Official Luthiers Forum!

It seems from reading here on the forum that Tru-oil for neck finishing has the overwhelming approval of many of the luthiers here. I'm getting ready to finish the neck on my latest build and am going to try tru-oil but I was wondering if some of you might share exactly what your technique is for applying it. It would be very helpful.

Thank you, Steve Hornback

Steve,
Go to LMI's website and click on the articles button lower left side of the page. A menu will come up and the second choice is "Guitar Finishing". Click that and look for the drop down menu just below their logo. One more click on "True Oil" and your there.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I'll check out LMI for the info.

Steve H.

Steve,
I just use a lint free cloth and apply about 15 coats with 2 hours in between coats.Let it cure for a week.
You can rub down with 0000 steel wool or polish for a nice gloss.It's a very easy finish to use.
Of course first, the neck has to be sanded very well for a nice result.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

dave,
when you polish, what do you follow the 0000 steel wool with? micromesh? or car polish compound? or something else?
phil

Phil, I like those micro mesh pads that Stew-Mac sells. They work great for this and
last forever!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

I pad on most of the time but on ocassion I have sprayed 2 light coats a day for 4 days allow to cure 5-10 days and go straight to the buffer first with mediun menzerna, followed by fine and extra fine.

As far as an applicator goes, I was born with ten of them! I use my fingers and the palm of my hand and rub the oil in until I feel the oil heating up from friction. After every two or three coats I'll use 0000 steel wool dripping in naphtha to lightly, very gently take any nibs off. After anywheres from 12 to 16 coats and a couple weeks of cure I go though the Micro-Mesh grits. Here's an example in mahogany:

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

wow, that looks great!

I did some sample parts with tru-oil (over Z Poxy filler, and over unfilled wood) recently and was pretty happy with them. The ones that were sanded to a finer grit definitely came out better. It looks like you get a great sheen with that micromesh!

I also tested it on some spruce that had been sprayed with a couple coats of unwaxed shellac and it did not penetrate hardly at all. It forms a nice thin finish on top of the spruce, but it is definitely not as ding resistant as nitro.

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

I got pretty good results polishing my Tru-Oil finish with Novus plastic polishes. The Novus #2 polish brought out a nice gloss in the Tru-Oil. I polished it by hand with the cloths that Novus provides in their kits. You might want to wait at least a few weeks for the Tru-Oil to completely cure before polishing. My Tru-Oil finish took weeks before it no longer smelled like solvents.



Ray

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http://precisionworkshop.com

I can't add much to this discussion about methods or techniques. I've rubbed it, padded it, and sprayed it. Also used it to form sanding dust slurry as a pore filler. But I've done most of this on furniture. It can be polished to a high gloss, as you see in the pictures, or it can be buffed out to a beautiful low luster sheen. It's pretty versatile. Remember: It was first promoted as a finish for gun stocks. If you don't think a gun stock gets a lot of wear and abuse, just imagine carrying your guitar neck through briars and barbed wire fences--with an occasional whack on one end or the other with a hammer to simulate shotgun recoil! I'm using it to finish a wooden tailpiece cover at the moment. One thing I definitely like about an oil finish is that it's almost infinitely repairable. I think that is one feature that makes it very appealing for a neck finish. If it starts to wear, you clean it up, rub on a few more coats, let it cure, and polish it out. All pretty easy, and pretty, too.
Best regards,
Patrick