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Based on majorly bad checking that occurred in transport on my Warmoth neck this last weekend, I’m a little leery about getting a neck from them right now since cold weather has set in. The thought of a freshly laquered neck sitting on a UPS truck in freezing temps is very appealing.

Are my concerns valid? I love the tone on my tele, I just can’t get used to the 7.5” radius and the teeny tiny vintage frets. On the other hand, I don’t want to pay a few hundred bucks on a new neck only to have the finish crack in shipping.

Here is the way I see it, do guitar companys on ship out guitars to dealers during the moderate months of the year? No, they ship year round for the most part! I say, if it screws up it will probally be because of Warmoth not doing something correctly in the finish, not the temps.

Thats just my take on it though!

Good point, but how many guitar companies are still using nitro? Sure, some, but I#8217;d guess not many in the grand scheme of things.

I probably wouldn#8217;t have thought twice about it if the neck for my SG project didn#8217;t check all over the place when I took it to Columbus last weekend. Two hours in the covered bed of a truck, in a case, cooled down and warmed back up in side the case. You can#8217;t be much more cautious than that. That neck was sprayed over a year ago, so the lacquer should have should have been fairly stable.

I've been wondering about that too. My warmoth neck *unfinished* is coming monday, and its shipping from washington(I'm guessing its very cold there) to where I am(FL). Its in about the 50s here. I'm not sure what precautions I should take when it gets here? I obviously don't have to worry about checking but I don't want anything bad to happen to the wood or frets. Me and my buddy who has refined a couple guitars with nitro are gonna spray the neck ASAP.
After the neck has warmed up from being inside should it be sprayed in an area that has room temperature? Thanks

Hey Bro, most guitars now are sprayed with acrylic urethene, which is essentially plastic coating. Lacquer is very brittle when dry, urethene remains flexible, even when it's subjected to low temperature. Lacquer outgasses solvents for a really long time, that's why it tends to dull down. That's the solvent (thinner) making it's way to the surface, and it requires buffing to restore gloss. Urethene cures by chemical reaction, not so much air cure, so it tends to stay shiny, not dulling down.

Checking usually is from aging/increased brittleness, finish cracks are more a product of expansion/contraction due to moisture amp; rapid temperature changes. I'd probably seal the lacquered neck in a plastic bag/wrap, or something like that for transport. I'm guessing the checking you saw had as much to do with moisture as it did with temperature. The plastic bag would keep the moisture out.

Warmoth doesn't use lacquer, they use poly of some sort. I wouldn't worry.


Originally Posted by MikeSGood point, but how many guitar companies are still using nitro? Sure, some, but I#8217;d guess not many in the grand scheme of things.

Yeah, I guess Gibson doesn't sell too many guitars in the grand scheme of things

Your neck should be fine!

Warmoth uses poly only now as I recall.


Originally Posted by C-Town MikeChecking usually is from aging/increased brittleness, finish cracks are more a product of expansion/contraction due to moisture amp; rapid temperature changes. I'd probably seal the lacquered neck in a plastic bag/wrap, or something like that for transport. I'm guessing the checking you saw had as much to do with moisture as it did with temperature. The plastic bag would keep the moisture out.

Thanks Mike. I may have my definitions wrong... I am certain this happened due to temperature because the cracks all perpendicular to the neck's length and are located at the headstock and the thinner end of the neck, which would be more prone to rapid cool down and expansion contraction. Regardless, what's done is done, the neck is out of warranty, and I'm stuck having to refinish a neck with a bound fretboard.

So, I wonder how that's dealt with? Or, is the fact that the fresh laquer still being quot;softquot; enough to keep it from cracking that badly?

And for the record... Warmoth uses urethane on bodies. They still use a Sherwin Williams nitro laquer on their necks. Atleast that's what Dan at Warmoth told me when I called regarding the damaged neck.

So, I wonder how that's dealt with? Or, is the fact that the fresh laquer still being quot;softquot; enough to keep it from cracking that badly?

It may not be too bad, Mike, if the cracking isn't into the binding. One BIG advantage to lacquer is how easy it is to touch it up. Because new lacquer melts the old finish when applied, it tends to bond real well to the old finish. Presuming you could sand just the area where the cracks are, you could then blend the clear into the rest of the undamaged area. Once it dries overnight, you could hand rub it with rubbing compound to restore the gloss. Because it melts in, it shouldn't show a line where you repaired it. I'd try to go easy on the clear in the binding/fret end area, so as to avoid having a ridge line where you tape up the fingerboard. In fact, you could take some #0000 steel wool to the edges before you use the rubbing compound, that will clean the clear off of the fret edges.

quot;Polyquot; or urethene finishes are much tougher to touch up. They do not quot;meltquot; into the old finish, so you almost always get a visible blend line when you rub the finish smooth. The only good solution for poly stuff is to sand and clear the entire piece, a fair bit more work and hard to avoid telltale ridge lines where the finish ends amp; taped stuff begins.

For the tape up, I'd use a top quality automotive masking tape, edging it with what they call quot;Fine Linequot; tape. For sanding, the repair you can use 320 wet or dry, with the final sanding before clear being 600 grit. After you've cleared the neck, if you want to smooth it down a bit before rubout, you can lightly sand with 1500 grit wet. On the wet sanding, I'd use barely enough water to allow the paper to cut, constantly wiping the excess with a dry cloth to keep it off of everything else. I'd then let it dry overnight to be sure you do not have excess moisture that the clear will trap. Hope that helps you Bro, good luck!

Me and my buddy who has refined a couple guitars with nitro are gonna spray the neck ASAP. After the neck has warmed up from being inside should it be sprayed in an area that has room temperature? Thanks

I would definitely get the neck up to room temperature, low humidity 72 degrees is ideal. If you place the part in the spray environment 24 hrs. before you actually spray it, it will stabilize and give you the best possible conditions for applying the finish.

Thanks again, Mike. I can feel where Warmoth taped off the binding completely... I figured on doing the same thing (the board is pau ferro, so it'd have to be all taped off anyway).

It's not all bad news I guess... this will allow me to take the headstock completely down to wood and color match the headstock the body.