radius talk.... JS cousin.... 442R

scottop1972 · #1 11-27-2007, 12:33 AM

just got a 442R in Trans red. It has a maple board but there is a bit of light pitting and denting in the back of the neck and light denting on the front of the board, and a small bit of looks like darkened areas on the fingerboard. So, I have a couple of questions.

1 what s the best way to clean up the fingerboard? get rid of the darkened areas, and (sand?) down the minor denting?

2. do you ever recommend, sanding the back of the neck to get rid of that pitting? if so do you go back and refinish it or do you just let it be?

3. you wouldnt happen to have a black locking gotoh tuner around would you? I need one, it looks like they replaced one of the locking tuners with a non locking one..... if you dont, where might I find one?

4. any recommendations for a volume knob and a 5 way switch, both are real scratchy....

I will post pics tomorrow, my wife is a bit of a photographer and is wanting it to be in natural light.....

jb4674 · #2 11-27-2007, 10:23 AM

Congrats on the guitar man. I wouldn't worry about sanding the back of the neck simply because once you start sanding it, you're going to want to sand it all over to maintain consistency. Personally, I think it's too much work but, it's just a personal preference. As far as cleaning the fretboard, try using some carwax with carnuba on it, as it might get rid of the dark spots and leave the finish on the fretboard nice and smooth. I recently used Meguiar's on my Strat plus to clean the fretboard and the frets and it worked beautifully.

Jimmy

stratoskier · #3 11-27-2007, 02:13 PM

Hi,
I see this topic (cleaning maple fretboards) pop up pretty often in the forums. Usually most folks respond that you should leave a dirty fretboard alone -- it's just the nature of the beast with maple and it adds to the character. Occasionally, someone will recommend using lighter fluid (naptha) to clean a board, but others will say that it will dry out the board and you'll then need to reseal it. Various other chemicals have also been suggested.

FWIW, here's a blurb from the Ernie Ball site on this topic:

"To clean the neck, use a high-grade of lemon oil. If the neck is very dirty, try Murphy's Oil Soap diluted 3:1. Some players have found that using a toothbrush for cleaning is very effective.

Since the neck is unfinished, it is more susceptible to humidity changes. A very infrequent dose of gunstock oil will help to keep the neck maintained; we recommend Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil, but any good quality gunstock oil will work. Use a small amount, leave it on for 5 minutes, then wipe it off with a paper towel. After that, apply Birchwood-Casey Tru-Wax. Be sure to douse the paper towel with water before disposing of it! Read the wax and oil manufacturer's instructions regarding disposal of these used paper towels.

Birchwood-Casey products are available at most sporting goods or gun stores. Their web address is http://www.birchwoodcasey.com."

Back to me:
As far as sanding the back of the neck -- I agree with jb4674, and wouldn't do it. Those necks have some gloss, but they're not particularly sticky. If you really want to smooth it out, you can buff it with 0000 grade steel wool. I wouldn't go much coarser than that. If you did go all the way down to bare wood (to be avoided), the most common products to reseal it are Tru-Oil and tung oil. Each of those has true believers.

Cheers,
Bert

scottop1972 · #4 11-27-2007, 06:03 PM

thanks guys, I need to post pics so you can see what i am talking about. the guitar was in a lot rougher shape than i was led to beleive. need some parts replaced and then the work on the neck. my wife has the digital camera with her so pics will have to wait til around 10 cst. thanks.

scottop1972 · #5 11-28-2007, 02:10 AM

jb4674 · #6 11-28-2007, 09:59 AM

Doesn't look that bad to me. Nothing a good cleaning wouldn't fix

Jimmy

scottop1972 · #7 11-28-2007, 03:32 PM

thats what i am trying to do. the neck pitting has me more worried than anything....

jb4674 · #8 11-28-2007, 03:52 PM

Why does it have you worried? One of Willie Nelson's guitars is in dire need for a refret and he refuses to get it done because they're the original frets.

Jimmy

**moebius** · #9 11-28-2007, 04:41 PM

And we all know what a "Shredder" Willie Nelson is.

jb4674 · #10 11-28-2007, 04:45 PM

Well, smart cookie, since the guitar is probably just as old as he is, that says something... It has nothing to do with being a shredder but over time a guitar is bound for repairs.

Jimmy

scottop1972 · #11 11-28-2007, 04:53 PM

holy crap that is in desperate need of some work.....

**moebius** · #12 11-28-2007, 05:03 PM

I am all for keeping things original, but frets would be the exception. Having worn frets might be good for Willie, but for others, they could be a real problem, particularly if one is a shredder.

jb4674 · #13 11-28-2007, 06:40 PM

The issue never was about frets but rather about overall wear on the neck of scotto's radius.

The whole point I was trying to get across before you put your irrelevant comments in was that there's no need to do all the work that scotto thought he would have to do but a simple clean up/setup.

Jimmy

**moebius** · #14 11-28-2007, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb4674

The issue never was about frets but rather about overall wear on the neck of scotto's radius.

The whole point I was trying to get across before you put your irrelevant comments in was that there's no need to do all the work that scotto thought he would have to do but a simple clean up/setup.

Jimmy

No offense Jimmy but your the one who brought up frets. And I do hope that cleaning is all it needs.

scottop1972 · #15 11-28-2007, 10:35 PM

it is not staining on the back or side of the neck it is rough to the touch and that is what i dont like and that is what is driving my thought to refinish if not the whole neck then at least the back of it.

someone else said that they put satin poly on 90% of all ibanez necks. however he still recommended tru oil if i did end up refinishing it.

any thoughts?