Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Is it wise or desirable to seal a Dakota neck (front and back) with a matte or satin wipe-on poly finish? I'm getting ready to oil my Dakota for the first time with Watco, but have to wonder if there's something better that I can use on the maple neck. Or should I just apply the Watco to everything, maple and walnut?

My 650D isn't particularly grubby right now, no heroic cleaning is required. My goal is to retail an original oiled appearance with better protection against neck soiling.

I wouldn't do it, Ken. These "poly" finishes (actually polyurethane with petroleum solvent bases) dry like alkyds--by combining with atmospheric oxygen-- and can get sticky with use. The Rick necks are sealed anyway, so you should be OK with the dirt issue. It's the walnut bodies that take a bit of care and oiling to keep 'em from becoming dingy. Watco's and wax is the way to go for these.

Thanks, Paul - I was reading conflicting info about whether the necks were sealed. Followup question: will Watco darken the walnut much? Mine's a little light and I wish it were darker.

Using Watco's Natural shade, which is uncolored, will darken the wood in the sense that it fills dry pore structures. I preferred Watco's Dark Walnut, which really added a bit more vivid contrast and life to my 380L.

What effect did the dark walnut have on the maple neck?

I only use Watco's on unfinished woods, and most recently, only walnut/walnut.

Watco's is not intended for use on anything sealed and/or finished, like a maple neck.

Its effect would be as follows: depending upon the finish already on the neck, it might add a strange tone of yellow or dirty light tan. Anyplace where the finish is worn or scratched through would come up darker; in many cases, much darker. Not a pretty sight.

Now I'm confused. Is Watco recommended for the Dakotas or not?

OK. let me try again.

The Watco's is for the walnut body only, not the maple neck or fretboard.

I never would have gotten that Watco isn't recommended for the maple necks from the past postings. Thanks for the clarification.

What do you recommend for treating the maple, if anything? I think I've seen you mention wax, but I'd like to be sure.

Is wiping the Watco only on the walnut sufficient protection for the maple, or do you recommend masking it off along the join lines?

Wax is fine for maple, and if you're going to use the Dark Walnut Watco's, I'd mask off the neck at the heel and on top where it inserts into the body.

Cool - thanks, Paul!

Okay, here's a twist. My 4004C has a maple neck-through with maple fretboard but no finish on them. Watco on that?

No finish?
And the maple hasn't turned gray from finger dirt and sweat already?

Methinks it's matte conversion varnish, John. In which case, I'd use Brillianize or Meguiar's Quik Detail Mist or equivalent

jingle_jangle wrote:No finish?
And the maple hasn't turned gray from finger dirt and sweat already?

Methinks it's matte conversion varnish, John. In which case, I'd use Brillianize or Meguiar's Quik Detail Mist or equivalent

Could have been originally but it had been cleaned and oiled before I got it and I also used the 3M pad Watco oil treatment on it when I first got it. Twice now. It had yellowed, and I had to scrub to get the dirt and yellowing to clean up.

The dirt and yellowing were on the surface of the finish. Trust me--without a finish on that maple (and wax is not sufficient protection for new maple), you would be seeing something akin to what an old Fender maple neck looks like after a lot of playing. Maple neck Fenders used to have a nitro finish. Once this wore off--as it always did in time and use--you got weathered, dirty gray wood.

So you did the Scotchbrite and oil thing to a finished neck. The yellowing you saw was probably the dirt, oil, and wax used on it previously, coming clean with the solvent in the Watco's. Then Watco's leaves behind a new wax surface along with some tung oil sitting on the surface of the existing finish. A nice buffing removes most of the oil, and polishes the wax content left on the finish. You've just waxed the conversion varnish on your neck!