Official Luthiers Forum!

Thanks to everyone here for sharing their techniques/tips. I want to try a hand-rubbed oil finish in a couple weeks time.

Colin, when you say the room should be dry, why is that? Is it fine if I leave my room at the 40-45% RH that I like to hold it to?

-Clint

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-Clint Beacock

That's fine.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

What do people use to raise the grain, as mentioned a couple of times in this thread? Does a wiping with a slightly damp rag do the trick, or do you use another solution?

TIA,

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

What do people use to raise the grain, as mentioned a couple of times in this thread? Does a wiping with a slightly damp rag do the trick, or do you use another solution?

TIA,

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Ken, a lot of people like to use egg whites to raise it, then sand back to bare wood.

-Clint

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-Clint Beacock

I strongly suggest that you get clear about the difference between an oil finish and an oil-based varnish finish before you go ahead.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

A wet cotton rag (not soaking…) on the whole guitar, let dry, sand back. A few sessions are sometimes necessary.
Never heard of egg whites to raise the grain, perhaps to fill the pores?

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Just a typo, I meant to say I wanted to apply a hand-rubbed oil varnish. Agreed that the distinction is imperative.

-Clint

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-Clint Beacock

I use egg white as a size on the soundboard of all of my instruments, (tests that we have done in the lab show 300 year old lutes with egg sized soundboards, on some German lutes it was the only finish on the soundboard) one of the biproducts of the process is that it also raised the grain.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.