Members Ewoutwjs Posted June 23, 2019 Members Share Posted June 23, 2019 Hi guitar lads,I'm refinishing my first guitar, a MIJ natural finish; mahogany-maple body; maple neck, double cut guitar as project this summer. I'm going to use Tru Oil because I've seen and read good things about it. I've scanned all the guide posts on forum and videos on youtube and I've got it planned out how to do it. The only problem I encounter is drying it between the coats and afterwards. This is the first time refinishing and I can't hang the guitar upside down like in the videos, I'm not planning on drilling my ceiling and I don't trust the backpin. Body and neck are set in, so cant disassemble them. Since its an Oil finish can I just put it on a guitar stand while it's drying, does this really affect the drying process, or is there something I can buy? tldr: Can I put an Oil finished guitar to dry on a regular guitar stand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted June 23, 2019 Members Share Posted June 23, 2019 No. It'll leave a mark. You'll need to hang it so the wet finish doesn't touch anything till fully dried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted June 23, 2019 Members Share Posted June 23, 2019 Nooooooo….. An empty closet and a wire coat hanger works. A shower rod in the bathroom, with a wire coat hanger. (Don't use the shower obviously.) A coat hanger and the guitar hanger in the music room works. Just do a test, to see if it bangs against the wall. If using the closet, pull the clothing, or else you run the risk of lint and dust, or your clothing smelling of tru oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted June 23, 2019 Moderators Share Posted June 23, 2019 First...where are you applying the tru oil and is this a brush application or spray? I like spray application myself, and usually I make a mini-spray 'booth' in my garage using clear plastic drop cloths hung from the beams. I run a wire hanger as a hook through one of the tuner holes in the head stock and suspended it from another beam in the 'booth'. This would be better even for brush application since it would reduce the handling and dust/lint issues. Don't do it in the shower using the shower curtain rod unless it is bolted in...typical spring tension rods won't carry the weight of an electric guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 23, 2019 Members Share Posted June 23, 2019 TruOil is an attractive and popular finish for people who are looking for something "easy" and/or don't have the ability to shoot a lacquer style finish. It gives acceptable results if done correctly - lots of folks really like it for necks. I have done TruOil finishes on two of my barnwood guitars - I think it was a fitting finish for what I was trying to get with them. I have seen photos of some truly stunning finishes done with TruOil but most of the time what you see is a nice warm semi gloss. It is very difficult to get a deep high gloss which is why I continue to use lacquer on my guitars. It will not fill the pores on mahogany but it does a pretty effective job of popping grain on maple. The basic procedure for TruOil is to prepare your wood to at least 320 making sure you get all the coarser sanding scratches out. It will only highlight them. The trick is many very thin coats given adequate drying time between each coat. That means one or two very very very thin coats per day (a couple of drops on a clean cotton cloth rubbed completely in). Allowed to dry overnight and then one or two more. Most people will apply 24 or more coats. The second trick is to let it cure for a LONG time - 30 days is minimum, longer is better. At that point you can do the usual sanding and buffing. Remember that most people apply it too thick, not enough coats and don't let it dry thoroughly. I warned you. What ever you do, do not put your guitar in a stand. You have several choices. With a neck on the guitar you can simply hang it from one of the tuner holes using a piece of coat hanger wire. Hang it from a door frame or closet or whatever. The neck will give you something to hold the guitar while you apply the finish. Another way is to hang it from a screw eye in the end pin hole. A third way is to do one side (top or bottom) per day, let it dry and do the other side the next day. That doubles the time of course and runs the risk of setting it down on uncured finish. A method that I like for guitars with necks on them is to put a couple of little blocks of wood in the pickup cavities. I use double stick tape - the blocks are maybe a half inch proud of the top of the guitar. Start by finishing the top and head, then flip the guitar over and set it on the blocks. Now you can do the back and sides and neck. This works really well while spraying but since you will be applying oil with some hand pressure you probably need to hold on to the neck. Here is a mandolin hanging by a coat hanger wire thru a tuner hole [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32539928}[/ATTACH] Here are a couple of pine bodies with TruOil on them [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32539929}[/ATTACH] and here are the blocks of wood [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32539930}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 23, 2019 Members Share Posted June 23, 2019 First...where are you applying the tru oil and is this a brush application or spray? TruOil is normally applied by wiping with a clean cloth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted June 26, 2019 Members Share Posted June 26, 2019 Yes, you can also sit on a freshly painted park bench marked "wet paint" as long as you never look back. The easiest way I have found for hanging it up is a slacks style hanger from the dry cleaners.. Pull the hanger ends out of the cardboard tube, insert them in two tuner holes and hang 'em high". Another way is to create a makeshift stand supporting the guitar face down supported in the pickup routes. Spray can lids inserted in the pickup routes works fine for humbucker guitars. A Strat style can be supported by two screws each in two of the pickup cavities acting as "feet". On a bolt neck, one pair of feet can be screws into the neck holes. You apply the finish to the front, lay it down and then finish the neck, sides and back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted June 26, 2019 Members Share Posted June 26, 2019 [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":32539930}[/ATTACH] [/QUOT Whoa! Are you holding out on us? This looks a like a build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 27, 2019 Members Share Posted June 27, 2019 Whoa! Are you holding out on us? This looks a like a build! Built that five years ago. Did a thread back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.