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Hi everyone - thanks for putting up with me and my first-time-build question!

I am working on a kit - a 3-piece ash Tele body with standard maple neck and rosewood board.

I have sanded the neck down to a gorgeous smoothness - it shines! I used 800 grit sandpaper, and then went a little further with these 3M polishing cloths (Stew Mac) in varying degrees of grit. Now the neck is just beautiful and feels great in the hand. I would leave it just as it is, if I could, but my understanding is that I really should seal/finish it with something.

I like a neck to feel as close to unfinished wood as possible - very satin, very smooth, not at all sticky/glossy.

What is my best option for neck finishing to achieve this? I've been told linspeed oil, tung oil, etc. Open to your experience and advice! Thanks in advance!

Doug

For satin necks I use a standard 3 part oil varnish mix. Equal parts each of boiled linseed oil (or tung oil), oil varnish (I use Ace Hardware Varnish), and mineral spirits. I sand to 220 and then begin finishing. I soak a paper shop towel and wipe it all over the neck and then wipe it off with clean paper towels until no more comes off. I then apply the next coat with 400 grit wet/dry sand paper in the same way again wiping it off with clean paper towels. I don't put too many coats (3 or 4) on but the final coat is always applied with 0000 steel wool and then wiped off as before. Importantly, you must let each coat completely dry before applying the next. For me that's usually 24 hours between coats, sometimes more. After the final coats I wait about a month and then apply Renaissance wax. This makes an incredibly smooth neck that feels very much like wood. It's beautiful too!

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Dan

Hard to go wrong with TruOil.... rub it on with a rag. Let it dry. Maybe another coat if you like it thin.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

+1 to TruOil. You've already got the neck too smooth for any other type of finish. Most finishes have adhesion issues on wood smoother than 320 grit.
There's really not that much difference between the 3 part oil varnish recommended in the first post and TruOil, either will work.

A couple of coats of TruOil won't be very durable, but it's easy to fix when it starts to wear. Clean thoroughly with naptha, sand lightly with 400 to 600 grit, and wipe on another couple of coats of TruOil.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Thank you to everyone for the advice! I've ordered some Tru-Oil and will give it a shot when it arrives. Although, I'm going to hold onto that recipe mentioned above, too!

The biggest problem with the recipe is finding a real oil varnish. Most companies have switched over to some type of poly.
Epifanes and Murdoch still make a traditional oil varnish in addition to the polys.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon