hey guys,i have had my stratocaster for about 8 years now and ive come to figure out that i like the necks on the road worn strats.mine is the glossy tacky fee.l and i was thinking about sanding it but i was was trying to figure out what grit sand paper to use? cause i didnt want to get some that would eat thru the neck.i thought i would ask here where all the talent is Thanks!

Welcome.

If you feel you must do this to your neck, forget the sandpaper. Use 0000 (yes, that's four zeros) steel wool, available at better hardware stores near you.

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+1! I use this once or twice a year to buff my necks w/ very light pressure. Works great!

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

I had this done to one of my necks and I love it. You just have to use some oil on it to protect it every few months from moisture.

All he'll be doing is dulling the finish. As long as the steel wool doesn't penetrate through the finish (which it shouldn't), moisture won't be an issue.

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Someone once posted on this forum to try using a Scotchbrite pad on necks that were sticky.
I tried it on my MIM strat that had a thick urethane finish and it worked. It gave the neck a silky smooth worn-in feel. By far the best advice I've ever received. Ever.
My brother was so impressed he even tried it on his SRV and the results were equally fantastic.

I had the finish completely removed.

oh ok souds like i gotta get some of that then! i just want to sand it or (buff) it enough to get the tacky feel out of it.thanks for the advice!

Smooth polished surfaces will 'grab' when your hand is a bit sweaty. Get some fine abrasive cloth, like ScotchBrite, and lightly rub the back of the neck. This will produce a fast-feeling 'satin' surface, while still keeping the wood sealed up.

The reddish-purple ones should be about right. One of them is plenty. Start out very lightly until the abrasive gets worn away enough to allow more pressure. The plan is to just break up the surface finish a bit, not to remove the paint. Wipe the neck frequently with a clean cloth to remove the dust before it has a chance to get into places where you don't want it, like the strings or your pickups.

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i just got back from the hardware store with some scotchbrite and ran it over the neck a couple times and it feels great! i wish i had done this sooner.i like the satin finish feel alot better than the polished feel,i guess its whatever the player likes.and the neck doesnt look any different which is a good thing

I tried steel wool on my SRV strat but in order to eat through the poly I had to go with very coarse sand paper then medium then low. After that I used the steel wool to clean it up a bit. Now she's down to bare wood and feels great.

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pics or it didn't happen...

I Scotch-Brite-ed(?) my 62RI to a satin finish (not down to bare wood) about ten years ago and it still feels and looks great--you can barely tell that anything was done (except the back of the neck isn't as shiny ).

I don't know about 0000 steel wool, but you might try SB first--you can always sand more but you can't sand less...

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