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Hi everyone,
Just wondering how easy it is to acheive a good result with this finish, and what sort of finish it is.

Thks all

Tru-oil is mineral spirits, linseed oil and a "modified oil" sold primarily for finishing gun stocks. I think most who use it only use it on the neck, but you can finish the entire guitar with it. I just finished a guitar with it and it came out pretty nice. Some will warn about the oil soaking into the wood. If you seal with shellac, that really isn't a problem.

I used the wipe-on method -- probably the easiest finish I have tried yet. The trick to a nice looking finish seems to be many, many thin coats. It took me a solid week to finish applying the finish. Its not as fast as spraying lacquer, but it is about as simple as you can get.

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Don't use it over a Z-Poxy pore fill on a neck. It'll get fuzzy.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

You'll get a lot of nay-sayers on here, but I think Tru Oil is a fantastic finish. It is easy to apply, easy to maintain, and easy to repair. I think the negative comments are from those who have used it incorrectly. One guy here says that a mandolin bridge "sunk" into the finish, but it should not be thick enough in the first place for a bridge to sink through. Another says it does not "have that guitar look", I guess referring to the fact that it is not glassy like lacquer.

My method:
You MUST get a perfect, flat finish on the wood before finishing.
Seal with a couple coats of shellac, though it won't penetrate like other oils.
Wipe very thin coats and buff with steel wool every 3 wipings. A lot of people try to build up a surface like lacquer and sand it back again. That won't work with Tru-Oil.
After about 8 or 9 applications, let it sit a few weeks then use micromesh and buffing compound to bring it to a nice gloss.


Drawbacks:
It is softer than lacquer, so I won't use it on a top again but I do like it for the neck and back/sides.
Sanding to 1200 grit and getting the wiping technique down without leaving behind lint takes some patience.
Most people expect to see a thick finish on guitars, so it takes a little bit of explaining that it doesn't look like lacquer because it ISN'T lacquer.

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

Fret 21:
I have used it on four ukuleles and it works out fairly well. For solid infomation, dig into the Hana Lima forum. Most people on that board start out with truoil.

I prefer to apply two coats of Danish oil and a day to dry before using truoil. The Danish oil brings out the grain of the wood but seems to dull the sound of the instrument for a month or two. The final product is worth the wait.

Truoil dries very quickly on the wood. It can dry out in the bottle. I punch a hole in the bottle seal with a toothpick and apply it by counting drops and then work a small area, and rub dry. Watch out for carry-over from top to sides or sides to top as it can build up like a run.

The standard seems to be two coats per day to eight coats and leave for one week. Then two coats one day and dry the next. The full finish is twenty two coats (I quit at seventeen).

A tutorial is on the Stewmac site.

Bob

I really like Tru-Oil on necks. I solved the lint problem by doing away with a pad. We were born with ten of them, one each on the ends of our fingers!
The friction allows the oil to heat a bit also.

So just keep your fingers out of your belly-button while applying and no lint!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Jim, how do you make sure that there isn't too much left on the surface then? I have found that if I leave too much on the surface, it gets a little gummy.

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

Last Wednesday I started of with a true-oil finish. Here are the first pictures.

Important is to prepare the surface very well. I go as fare as 8000 or 12000 micro(mesh).

The true-oil does not penetrate deeply the wood as is believed. It cures almost instantly. I put on one coat a day.
Before I put on the next, I rub the surface (very gently, no presure) with steel wool 0000.

The pictures are taken today.

Best regards,


Edzard

I commend to you Phil Pilkington's Classic Oil Finish. After gallons of TO, I switched to it . The finishing regimen is long and requires patience. It starts with a sanding in process wherein you create a slurry with reduced finish and wet or dry-it becomes a self-filler(yes, a minute portion will be grit from the wet-or-dry sandpaper).Maple, Imbuia, Spruce and other nearly "pore-free" woods do not require the sanding in. Then there is an ultimately month long process of application at various thinned finish coats. It is harder than TO and can be brought up to nearly nitro gloss. While the many coats seem to portend a thick finish, this is only an appearance-the ultimate finish is fairly thin but very deep and strong. It will make the most of figure in your wood.

Pilkington's is quite expensive at first but since most of the regimen is mineral spirit thinned, the small bottle lasts a long time.($33 USD for 2-4 fluid ounces;I couldn't read the label)

I have posted the process here and on MIMF-it takes a long time for me to type it, and it does not make it to archives-apparently my lack of proven standing combined with how mind-numbing the process sounds makes the post unworthy of preservation. I can tell you that I like it enough that just moments ago, before this post, I spent one thirtieth of my gross monthly income to refresh my supply!

I don't know what cross-linking polys/resins Phil uses to harden the oil without losing the flex needed to survive atmospheric caused checking, but I assure you, it works. At this time in my ill planned financial retirement circumstance, believe me, I would not have spent the $$$ for a questionable product. Try it; you will not regret. Mike T.

Photos Mike?

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

Matthew--

I apply really sparingly. I place the pad of my index finger over the opening of the bottle and basically just wet the pad and go. I do not pour a puddle of oil into my hand! I rub it in very well, using fingers first and then the palm. It really will warm up. I go anywhere's from 12 to 18 coats on a neck, taking the bumps down with 0000 steel wool after every couple of coats. I'm not in a production environment and seldom in a hurry, so I will let the neck cure for at least three weeks, sometimes up to six weeks before polishing with Micro-Mesh. What I end up with are fast necks that are easily repairable. There are a lot of techniques for finishing and in my mind, the most important thing is to practice your particular technique. This can be done on smaller pieces of scrap wood, or if you make some of your own tools, tool handles, etc. My hero in all of this is Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Not for his expertise in finishing, but for his willingness to experiment with an open mind!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

I don't have anything at finishing stage and cannot find a shotgun stock and forearm I last did this way for myself-some beautiful English Walnut. I'll try to find them ;then I have to track down my daughter to get my digital SLR. Sorry, Mike T.

Well Im so glad I asked the question....it certainly seems like an easy and "gentle" way to finish a guitar as long that is the sanding of the wood has been done carefully.

Does the wood need to be sealed beforehand?....as there seems to be differing opinion on this bit.

Still reckon I might give it a try.

Thks

I just use a 1# cut of shellac for a seal on a mahogany neck.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Heres one that I just put the last coat on on Tuesday. I'll let it sit until after Christmas, then micromesh and do the set-up. I think I did 16 coats and skipped a few on the top. I did do a level sand around coat 12 with P600 if I remember correctly. I was getting some wipe marks that were getting pronounced. The fist 5-8 or so coats I did the wipe on then wipe off with clean pad as the instructions say. Then I stopped wiping off with a clean cloth and just wiped on and did long stroke wipes to get a nice smooth application. The manufacturers instructions says to lightly rub with OO steel wool between every coat. Not for leveling, but to get unevenness out. I used OOOO for that, cheesecloth for application. I did get lint, but for the most part it was on the surface and came off right away on the steel wool rub. I did get a few strands stuck in there though, mostly on the heal of the neck. Just have to be more careful next time. I plan on using tru-oil on the next few and start to learn how to french polish in the mean time.