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One word for that:
AWESOME!
That's the coolest thing i've seen in a while.
How does the neck feel now?
Hmmm, I wonder what black polish would look like...
I've got an old black yamaha with a black board....
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ok, my lite ash tele might be coming in for an operation...
Any particular type of Kiwi?
Just the regular brown paste that comes in the little tin.Quote:
Originally Posted by ziess
Hmm.... interesting, that. It makes it so much "warmer" and less sterile. :yay Will remember that it DOES work!!
It doesn't appear to ever fade either. I did my MIM Jazz Bass a couple of years ago.
I think you've pushed me into doing my Hwy1 Strat!
Outstanding......frankly...one of my biggest turnoffs to Most lower-mid priced new fenders is the WHITENESS of the necks....Man that looks GREAT !!GREAT !!!
That's a pretty cool trick :nelson
Any special instructions on doing it?
Did you just polish it like a pair of shoes?
I think my MIM bass is about to get a tinted neck.
That looks really great.
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I am gonna give it a shot tomorrow and if it turns out good on my tele then I'm gonna do it to my 2 color sunburst JV Strat.
I did it to my first actual "Fender" Tele, an old MIM Std.
Mine was already a bit nicked up.
It looks great in a virgin neck.
That turned out really well, Telerat.
The gold spaghetti logo is a cool bonus.:yay
Top tip! Buying my Kiwi on the way home tonight...
Thanks!!!
I did it to the neck of my MIM Standard Strat a couple of years ago. Still looks great. I didn't remove the neck or the hardware. I just used Q-tips and toothpicks around the metal parts and the neck pocket.
So, this stuff actually stays on the neck? It doesn't wear off? Interesting. No brown fingertips for the first few weeks?
It must be due to the satin finish. The polish has to be filling the nooks and crannies and staying there. It can't possibly be staining the finish, can it?
I believe that it is penetrating the finish.
Kiwi shoe polish is nasty stuff. Toxic as hell until it dries, I believe.
I suppose that's possible, but it's a bit doubtful with polyurethane, especially water based. Once that stuff cures there is very little that will penetrate it. Water will, over a period of time, but anything solvent-based is going to bounce off unless it sets there for a long, long time.
Wood stain works pretty much the same. While it pentrates to some degree, the primary means of shading comes from the pigment settling into the grain.
Of course this is speculation, but it'd be interesting to see what happens on a gloss finish.
Dude, Telerat that looks great! A new trend has started.
Heres the best before picture I could find
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2.../Fender004.jpg
Heres the after
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...tim/Fender.jpg
I kinda did two coats, put one on, ran to the store ate lunch then put another on.
Wonder how it would fare on one of those laquered up necks...?
I darkened the bindings on my ES-135 with Kiwi shoe polish.
It worked well. I believe it actually penetrated the finish.
When used on nitro, it actually appears to soften the lacquer slightly so drying time after applying and wiping off the finish is required.
I've also applied it to bright white plastic parts with less favorable results. It took on a pink hue.
I recommend practicing on spare parts and scraps.
See, now I'll buy into it penetrating lacquer, no problem. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the poly thing.
[
Holy Shmoly !!! just came back home and I think I overdid it a bit ! looks amazing !!! a bit like peanut butter !!!
I did it on Fender Squier Telecaster (rewired as an Esquire, neck only says Fender ( alone ) so adds to the relic job I guess ...
for some reason it feels smoother... weird...
my house stinks like an Italian Camel shop...
Hmmm, could this be the solution to the sticky feeling of the highly lacquer neck (that i do not like)...Quote:
for some reason it feels smoother... weird...
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I did the Kiwi deal to my Esquire neck a few years ago, and after hard giging, it shows no sign of wearing off. It's permanent. I think I did it about three years ago.
Much better tone too. It has a darker sound.
Don,Quote:
Originally Posted by Don
What color does the binding have after the KIWI treatment? I've got a 68 Gibson that I had to get a new (bound) pickguard for after the first one completely deteriorated. The new one has very white binding while the body binding is nice and yellowed. Like to make the new pickguard look aged too.
Ah yes... the Brown Sound... sponsored in part by Kiwi.Quote:
Originally Posted by Offshore Angler
The binding that I put it on on my ES-135 had clear lacquer on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by JAM
I don't think I'd use it on a pickguard edge. It might be too white and turn pink.
I'd consider soaking the pickguard in a tray of coffee.
Thanks Don,
I'll have to try the coffee treatment.
MMMMMmmm, maybe rub the neck w/ coffee grounds? Hereby dubbed the the "Juan Valdez treatment." El aroma es irresistible! :DQuote:
I'd consider soaking the pickguard in a tray of coffee.
Looks good. I did a Squire butterscotch neck like that also. I actually did it twice, the first time, it was not dark enough. The second time, I left it on for a few hours and it looked totally brown until I wiped it off.
It turned out perfect also!
I'd think the smooth squire necks would work great
:hmm
On thing I did find that it wore off the neck area as I played it. It never totally went back to white, but it lightened a bit.
What finish does Fender use on these necks that is so clear?
When I built my USACG T-Style I used Minwax Wipe on Poly in clear satin on the neck and it came out darker than my MIM Std. Jazz Bass. The Jazz Bass had a light coat of Kiwi brown on it at the time!
The wipe on poly gave the neck a nice golden honey hue. Maybe because it's thin and soaked in?
It's because you used oil based, and they use water. Water based poly is crystal clear, dries FAST (can you say, "production"?), is hard as a rock, and never yellows. The oil based has a warm tone to it, more like a varnish although not quite.
That makes sense.
My AM. Std. guitar's necks have darkened considerably over time though.
They've got tan lines under the tuners and where the neck joint covers them.
It took a bit of time though.
I suspect they're using something besides the standard stuff we can get, but maybe not. I also suspect that manufacturer's claims that it never yellows can only be tested out over time. Surely, the older AS guitars have yellowed to some degree, my '90 sure did. Then again, those older necks weren't as stark-white as the newer ones to begin with. Maybe a different forumla? Water based wasn't really perfected until very recently.
At any rate, you guys who've posted photos of the shoe polish trick have done a great job. The necks look killer.
Here's an old Phtot of mine. Circa 2002 or 03:hmm
http://www.lilypix.com/photos/showpi...54084&uuid=531
Cool $200 project Tele. I dig my present Teles very much, but I should have kept this one. I miss that I didn't feel like I was messing up something by drilling and filling holes to make it what I wanted. Darn good player too. :toobad
Oh well.
I used the brown polish to tint my MIM Strat last night. Worked great, and also worked well to age the marker dots, the brown polish works well for green piskguards, the tan polish is perfect to age a white guard.
I did my Hwy1 Strat's neck last night.
It took about half an hour including removing the neck, tuners and string tree, tinting the neck, reassembly and restringing the guitar.
I had done my MIM Jazz Bass a couple of years ago and had forgotten how easy and impossible to screw up this job was.
It looks real nice against the sunburst body!
I'm not into the relic thing at all. These necks just aren't pretty.
Could you do this with regular wood stain? Seems like you would have more control over the precise shade of tint that way...
bump -
:hmm I don't know.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gris
But with the shoe polish method, because it's not a liquid, it stays on the neck and you can really work it in and it's not dripping and making a mess.
Another factor; it seems dozens of other people have already had success with the brown Kiwi.
Add me to the list. I just did my MIM Jazz bass this afternoon.
About 45 minutes total to remove the neck and hardware. I originally started carefully, then realized that the stuff just seemed to soak right in evenly. This was the easiest stuff I've ever worked with. It also worked perfectly on the fret markers...darkened them right up.
I'm wondering what would happen if I waited a week and hit it with another coat or two. Does it keep getting darker, or is it more of a one-time deal?
I wondered the same thing so I tried another coat and it didn't seem to get any darker to me. I just thought it was cool that it got to a certain point and didn't get any darker like it aged 30 years and stopped instantly.
My only problem now is my other guitar player came over and got that look in his eye. Looks like I just went into the neck-tinting business.
One question. He's got a waterslide decal on one of his guitars (so no finish over the top of the decal). The decal's been in place for about a year and a half now. Does anyone know if the shoe polish is going to wreak havok with the decal?
I don't know. I do know that I don't want to be the one who finds out.Quote:
Originally Posted by fetchzee
Be very careful when you rub the shoe polish off.
Let us know how it goes!
What would it do to a shiney high lacquer body...? Dull it or penetrate thru and darken it (natural ash finish)...?
On my MIM, the Kiwi tinted the silver spaghetti logo to a "goldish hue."
I don't think the polish will "hurt" the decal. If it's a color image, like one of those vintage pinup babes, she's gonna get a tan. She'll look like Christina Aguilera. That spray-on tan look.:D
No, it's a waterslide (cough cough) replacement decal. Goes right on the headstock. Kind of just south of the tuning machines, if you know what I mean.
All joking aside, the decal is patterned after a 70s Tele, so it's black. I'm not worried about a color change, just whether it would eat the waterslide.
I'll just be extra gentle when I'm rubbing the shoe polish into the face of the headstock.
You don't have to rub the polish with a vengence.
Just put it on like car wax. Spead it evenly and let it penetrate on its own. Then lightly buff it off, and carefully around the decal.
It's waxier or stickier than most modern polishes, but it's basically the same idea. Just be careful w/the elbow grease.
Maybe dab it on near the decal so you don't get under the edges accidentally.
I dug into my shoe shine kit and grabbed the first no name brown I saw and it wasn't Kiwi. So I did my MIM Tele without any prep at all like cleaning with mineral spirits or alcohol and it worked fine. Wipe it on and then wipe it off. It's instant with total even coverage. So it doesn't have to be Kiwi brand only. As I was putting the polish away I noticed I did have a can of Kiwi at the bottom of the box so I took that and did a USA FMT Strat. Same results as in easy to apply, but the tint wasn't as dark. I think that's because the recent Strat FMT has a different finish on the neck. It darken it up but not as much as the Tele with the no name polish. I tried the Kiwi also on the Tele but it didn't get any darker. Also, it made no change to the front of the Strat headstock that has an extra heavy glossy poly finish. Nothing cuts through that heavy poly! Overall I am pleased anyway.
Since I keep them in cases they smelled like polish for a day or two. After wiping off and buffing with a towel, I immediatly played them and nothing came off on my hands. Seem like a safe mod to me.
When i did mine, it felt sticky on the back of the neck - even after wiping & wiping & wiping. So, i re-steel wooled the back of neck. Overall the effect on my neck was subtle, but it still made for a much better match with the body. B & A pics below:
http://www.lilypix.com/photos/showpi...626&pid=54762# http://www.lilypix.com/photos/showpi...oadSlideShow=2
I noticed I did have a can of Kiwi at the bottom of the box so I took that and did a USA FMT Strat. Same results as in easy to apply, but the tint wasn't as dark. I think that's because the recent Strat FMT has a different finish on the neck. It darken it up but not as much as the Tele with the no name polish.
I had similar results with the neck on my Inca Silver US Tele. It darkened it a bit but not nearly as much as the neck on a MIM Strat that I just did. It must be the difference in finishes between the MIA and MIM versions. Still looks good though. I hate that white-ish look the modern necks have.