Maple neck finish

[Stew Wardlow]

Been given a guitar (strat type copy) which the previous owners daughter decided to paint, not only the body but the neck too!
I've managed to scrape the paint off the neck using a Stanley blade, obviously it now looks crap, what finish can I apply to make it look nice again?
Cheers
Stew

[Gordon Bellerose]

I have taken a neck down to the wood and then refinished.
If you want a shiny finish on the headstock you can use a spray can lacquer.
For the back of the neck I have used a product called Polyx Oil.
Really hard drying oil with a satin finish.

[David King]

How nice it can look will depend a lot on how much time you spend sanding it out. I like to dampen the wood after sanding as that will show me any spots I've missed and it will also raise the grain which is useful as it would have raised over time under your finish and made it feel rough.

[Stew Wardlow]

I have taken a neck down to the wood and then refinished.
If you want a shiny finish on the headstock you can use a spray can lacquer.
For the back of the neck I have used a product called Polyx Oil.
Really hard drying oil with a satin finish.

Gordon will polyx oil be ok on the fret board too?
Stew

[Stew Wardlow]

How nice it can look will depend a lot on how much time you spend sanding it out. I like to dampen the wood after sanding as that will show me any spots I've missed and it will also raise the grain which is useful as it would have raised over time under your finish and made it feel rough.

Nice tip, thanks David
Stew

[Brian Evans]

FWIW, I used a spray can acrylic clear lacquer on two guitars, and after a year the finish has failed and is coming off. Cloth sticks to it (like the inside of a case), it glues itself to the rubber on a stand. I get to strip and redo them both. No idea what I did to cause the failure.