Finish question

[caspergomez]

I have a question that I am hoping for one answer but fear another. I have a neck that is finished in polyurethane that I need to apply an amber tint to. Is it even possible to spray a vintage tint over a surface that already has a urethane finish? In my case the headstock is the only area I need to touch up. any help appreciated.

 

[caspergomez]

shellac maybe?

 

[EdFarmer]

I don't think that you are going to get a tint over the urethane. You're most likely going to have to sand the headstock, tint it and recoat it with urethane.

 

[rockon1]

I used Minwax "tung oil" (its not real tung oil
)over the finish on my bullet Squier strats headstock no problem. I got some minwax stain and mixed a little into the Minwax "tung oil"... Lightly sanded the headstock, applied a couple coats, decal then a couple more. Used to be almost white with the painted logo

 

[KGWagner]

Shellac will adhere to nearly anything, and has a natural (slight) amber tint to it. Might need more than one coat to get where you wanna be.

 

[Baxtercat]

Yes, light tints; easier to control the evenness of the color.
Agree w/ #4, a lite 0000 steel wool sanding/roughing up of the poly 'skin' so the tung oil will more likely stick.

 

[caspergomez]

good stuff. thanks folks.

 

[EyeUrnMayDen]

Shellac can get tacky sometimes. Prob not what I would use on a neck(if you do want to go with shellac, a coat of paste wax will help take care of the sticky feel.) you could always thin out some tinted poly (minwax polyshades for example) just make sure its oil based first, then you can just wipe it on with a rag (after prepping the neck of course) PRACTICE ON SCRAP FIRST!!!

 

[rockon1]

Shellac can get tacky sometimes. Prob not what I would use on a neck(if you do want to go with shellac, a coat of paste wax will help take care of the sticky feel.) you could always thin out some tinted poly (minwax polyshades for example) just make sure its oil based first, then you can just wipe it on with a rag (after prepping the neck of course) PRACTICE ON SCRAP FIRST!!!

Yeah the Minwax "tung oil" gives a nice non tacky finish when fully dried. Durable too. Back of my Squier neck I used a tinted mixture on. Done a few necks tinted last year with it though Ive used it straight for many years.

I used as little of the stain as possible to achieve the tint I wanted in a few coats. Didnt want to dilute too much.

Back of tinted Squier neck. Thing was almost white when I got it.

 

[Mark Robinson]

Urethane finishes are crosslinked and robust. You can touch sand the face of the headstock, apply your decal and spray nitrocellulose lacquer over it if you like. The additional finish will not melt or distort the underlaying urethane. You do have to sand, probably 320 grit, because you'll be obtaining a mechanical bond between finishes, not so much a chemical bond, as would happen over a non-crosslinked finish.