Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've noticed recently that when I play my 330 a lot, the neck gets kind of sticky. It's not really like a 'soft finish' or something - more like the glossy finish gets oil from my hand on it then becomes more difficult to play. Is this a common problem? Anyone know what do to about it?

PS - I usually wipe down the guitar after I've played it, so I don't think it should be that...
(I thought I'd read something about others with this problem here, but my search turned up nothing. Maybe I searched for the wrong words?)

I believe JH runs a very fine grit sandpaper over the back of the necks on all his guitars. It removes the shine but also the stickiness.

Personally I find my necks *less* sticky after playing them awhile - I gues I have guitar-friendly sweat or something.

Have you ever used a polish that could possiby have built up on the finish? Some guitar polishes have silicone or other ingredients that stay on the finish. I use Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #17 Plastic Cleaner. It is a rubbing compound that is much finer than ones for paint. There are other brands that have similar products. This stuff will clean without scraching. It will remove any build up. I had a guy at a music store inform me of another brand. These products work well even on plastic type of finishes that Fender and some other manufacturers use. You can find these products at auto and/or body supply stores.

The explanation I have heard is that chlorine bearing substances such as vinyl will react with the finish and cause a perpetual stickyness. My 1980 460 does that too.

I don't use any kind of guitar polish, I just wipe them down really well. There's these micro-fiber cloths made by this company called 'googalies' who also makes polish and what not. Those work well.
When I'm playing, I have the habit of wiping the neck down with my t-shirt every so often. I've also picked up a habit of 'pinching' my pick in my t-shirt while I play to kind of dry it off.
Bad advice for you snappy dressers though.
I also never use a napkin, just my jeans. lol.

I'd hate to see what you do to blow your nose, Spencer.

An update: I tried some Goo Gone on a bass neck that had a nasty case of the stickies. So far so good. After about a half hour of play it is still not sticky. It used to gum up after a few minutes before. I applied Goo Gone to a soft rag and wiped it on the back of the neck. I let is sit for a few minutes then wiped it clean with a damp cloth then buffed it with a polishing cloth. I also tried it on my 460 with similar results. Both of these instruments were loaned out years ago and came back with this condition. No amount of wiping or polishing would get rid of it.

Goo Gone is just naptha with a little coloring and perfume, is it not? As such, it should be real good at removing accumulated crud from necks, fingerboards, and such - although it has no advantage over straight naptha at a fraction of the price.

I did not know it is naptha. I was looking under the kitchen sink for something that might de-crud the neck and the Goo Gone was front and center. I keep a can of naptha in my shop for de-greasing fret wire and cleaning unfinished wood. I'll try straight naptha next time. Thanks Adam.

Is the guitar Jetglo?

The bass is JG but the guitar is FG.

Wow. Such confusion! You guys are outta control!!!

Way back, gosh, it must have been a week ago, I recommended Dr. Stringfellow's for just this purpose. DS is lemon oil and lighter fluid (naphtha). The naphtha is very volatile (meaning that it evaporates pronto) leaving behind the lemon oil, which can then be buffed with a nice clean dry cloth to a very non-sticky shine. Although JH has mentioned the steel wool thing before, I continue to be horrified when destructive methods of unsticking the new neck finish are used.

Ted: Goo Gone is orange oil and naphtha. Only notable difference between it and DS is the smell. And the "chlorine-bearing substances" idea you've heard comes from no other than JH himself, but not in reference to vinyl (which does not offgas chlorine, since it has none) but to foam used by some to cushion their guitars in the cases.

Vinyl will make conversion varnish sticky, but this is due to vinyl's highly caustic and reactive plasticizer. There are two principal types of vinyl plasticizers: phthalates and adipates. Phthalates are the culprits.

Adam: "Coloring and perfume"? Yeah--the coloring is the orange oil. So is the perfume.

Ken: Silicone polish will make the neck slicker, not stickier, but it's not recommended because of its permeation through the finish, leading to refinishing difficulty. But you're on the right track with Novus or Mirror-Glaze. It's just that Goo-Gone or Dr. Stringfellow work (and smell) better.

Straight naphtha will work for cleaning gunk out of crevices in well-used guitars. Add the citrus (lemon or orange), let the naphtha evaporate, wait a bit longer until the volatile components in the citrus do the same, buff the neck, and you have a non-sticky neck. And, I'll repeat: although Rick's fretboards are varnished, too, DS or GG works wonders here too to speed up the feel of both fretboards and strings, where it prevents gunking up of both round (and compression) wound and flatties.

On older, nitro-finished guitars, proceed with caution: naphtha can hurt this type of finish, depending on how porous it has become.

Thanks Paul. The bass in question is my 4003SPC BlackStar that I love to play. The sticky neck has been bothering me (driving me crazy) for a long time but because the bass is rare and collectable, I was always afraid to use anything on it for fear of damaging the finish. Last night, I took a deep breath and wiped on a little Goo Gone. The rest is history. The sticky neck was very frustrating because it would go away after the neck was wiped down with a polishing cloth only to return after a few minutes of play. I will check out Dr. Stringfellow too. Thanks for the tip!

I recall the Dr Stringfellows / Naptha discussion .. wow, was that a whole week back !!!

Good information though !!!!

Ted, you're welcome. I don't know how old your Black Star is (although I'm sure you've mentioned it on this Forum, probably before I joined), but if it's nitro-finished, do proceed with caution. Fully-aged nitro will absorb anything that's held in contact with it long enough; this varies with the composition of the "anything". Everybody knows about water spots on nitro; because guitars are usually wood, this is to be avoided.

It is possible for GG and DS to soften fully-aged nitro. Just don't soak the neck or finished fretboard with it. Wipe, let evaporate, buff with a second clean cotton cloth. I say finished fretboard because this stuff will actually HELP unfinished fretboards if you let it soak in.

Please share with us how well this works for you.