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I have a Benedetto Bravo. The neck finish has always relatively sticky too me when compared to most of my guitars. I think I am the 3rd or 4th owner for this guitar. I am not fully familiar with it's history. I have several Eastman archtop guitars here for reference and some nice flattops.
I was wondering what others have experienced in this regard. Is this common for Benedetto guitars? Was it just luck of the draw? I sometimes wonder if the finish was contaminated with an inappropriate polish at some time during it's history.
Danielle
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06-02-2024 11:55 AM
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Nitro finish can do this in warmer seasons I would directly call Benedetto guitars.
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I have a 2007 Bravo, early Savannah. Noticed similar stickiness in the early days, and felt that the finish was softer than I expected. An object of worship rather than a tool, I let it be. A few years later, an ES-175 1959 reissue also felt different from what Nitro finishes used to be in my young aeromodeling years. Apparently, current formulae include some softening agent to prevent shrinking and cracking.
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The same was said about Gibson guitars some years ago and it was debated on this forum on several occations. Some said it was caused by a switch from solvent soluble laquer to water soluble as an envoronment/worker health precaution. Others said it was due to Gibson using a laquer that ended up softer to avoid warranty claims for checked laquer. Whatever, many didn't like the stickiness of the laquer, especially not on the neck.
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I had one guitar where the finish on the tuning knobs started coming off. I didn't notice at first, except for the guitar feeling sticky.
Eventually, I put on new tuning knobs and cleaned the guitar, quickly, with naptha. It worked. It didn't seem to hurt anything, but more knowledgeable people might be horrified. I'm not recommending it, but it's what I did.
Since then, it has been okay, but I do prefer guitars with dryer feeling necks. That is, the finish feels just a hint of tacky even now.
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I've owned three Benedettos, one early model and the other two from Savannah. None has had any stickiness that I could detect. The neck on the one I still have is fine, hard and smooth, like most of the other guitars I have. My sample size is small, but I've also not heard of Benedettos having this issue.
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Hate to think that someone used Lemon Pledge on it in its past life. Did you try wiping the back of the neck down with naptha? A very light dusting with talcum powder eliminates the sticky feeling but you might not like the way it looks after that.
If it is a forever guitar whose resale value is of little consequence to you the lightest duty grade white 3M scouring pad does the trick. But think about it carefully before you do so as it does have an impact on resale value. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00046984/
The suggestion to call Benedetto is a good one. Try that first.
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A friend of mine used to play Benedettos and had three Bravos (all now sold) that he got from Howard Paul at "artist pricing". And he had problems with the neck finish on all three (all were made well before the pandemic). IIRC, he sanded the back of the necks to fix the problem. It didn't bother him after the sanding and he loved the guitars.
He is now back to playing Gibsons.
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I've used pumice powder, valve grinding compound, auto finish compounds etc on a few solid body necks, with good results. But I haven't done it on an archtop with a thin nitro finish. I'd call Benedetto and ask them what they recommend.
I prefer pumice powder because it has no solvents and I've worried that the volatile chemicals in polishing compounds of all kinds could damage the finish enough to make it check, flake, or otherwise misbehave. TBH, this did not happen - but I think a water base is safer as long as the finish isn't sensitive to it. There are a few alternatives for fineness, but I've only used 200 grit. I mix it with a little water to make a loose paste and use a clean cotton cloth to rub it over the areas I want to be less tacky. This will slightly dull the finish, but the effect is nowhere near as dramatic as it is if you sand it - and unlike sandpaper, you won't alter the profile unless you really whack away at it for a long time. I've gone back and polished the area with progressively finer automotive polishing compounds, and it comes up pretty glossy but without the slightly sticky feel.
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After looking at the responses in this thread, I get the impression sensitivity to the finish feel can vary substantially depending on the player.
Last year I purchased a Reverend Pete Anderson Eastsider T guitar. It has one of those exceptionally smooth thin satin finished roasted bolt on maple necks. In an effort to get used to that guitar, the bulk of my playing since buying it has been done on that guitar. I think I have become used to a low friction neck.
After having a few people ask to see my archtops again I thought I would bring the Bravo out again. When I was using the Bravo frequently I did wipe the neck frequently with micro fiber cloth. I think for now I will just try using it again, and try leaving it out on a stand instead of storing it in case. Perhaps that finish needs some air?
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Why would Lemon Pledge cause the nitro to go soft?
Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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I'll echo the idea to see what the maker recommends but failing that I'd start w/rp's naptha suggestion, but in a small inconspicuous spot somewhere on the body.
I've used it on many old guitars w/nitro finishes and it works great but w/ modern finishes I'd be very careful.
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Hi Jabber, I've sprayed a little Lemon Pledge on a clean washcloth (for years), wiping the sprayed side followed by the dry side on both the fretboard and back of the neck before playing. I've done this (for years) on all of my guitars to reduce friction and have noticed no ill consequences other than people saying it is a bad idea! If this practice is not good for the guitar or strings, it has not been my experience. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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Any polish with silicone should not be used. The silicone gets into the nitro cellulose and makes it difficult for a repairman to do future finish repairs. Originally Posted by helios
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I stumbled onto an interesting thread on the Gibson forum. nitrocellulose laquer soft (ruined) - how to re-cure? - Gibson Custom - Gibson Brands Forums Originally Posted by oldane
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I had this happen on a couple of Gibsons. My luthier, who worked at Gibson for many years, said this can happen and it relates to something in the nitro, perhaps the plasticiers. He told me to use naptha, which worked well on the first one.
The second guitar was a Johnny A, which is expensive. A wipe down with naptha didn't work. I called Gibson and was eventually forwarded to the head of the repair shop. He said he never heard of such a thing. I asked the question several ways, but the answer was I must have done something to it.
My luthier told me to keep adding naptha and rubbing it then soft buff it. That worked permanently.
I don't believe the head of repairs and his minions. The sticky neck problem isn't that rare. It was two out of maybe 500 nitro finished guitars in a lifetime. Plus forums discuss the issue. My luthier was very familiar with the concern and reassuring.
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Today, a bassist mentioned that he buys basses with satin finish on the neck, not glossy, for this reason. The drummer then mentioned that he used to be able to buy sticks with a sticky finish - which he found desirable, I guess to grip the stick better. He ended up painting his sticks to achieve that feel.
My Yamaha Pacifica has a completely dry feeling neck. My Comins GCS-1 is glossy. Now and then, today for example, I used some naptha on it. Just a wipe with a naptha moistened dish towel seemed to do the trick.
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I just recalled: Furniture grade pure beeswax in turpentine is safe to use on sticky nitrocellulose. I used to wax the back of the necks until my small jar of beeswax ran out.
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I was out last night and a friend did mention that naptha can leave an odor. Have you noticed that? Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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No lingering odor. You can smell it when it's liquid, but it evaporates quickly. Once I wipe with a dry cloth I don't smell anything. Originally Posted by DanielleOM
Caveat: I use it, but I don't know if it's safe for every kind of finish.
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I have a Gurian flat top (70's) with this problem. Will try naptha. Appreciate the insights.
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Off topic I don't like flat top guitars, but Gurian I played from that time period years ago was tremendous sounding flat top. Originally Posted by Spook410
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After keeping the guitar out on a stand for several days, playing it daily, and wiping it down times a day with a clean microfiber cloth, I am thinking the situation is improving. I do think the finish is beginning to feel better to me, but it is possible I am just adapting to the finish. I am having one those days where I feel the worst thing you do with a guitar is to leave it in a case.
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I had a Gibson with a sticky neck. I bought it new and used both the naptha trick and the 3M Scotch-Brite pads previously suggested. The abrasive pad dulled the finish, but it would gloss up again as soon as I played it. Either method would help for a couple of days, then I'd just do it again. Naptha seems a bit gentler than the pad, but neither did any permanent harm to the neck. I played that guitar a lot, and after a few weeks, the friction from my hand took care of the problem permanently.
Even if your guitar had previous owners, it may not have been played much. My advice: Play that Benedetto like crazy and enjoy it. I'll bet it sounds great. It will probably feel just right in a short time.
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Believe it or not but I have cured sticky necks just by using Virtuoso polish regularly on them.
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