Sticky Neck

[Lane Pryce]

My left hand is sticking to the neck of my new varnish Mowry. Any good remedies you know of short of removing the finish ----- which may be an option down the road. Lp

[addcourt]

I had that problem with the neck on a varnished Gibson and used Dave Harvey's Jubilee Varnish Polish & Cleaner--solved the problem with a couple of applications. Good luck.

[Alex Fields]

Other than just using a cloth to keep your hands and the neck dry, I don't know of anything. I definitely recommend removing the neck finish, though: works alot better and I think it looks better to. It's common and understood enough that it doesn't remove value or anything, so there's really no risk unless you just don't like the way it looks or something.

[Jerry Byers]

I had that problem with the neck on a varnished Gibson and used Dave Harvey's Jubilee Varnish Polish & Cleaner--solved the problem with a couple of applications. Good luck.
Where can one buy this product?

[sunburst]

Fast-fret

[lkb3rd]

I use baby powder on my acidic string eating hands to prolong string life, but it also has the effect you're after.

[farmerjones]

talc and stay away from ice cream cones, and lolly-pops. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[jim_n_virginia]

dust a little corn starch on your hands and you'll be ready to go. I had a buddy who's hands sweat before going in front of an audience and he would carry a little corn starch in a ziplock baggie in his case.

Works on pool sticks too! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[addcourt]

You can contact David Harvey direct @ (615)264-8578. In addition to the neck, this product works wonders on all of the varnish finish--cleans, polishes and protects. It's pricey, but your instrument deserves it! Sounds like I have a vested interest in this product--I don't, but really like it. Godd luck.

[Philip Halcomb]

Another thing you could try if you want is to scuff the finish up with 0000 steel wool. That usually makes it feel a lot smoother. It won't look great, but you can always buff it out to look perfect and smooth again and you're actually keeping the finish on the neck. Of course you could always remove it and seal it with tung-oil, but you have to apply tung-oil every so often after that. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Steven Stone]

I know of two solutions that work well:

1. Sand and refinish the the neck - that's what I had Gibson do to my '02 varnished Fern. They also sprayed back on the finish so it looks better.

2. Billiard gloves. These have cutaway fingers and are made of silk-like nylon so they SLIDE easy. I use a glove when I play my '30 Fern to keep from waring down the finish on the neck.

[GBG]

If the neck is refinished, it seems that would defeat the purpose of sanding the neck to remove the varnish. I'm sure there is a reason that I don't understand.

[Steven Stone]

[If the neck is refinished, it seems that would defeat the purpose of sanding the neck to remove the varnish]

The refinish is color only so it feels just like naked wood but doesn't look so rude. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[Philip Halcomb]

True, another common method is as Steven pointed out, remove the finish from the neck and just refinish it with the dye and seal it with some tung oil. Then it looks like it should but has the feel of bear wood.

[mandogrrl]

I let someone use my mandolin at a festival and when I got it back the neck was all sticky. I couldn't shift positions, it was very annoying. Once I got home I cleaned it a couple of times with a guitar polish or something similar and it seemed mostly better. Now I know why some people won't let other people play their mandolins.

[halfamind]

Baby powder got me through Friday night's outdoor gig... good thing the twanger was packing it!

[TommyK]

Get you a one of them 'shoe shine' pads. They're a sponge impregnated with silicon. One swipe across the strings does the trick for me on the top side. Once across the bottom ought to work for you as well. :cool:

Different people's skin and body chemistry react differently to finishes than others. The only example I can cite is when I took a 1st aid class. We gloved up with latex gloves. The instructor also had us hold our gloves up before degloving. Body oils break down latex and leave dark splotches on the gloves. Different people's gloves were in varying stages of degradation. The ones with the most degradation were smokers and or heavy drinkers. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[mandolinplucker]

I keep a small piece of scotch pad ( the green stuff that is used for washing dishes or scuffing between finish coats) in my case. If my neck gets sticky I rub it down with the pad and it gets rid of the "stickys". I think that the fine dust that it leaves on the neck works like talc powder without getting that stuff everywhere. Its not as abrasive as steel wool and leaves a mat finish on the neck. I guess that eventually, if you do it enough you will wind up with the finish removed from the neck. Thats not necessarily a bad thing but it will take a while.

[sunburst]

...a sponge impregnated with silicon...
No silicone please!
If you ever need any finish work/touch-up it will be a problem. Glue doesn't like it either, so repairs of any sort can be compromised.

I stand by my original post. Fast-fret. It will slick things up just as well as silicone, and won't cause repair problems later. Powders (talc, corn starch) accumulate around frets and on some finishes. I used to use corn starch until I tried Fast-fret.

Some aftershave products and colognes can cause some finishes to soften and get sticky, so if you're picking, it might be best to smell "natural". http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif