unfinished neck

[cooper4205]

i played a mando recently with the neck left unfinished intentionally. it felt a lot "faster" so to speak, i liked it quite abit better than how my nitro finish feels. if i take the finish off the back and sand it down do you think it will have any long-term ramificcations from this? is it bad for the wood or could it be? let me now what you think

[ronlane3]

Cooper4205, a stripped neck is a personal prefernce. You will not harm the neck by removing the finish. Just tape off the areas that you want to leave the finish and then use either various grits of sand paper or 0000 steel wool and just rub it until you are satisfied with the results. I was told that I did not need to do anything after I removed the finish on my mandolin.

[JD Cowles]

ronlane3 speaks the truth. did it to my F5 a few years back and don't regret it a bit. tape it off and take your time and it will be just fine. remember, you can always sand more but you can't unsand...
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[cooper4205]

should i take more off (further up or down the neck) or is that about right?


http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/wesb4217/mandoneck.jpg

[ronlane3]

cooper4205,

That is a personal preference. Here is a picture of my F-9.

[cooper4205]

i think i might lengthen it just about an inch or so both ways. those are some mighty fine looking Fs ya got

[Jerry Byers]

I might feather it out just a little - just to smooth out the edges. I wouldn't take off any more finish though - that will happen as you play.

[ronlane3]

Thanks Cooper. I've had the F5-L for about 3-4 months now and I still have MAS. Which is why I haven't removed the finish from it's neck yet.

[Amandalyn]

Should any oil be added as a finish after sanding the neck down? and what kind? I've been wanting to strip mine down too.

[red7flag]

There was a post in the builders section a while ago that suggested some kind of clear coat to protect the wood. Check search for more info.
Tony

[Jerry Byers]

I bought a bottle of pure tung oil for when I decide to remove the finish on my mando.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Whether or not finish on a mandolin neck is preferable depends, for me, on the neck itself. The bigger the neck the faster I want it to feel. I had Bryan Kimsey put a French polish on the neck of my Weber 'dola. The French polish feels like there's no finish, but it looks great! On most mandolins, especially Hans Brentrup's, I don't feel the need to remove finish because the neck is so small. (I don't own a Brentrup, but I've played about 10 of them over the last year or so.) My Capek plays great with the finish on the neck, and I'm not a big fan of altering the look of the mandolin so radically even if I'm going to be the only one who sees it.

Best,
Daniel

[Jim Roberts]

Here's a picture of a Brock F5 (mighty fine mandolin, BTW) with the finish professionally removed by Leo Posch and a light coat of stain followed by a light coat of walnut oil and then followed by a light coat of baby oil. #Removing the finish off the back of the neck is especially nice on those sticky hot and humid Kansas summer days. #Notice how Leo feathered the transition areas in.

[Jim Roberts]

another Brock F5 picture...

[ronlane3]

Amandalyn, I was told by BigJoe, and a couple of other luthier's that I really respect, that you don't need anything put on it. I have just played it after I finished and I see no harm too it. (Again, all I used was 0000 steel wool to get my neck to look like that).

[dang]

I posted a few links in another thread about this topic...
neck rub off (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST&f=12&t=32464&hl=dang)
look for a post by me about 1/2 way down with a bunch of links to other threads....

[8ch(pl)]

I doubt that sanding will actually remove all the finish. Sealing coats go into the wood somewhat and I think will still have a residue there.