Removing Finish From a Telecaster Neck 

"It's metal wires over magnets guys, don't get your knickers in a knot." Haha well said!

After a string of Gibsons, seeing a Fender is like the sun shining on a gloomy day. Great vid, Dave.

"can't be like a rollercoaster ride cos that's what your playing is gonna sound like" 😂😂

One of the things that I love about the Players series tele is that the neck doesn't have the think glossy finish like this. No sanding necessary!

This is literally the project I have for today. Have my neck all taped off. Watch some videos on the head and bam Dave is walking me through it! Awesome vid

I've done this to every guitar I've ever owned that had that high gloss neck finish. I can't stand it! You mentioned body chemistry... mine tends to make my hand stick to the gloss like glue. Not get slippery. I've always just used a green ScotchBrite pad, dry. I keep one in the case for a while and just attack the finish bit by bit over a period of time. Maybe it's not the right way but it's worked for me for 40+ years and l doubt I'll be changing anytime soon. If l ever manage to screw somthin up 'least l got nobody to blame but myself...

Thanks for being here so I can spend a little bit of time hanging out with you here on your RU-vid Chanel

Thanks for that video... One of my guitars is a Telecaster ~2003 and I just didn't enjoy playing it anymore. Well followed your steps, sanding down the back of the neck and omg the neck feels great now. Also took the time to remove the remain finish of the frets and it seems I now have a new Tele. You rock thanks and keep posting these, love it.

As a long time Fender tele & strat owner, I love the satin finish. I know it's just a gloss finish that hasn't gone thru the final sanding & finishing process but, I wanted the satin finish.

Humble hint: Use a few drops of dish washing liquid in the water for wet sanding. It helps a lot in keeping dust and debris from clogging up the paper, especially fine grit.

Those green Scotch-Brite pads make that task a short & simple one.

Telecaster is perfection..... simple...

Thanks again D, lovin' (almost) every episode... Telecaster Nurd

That Tele is a beauty! Nice grain in the wood!👍😎🎸🎶

Love the look and sound of a rosewood neck on a tele..

Sweet looking Tele, great work as always

As a new guitar player, I just wanted to say great vlogs, great info and thank you. Now I have to watch all your vlogs to see which guitars gave you the most problems and to stay away from looking at them before I purchase. Cheers

Cheers Dave! (Oh yeah, I did the very same to my Teles neck and couldnt be happier with it - obv some folks like the gloss but I findy them sticky rather than slippy)

I used 1500 grit paper to smooth down the edge of the skunk stripe and some overspray from my mim '19 Fender RW 50's Tele. Worked perfect.

Peanut butter and grape jelly, one of my favourite snackin' sandwiches. Quick and delicious!

Nice vid. Love the 'excuse list', while polishing frets. I thot of a few of my own. LOL Vocal sound effects too. I'm known for doing that. Sometimes the audible grumt is the kicker, for loosening tuff nuts/bolts

dave is tha guitar gooroo! I enjoy watching all the videos!

I find myself looking forward to your vids and repairs. Big like.

Thanks Dave...I just got a Mexican tele with the poly finish and this is what I need to do! It's the only guitar I have with a neck I don't like the feel of...never warms up in the hands

I just used Scotchbrite on mine. Worked great.

Your a true craftsman...

That whole video was very helpful and you are hilarious. Thanks so much

600 wet-or-dry is my preferred grit for getting the right feel on a shiny neck, higher grits get shiny too quick for me ;-)

Praise Dave!

Great taste Tele and PB &J!

I noticed that Dave refers to the high gloss finish complaint of the unhappy guitar players is their discontent with it being too "slippery" I'd always thought is was the opposite, that being the high gloss was too sticky I use finger ease and Fast Fret on the fretboard and on the back of the neck because I prefer it to be a little slippery I wouldn't go sanding the back of my Les Paul and they all have glossy finished neck backs As for me I don't have a preference either way but I also don't sweat very much

That is a sweet Tele. Would love to find a light one like that.

Nothing like a good, tummy yummy peanut butter and jam (raspberry!) sandwich after a job well done.

PB&J my favorite

Beautiful looking tele that one is 😆

The nicest neck finish is bare-sanded wood with a light oil and wax gunstock finish on it. Like Roy Buchanan style. Feel amazing and just enough there to keep the maple appearance from turning dark and gross. If you ever do that it will be an amazing video!

Makes me wanna buy another Tele , damn it! I love 'em , what can I say!? Hope all is well Dave! PEACE 💀👽🎸🎶🎵

I used Tung oil on a replacement neck from a Solo. The final coat takes a loooonnnnng time to fully cure. One to two weeks. Tomorrow is two weeks. Yay !

That tele has "The Sound" in spades. Not my favorite Telecaster bridge but the tone is there.

On all of my bass necks, whether it be a satin nitro finish or glossy poly finish, I always strip the finish off down to the bare wood and add multiple layers of tung oil. That gives it a great smooth finish with nothing for your hand to stick to. Sanding the finish down lightly to dull it wont do much, because after a month or two of regular playing and it will come right back to a semi gloss feeling.

Freddy Racer to the rescue once again. Who doesn't enjoy a bit of Freddy Racer action?

Awesome Dave《☆》I have a 72ish tiltable 3 bolt Strat neck that I've put on an old no name guitar and plan on re-installing after improvements :*: Nice Tele but I would have kept the gloss :*: Have a good one & Greetings from Florida🎃🤓☻🤠🎃

I love guitar.

Got a Squire Tele that came with the no finish neck. Love it compared to the slippery, heavy finish.

I always used to carry talc when I played bass. Sticky neck is a pain in the butt. Before i watch this I will assume that's why you're taking off the finish. We shall now see as I watch. :)

I just sanded down a Jackson neck with a polyurethane finish and it feels great (500 grits). However I also have a MIM Strat and I love its satin finish, I wouldn't touch it.

I LIKE IT!!!

I was taught to always make the intonation adjustments in the playing position. Having it on the neck cradle creates an upward bend of the neck that will affect the angle just enough to throw those adjustments off. But there was a sandwich to be had so I get it.

My sandwich intake has increased by 50% since I've started watching Dave's channel.

Thanks for the vid ehhh. Love the stories, especially "I was in the washroom when it happened" - Telly licious LMAO

After sanding the neck? You will no put any finish to prevent any oil/moisture/hand acids from entering the neck?

Phrase of the week "Rippin this thing a new tit" XD

Lmao the strings in the back lmao sounds awesome clip them before they wright a song

P.S., Dave, if Lenny Breaux is still around, would be much obliged if you could extend my gratitude for his influence on Mr. Bachman. If you are/were a Guess Who and BTO fan, you understand how Breaux and his jazz chord patterns found their way into Looking After Number One and other Bachman tunes. BTW, a truly underappreciated bunch of Canadian musicians.....Mr. Bachman and Burton Cummings and the guitar players who succeeded Randy after he departed. As much as I admire Randy's musicianship, the fellow that Burton recruited to take over lead was a helluva player as well. Those bands deserved more in terms of regard and recognition.....don't know that they've ever been inducted into Cleveland, but they should have been there a long long time ago. Makes me dream about Running Back to Saskatoon and those western Canadian State cities like Alberta. Oh, to be young again.....

When you've worked your way down the grits do you then work your way back up or just leave it alone?

I just bought and am awaiting delivery on a Glarry "thinline." This is one of the things I want to try out instead of experimenting on my actual Tele or Strat. The Glarry has a Rosewood (supposedly) fretboard, any suggestions on brands of oil/wax to seal it?

Dave! I need advice- I just received my brand new Harley Benton telecaster and I was using steel wool on the neck to smooth out the satin finish a bit. Well... I did it too much in a spot and removed the amber color off the neck in a spot. I tried to match it and couldn’t so now I started to uses steel wool on the whole neck because I got frustrated and now I’m not sure what to do. I just saw this vid and was wondering, do I need to put some type of Linseed oil on it??

I use red Scotchbrite to de-finish my necks. A monthly buff keeps them silky.

Oh, and I forgot, Dave, if you run into Randy Bachman, tell him I said hello.

Are locking tuners needed on a tele? I've heard they stay in tune for days?

I’ve never had the back of the neck be too slippery. My issue has always been once my hands get hot and sweaty (especially when it’s hot and humid like it gets down here in the south) the neck gets tacky and not slippery enough! Will the sanding of the neck make that better or worse?

dave, what are your thoughts on using MEK or something to remove the finish?

Fine work as usual Dave! You should have pointed out that it is not necessary or good to remove all the finish down to the wood, just soften the surface a little. I see alot of people who sand all the way to the wood leaving no sealer at all to protect the maple allowing moisture to absorb in there and causing problems.

Two questions-(1) other than additional mess, why not use fine grade steel wool? (2) Doesn't the neck require some kind of finish, i.e. oil?

I used a razor blade like it was a cabinet scraper on my strat neck. Went lightly until I got it to a nice smooth finish, worked great.

These work great - 3M Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrub Sponge

IME, a glossy neck doesn't make it slippery, it makes it sticky. I was kinda surprised Dave didn't know this.

Rolla Cossstah. Oo oo oo oooooh.

Aw, I was hoping you were gonna rip into some good ol' Buck Owens with that Tele! Maybe Buckaroo or Made in Japan, or even Act Naturally! C'mon Dave, we know you got some wicked chicken-pickin' riffs hidden away somewhere! ;)

I recommend you a wet green scotch brite pad to ungloss necks

Steel wool.

I'm about to put a bigsby on a tele and have a question. Should I put on locking tuners with it? I'm using rolling bridge/string trees etc. Not sure if locking tuners is just a good way to snap strings with a trem piece or if I'll need to have some play and just deal with retuning

she s a beauty !

Buy shorter height adjustment screws. For 6$ i got a bag of 100 and fixed 4 guitars. I am a heavy palm muter and need to have nothing sharp on the bridges. I also love the les paul style tune o matic

I don't understand using wet sandpaper on the neck, what is the advantage over dry sanding? thx

Does he ever explain which feeler gauge he uses when he checks the action? I don’t know which one to use.

Hey Dave, got a question for you if you don't mind. Would you apply any type of oil or wood care on a neck that's been sanded off? thanks in advance :)

I had a brand new one of these back in 1982 and traded it for a 1964 impala SS😜

An ac/dc reference dave?

What would you recommend on a nitrocellulose neck??

Question sir: Are you removing the finish completely, or just knocking the gloss down?

john mayer takes the finish right off his strats with glossy lacquer necks, right down to the wood, the problem with what youre doing is they get sticky again

Never saw a G string that was too high.

I'ts knickers in a bunch.

Ouch tuning amp right next to camera mic... my poor ears exploded 🙉

note: this video is not of someone removing the finish, just lightly scuffing it*

I had my 🎧 off because I thought you were going to use the sander Dave 😒

Why does Fender put a skunk stripe on a neck with a glue on finger board?

NOTME did it!

I want to clone that Tele.

Hand oil. Years of playing and the oils from your hand is the correct way to oil the neck. Would you oil a baseball bat?

You could have killed two birds with one stone and used peanut butter and jam to make the neck a bit stickier.

Scotchbrite.

Beware the slippery mess...

Screw it I start with 80 grit. No time for screwing around.

Plain pad of Scotchbrite for un-lacquering a neck? Nobody?

Shouldn't you be soaking that Canada sandpaper in Labatts blue..hoser!🍺

Looks like a guitar 😳🤮 .... Only BASS , Dave. 😁👍🏿 lol

Dave, any chance you can relocate your business to western side of Ontario Province? You're way too far east to justify dropping off my guitars so that you can use them for the show/channel and to improve their playability, plus we don't like Toronto much.....AAy? Like somewhere just north of Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula.....not as far north as Thunder Bay where the little weasel conductor Schaeffer hails from of course.

Blasphemy. He's using power tools. How dare you, Dave? I'm outraged, planning on doing a protest with more outraged people.