My neck is here!!! It's a very comfortable neck, but it really needs a refin. It looks like someone relic'd it and failed But it was a great buy at $40.

Things it doesn't have: A logo or very much finish on it, for that matter.

Things it does have: Very nice, dark, rosewood fretboard, pearloid inlays, maple cap, 22 frets, bit of nice play wear, proper mountings for the classic 'F' tuners (correct me if I'm wrong),the original furrels and trees.

I was wondering, could I ship it off to one of you guys, and maybe pay you to refinish it? After all, I was only a C student in woodshop

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Buxom, you have gone to my Stratopartster Rebuild Thread I believe...
You can do this yourself, it really is not difficult.
It is more about patience and not skipping a step than difficulty.

With the Minwax products available ( water-based ) it is no longer the toxic risk that refinishing used to be.
T o strip, I use a Soy-Gel stripper ( soy bean Based, water soluble, cleans up with water and is inert to the environment and more importantly to your skin..But you should wear gloves as it is messy.)

You can pick a Minwax stain ( I assume Minwax is available in your neck of the woods... )
After application and curing, you can apply a water based finish....A Rattle can works just fine, the trick is to heat up the can before spraying...Safe method to do this ( which is the only way I reccommend it )
In a pan heat up water, not to boiling point, but hot enough that you can still put your fingers in and leave them in for 20 seconds...You want the stain or clear finish to flow and exit the nozzle in a fine spray not spitting like the spiders..

Anyway itis easy enough to walk you thru it...If not I...You should ask Sir Ceri or Sir Xhefri.....

Ciao

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Great! Could I pick up all of the supplies needed at a local hardware store like Home Depot or Lowe's? Also, do I need to tape off the fretboard and the truss rod hole?

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Ceri would be happy to help - but I'm sure you don't want to pay trans-Atlantic shipping. Buxom, find someone local (not hard) or as 53 suggests, learn to do it yourself (easy).

Buona fortuna - C

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Flat rate shipping with USPS. Anywhere in the world for $17 for a tube.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

And back again, of course.

I'm up for it if you want. But seriously think about what 53 is saying first. My own prefered finish would be polyurethane lacquer, and a nice way of doing it is to buy an aerosol of Plasi-Kote urethane varnish, like this:



Easily available at hardware stores or online for about $5 - 8. Follow the instructions on the tin and away you go.

Alternatively, if you favour nitrocellulose then there are many sources for that in an aerosol too. I like this stuff made by Behlen:



That is easy to find by Googling "Behlen Instrument Lacquer".

Or you can find nitro in aerosols from Stew-Mac, ReRanch and many others.

Have at it!

Salute - C

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I might do aerosol nitro. But would I need to tape off the fretboard?

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Yes.

Cheers - C

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Alright. I'm ordering some amber nitro when I have the money in my paypal.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

1st Q........Yes

2nd Q.....Also Yes...But.... No...

What you want to do is tape off with either the blue painter's tape and I read about another brand of tape called Frog's tape (it's Green ) which is even better.
So tape of at the edge of the entire fingerboard where the frets end and the entire top over the frets...Run your finger over the tape edge to be certain that the fingerboard is sealed off from spraying.
As far as the truss hole no, that is only going to leave a ridge which you'll have to sand flush later...A major pita and quite unnecessary. For the head you are going to spray right over but you will minimize the amount of spray in that section.
Now spraying has to be multiple light coats....you will have to sand lightly with 800 wet between coats, just enough to get the dust particles smooth but not so much that you take off the last coat....This is actually the steps that will give you a flawless finish, I would practice on a scrap piece of maple, it is well worth the expense to not screw up the neck so that you have to completely strip and refinish...( been there....Done that... )

I may post a few pics and explanation on my Stratopartster build thread going thru the steps in more detail...I have to refinish the Black Stratopartster as I'm not happy with the outcome as well as cut out a new pick guard for the other out of a sheet blank.
Before I got caught up here on the Forum once again.... I was going to rearrange my guitar building space in my basement...... Need to set up the table saw, the band saw and a couple other items...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Sorted. And meantime you can be gently cleaning up and prepping the surface by sanding it very gently all over with P300 wet-and-dry paper. Remembering to wear surgical or other gloves from that moment on, so as not to contaminate the surface with skin oils, which would compromise the lacquer's ability to bond with the wood.

The back of that headstock certainly looks like it wants a clean up.

...And I see 53magnatone is back on the case. You will be safe in his capable hands.

Arrivederci - C

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Awesome! I'll get it done

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

No..No.. I didn't mean sending it...( as in TGS..will it arrive... )
I meant asking you good Sir for help and advice on how to proceed....
This is why we have a Forum....Other wise refinishing or rebuilding a Strat would be akin to searching for the Holy Grail....( Don't tell Miss Stevie... )

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Hep...Pep..Pep..Pep...Where are you going...

You are in on this also Sir Ceri...The More the Merrier..
Now where is the Big Hairy One...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

BTW Ceri....Thanks...I might have to look into Behlen Instrument Lacquer
I have been planning the next build and am totally on the fence wether I'm going to build it from raw blanks or have the neck and body from a supplier and go from there....
Actually tomorrow I'll go and spec out some Mahogany, Flamed maple and Walnut....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "