to lube things up, but in the long run that seems like a band-aid solution at best. What do you think?

Any advice you have on this will help me a lot.

Thanks,
Paul

[Rich]

Well, it may have something to do with a different climate... mine have not gone sticky here. It could be any number of things, from humidity to body chemistry to

A good solution would be to steel wool it clean with 0000 steel wool, just until it feels clean and silky. Then I would get a bottle of Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil, and apply a thin coat with a finger. Let it dry overnight, and lightly steel wool it again.

If you aren't comfortable doing this, send it back here and I will do it for you.

[paulhersh9]

Well, I do live three blocks from the beach (not complaining!) and have been leaving windows open day and night for the past several weeks. The guitar sits on a stand when not in use. Could be the salt and humidity of the air combined with my body chemistry.

I will try steel wool and a little tru-oil. I'm glad you suggested it. Because there is no spraying involved, I can do this tweak myself. Thanks Rich!

[Rich]

Should work like a charm. Let me know.

Rich