Hello All,

I am new to the forum and recently purchased a MIM 2-tone sunburst '72 Tele Thinline.I have always owned MIA fender guitars, but decided to give the MIM '72 a try. I am very happy with the way it looks and sounds, but the gloss urethane coated neck is very sticky. Are there things I can do that will make the neck play faster/smoother? I don't want to sand it, as that will void the warranty. Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

nbtblues

Rub her down with 0000 steel wool. It wont scratch the neck finish (only on a micro-scopic level) but will make it look and feel more like the satin type finish you are used to on the MIA guitars. Make SURE it is 0000 steel wool !

Big +1 for Nevin's advice.

Play the hell out of it and break it in the old fashioned way. It might be a bit sticky right now, but the more you play it, the more personality and life you'll be breathing into it.

All,

I appreciate the input. I have heard that 0000 steel wool will work, but I am going to hold off on that for now, as I still have 3 weeks to return the guitar if it doesn't work out for me. For now, I am going to take Nevin's advice and just play it. Hopefully, that will smooth things out.

Thanks,

nbtblues

thats takes a little more than three weeks dude....

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Without sanding or scraping with steel wool, if you rub the neck with your palm heel, aside from friction heat, you will notice that you will start bringing forth a gunky crud. This is the stuff that makes the neck sticky. If you keep rubbing and cleaning this crud off as you go, sooner than later it will all be gone. Once you're satisfied you've gotten it all, wipe the neck with naptha. From this point on, provided you wipe the neck down after each use, your sticky neck should be history.

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You dig?

if you like everything else about the guitar aside from the neck finish, then steel wool it...no sense returning it if it is a good fit for you aside from one thing you can fix yourself.

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

This is an interesting discussion and I've heard the subject brought up several times. I wonder if the problem has to do with climate or possibly the conditions humidity wise where guitars are stored? I have not experienced this and actually prefer the urethane finished necks. I recently acquired a MIM blacktop with the slick neck and find it very nice. I have read articles about refinishing that refer to the long time that is required for the urethane finishes to completly cure. Anyway I see some good input here.

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OK, I'll hum a little bit, got it now?

sprinkle a bit of baby powder on your fret hand before you warm up and see how that goes.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Ain't never steel wooled, sanded or stripped a neck.

'Riding with Nevin; play it.

You can clean the neck and your hands, then just play.

It must be a body chemistry thing (more or less acidity in the sweat or oils in the individual player's hands). I have played guitars with finishes ranging from highly glossy to raw wood and I rarely have a "sticky" problem as described.

The few times things have gotten a bit "gummy", my hands or the neck of the guitar weren't clean before I started playing.

I did gently rub a "green meanie" scouring pad on the back of neck of my Strat, just enough to take the beginning of the gloss off, but that's just because I wanted it to feel a bit more "broken in"...but I could have gotten the same result by playing it a lot.

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Daily before you play hard rubbing the neck helps and play some metal or ac/dc on it, thats whats going to help!

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You cant always get what you want

I have to go with the 0000 furniture wool. Right now I have some 4/0 Lustersheen Wool I have been using.

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