The depth of the “flame” figuring is often hidden to the naked eye on unfinished woods. This can cause concern when considering woods for your instruments neck or body. However, an evaporative solvent such as Naphtha can be applied to the wood with a cloth to give the look of a finished piece of wood for a very small window of time. Do not use water as it will cause the wood to swell and may damage the instrument.
Don't Let Unfinished Woods Fool You!
Here you can see one of our unfinished roasted flame maple necks. The figuring appears dull without much depth to it. At first glance it seems almost non-existent. This is common. Do not fret!
Here a tung oil has been applied to the neck. Note how well the depth of the flame figuring comes out when finish is applied (left side of neck) and how dull it appears against the still unfinished portion (right side).
Do not let unfinished wood fool you! Once a finish such as tung oil or lacquer has been applied the color of the wood will darken and the depth of the figuring will become visible, transforming a seemingly dull wood into something like this.