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Hi

Have just grain filled the neck using dust and shellac
Does anyone know if i can use tru oil(supposedly easier to work with) over this or should i stick to shellac finish

2nd question - going to fit a decal on ebony head plate.. do i need to put on a coat of something first before using water to do transfer to protect the wood

Thank you

Try sanding the neck to 400 or 600 grit, and then wipe on a coat of shellac. Easy as it gets, and better feel than a full gloss finish.

I think tru-oil will stick to shellac if you decide to go that route, but I'm not positive, so hopefully someone else will chime in on that.

I've never done decals, but I would definitely seal first. Run tests on scrap.

I've done tru oil over sprayed shellac no problem. Decal under tru oil I don't think is a winner though.

Tru Oil works great over shellac. I have not done it but you might be able to do the decal over shellac and then spray it lightly with shellac to cover it before adding Tru Oil. Of course I'm guessing here. Definitely try on scrap first.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Mike

Is it worth using tru oil or is it easier to just finish in shellac

Also this is not spray shellac its wiped on from bottle

Cheers

I had help spraying the shellac as I'm a beginner. I used it to apply a sunburst. Did tru oil afterwards mostly because I have done it before and it's easy, with patience, to have a beautiful finish.

The other positive about tru oil over the shellac is tru oil finished necks are very nice from a players point of view. I have done 4 necks now with Tru Oil over shellac, and really like the way it feels.

Glenn.

Tru oil sounds good thanks Glenn.. did you use tru oil on body as well, if so did you use shellac base too.

Might use nitro just for face plate then ..thanks

I have used a decal of my logo on about 1/3 of my guitars. I have used it over shellac and then more shellac on top, over sprayed lacquer with more sprayed lacquer on top, and over brushed and leveled KTM-9 (water based gloss varnish) with more of that on top, all with success.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/ ... 130471994/

As long as no bare wood is exposed, I don't think you have to worry about a water problem, but you do want the surface you are laying the decal on to be smooth and flat. If the True-Oil gives you enough protection on the rest of the guitar, I think it would give you enough protection over a decal, but try it first to see if it dissolves the decal.

And you don't have to cut away all of the clear - it disappears nicely

Thanks Ruby50
Guess the key is to have a good base under the decal.. might just try shellac then. Sounds like my safest bet.. by the way that guitar looks great

That's what I did.