Back of the neck finish

[Fran Diaz]

Congrats Fran! You did a great job. I like the way you did the side of the headstock with the hard line transition.NICE!
I hope you paid particular attention to "whiskering" the surface well with the 400 grit. That's where the silky feel comes from. Not sure I understand what you mean by "less porous" (with the oil application). Mine feels like glass & has the illusion of feeling harder than it did with the finish on it.
I'm really pleased that you had the courage to go through with this. You're gonna love it amigo! Nice thing is: now that the nitro is gone, you can always re-do any of it quite simply if needed. Did you have any problem with the nitro dust? Maybe it was less of an issue due to its aged curing. Mine was freshly sprayed.
B.  

Hard to explain; I might get the same feeling with the natural skin oil after playing the bass for a while, but the true oil really made me get that feel faster.

No problems with the nitro dust, I just did the job close to a window.

[P. Bass]

Congrats Fran! You did a great job. I like the way you did the side of the headstock with the hard line transition.NICE!
I hope you paid particular attention to "whiskering" the surface well with the 400 grit. That's where the silky feel comes from. Not sure I understand what you mean by "less porous" (with the oil application). Mine feels like glass & has the illusion of feeling harder than it did with the finish on it.
I'm really pleased that you had the courage to go through with this. You're gonna love it amigo! Nice thing is: now that the nitro is gone, you can always re-do any of it quite simply if needed. Did you have any problem with the nitro dust? Maybe it was less of an issue due to its aged curing. Mine was freshly sprayed.
B.  

Hard to explain; I might get the same feeling with the natural skin oil after playing the bass for a while, but the true oil really made me get that feel faster.

No problems with the nitro dust, I just did the job close to a window.

The issue w/nitro dust I was referring to was the transferring of a tacky dust residue from your hands to the bass. I found that to be a concern. I thought maybe since your bass was a few years older, the nitro would be cured completely & perhaps not have been as tacky when in dust form. I have limited experience with this so I'm just curious. This isn't wood dust that can be washed off. The protection of the bass with masking etc. is very important.
B.

[Fran Diaz]

Congrats Fran! You did a great job. I like the way you did the side of the headstock with the hard line transition.NICE!
I hope you paid particular attention to "whiskering" the surface well with the 400 grit. That's where the silky feel comes from. Not sure I understand what you mean by "less porous" (with the oil application). Mine feels like glass & has the illusion of feeling harder than it did with the finish on it.
I'm really pleased that you had the courage to go through with this. You're gonna love it amigo! Nice thing is: now that the nitro is gone, you can always re-do any of it quite simply if needed. Did you have any problem with the nitro dust? Maybe it was less of an issue due to its aged curing. Mine was freshly sprayed.
B.  

Hard to explain; I might get the same feeling with the natural skin oil after playing the bass for a while, but the true oil really made me get that feel faster.

No problems with the nitro dust, I just did the job close to a window.

The issue w/nitro dust I was referring to was the transferring of a tacky dust residue from your hands to the bass. I found that to be a concern. I thought maybe since your bass was a few years older, the nitro would be cured completely & perhaps not have been as tacky when in dust form. I have limited experience with this so I'm just curious. This isn't wood dust that can be washed off. The protection of the bass with masking etc. is very important.
B.

Ah! I get it now, but no problems at all. I just cleaned the bass with the Sadowsky everyday polish and it was clean as a whistle.

[P. Bass]

It's been 1 year now since the removal of the neck finish & the bare maple is still pretty clean looking & as slippery as ever. I just love it!
B.

[Fran Diaz]

The white maple is holding up pretty well (and pretty white ).

[P. Bass]

The white maple is holding up pretty well (and pretty white ).

Thanks Fran. I'm not all that concerned about keeping it looking "new white". Taking it down to the bare maple allows for a very attractive & slight greying of the playing surface wood. I wipe it down with a damp cloth regularly (just plain water & sometimes w/ rubbing alcohol) to pay respect to the wood & keeps the "greying" uniform over the neck. I will never use polish on the bare maple. It's gonna stay "bare"; for the feel. The un-tinted nitro on the headstock is starting to nicely darken a tad. Great how an instrument acquires "character" w/time. 
B.
PS: ***Just a note here that the attention paid to "whiskering" of the wood after the 400 sanding is the deal maker on this neck.