I don't know about the steel wool, but the scotchbrite treatment (I only swiped it like two times) leaves some of the finish still on the neck so its protected. It also doesn't leave scratches that are noticable.

cool, i'm considering the scotchbrites, they seem to leave some of the finish on. do you use some kind of oil after like tung oil to seal it up and make it look nice?
when using the scotch brites, do just rub them one the neck dry, or do you use somethng else like paint remover with it?

Oo-er!

Hi xan.cowen: whether you use steel wool or ScotchBrite the result should be the same. You are after just taking the shine off the surface and then stopping. You are absolutely not trying to rub the finish off - and paint remover is a big no-no, unless you want bare wood. Which you don't, for good reasons already given. The maker put the lacquer there for a reason!

Go at it very lightly and gently and the minute the gloss has departed, stop. There is no useful function for tung oil or anything else of the sort in this situation.

Good luck - C

What on earth is 'fre sprout'? Fret sprout?

Opps,yes fret sprout.