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Polishing tru-oil?


Jazzer2020

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I'm putting on several coats of tru-oil on my guitar neck but each time it remains tacky.

What can I do to remove the tackiness?

 

What are you doing to it already... are you just wiping on the tru-oil and leaving it after that or...?

 

How long are you waiting before applying the next coat? You should give it at least 12 hours, if not a day, in between coats.

 

How long has it been since you applied it? It can take a good month for it to finish drying and harden up.

 

 

 

 

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TruOil is a wiped finish that should be applied very thin and completely rubbed into the wood. Put just a drop on a piece of clean cloth and wipe it thoroughly in. Then let each coat dry for 24 hours before applying the next coat. People typically apply up to 12 or more coats, then let it dry for 30 days (or more, often far more) before trying to buff it. It should be applied to bare wood without any sealer or prep material. A thick coat will take forever to dry - I would be tempted to strip it off and start over. Also, as you know, you shouldn't apply any oil finish over lacquer, poly or anything like that.

 

TruOil is somewhat popular for necks because it does not buff to a high gloss like lacquer. I think it gives kind of an warm organic finish, I've used it three times on telecaster type guitars. The first time when I tried to buff it I wasn't satisfied with the results and stripped it off, I refinished that guitar in lacquer. This is a picture of a guitar with TruOil, thats about as much gloss as you are going to get

 

IMG_3654_zpsajq5jysr.jpg

 

This guitar is the same wood with nitrocellulose lacquer

 

IMG_2355_zps2ufygccs.jpg

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Thanks Phil and Freeman.

I read the label on the container.

It said drying will depend upon location and humidity.

It also said that a second coat could be applied in just 2 hours.

 

That's what I have been doing, waiting just 2 hours.

I have already put around 4 or 5 thin coats and it stays a little tacky.

 

If you aren't supposed to polish/buff it then perhaps I should take it off and start again,

waiting 24 hours between coats?

 

 

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People seem to do different schedules and get different results with TruOil. Several people here say they can apply two or three coats a day, that was not my experience. Most people do wet sand and buff after sufficient curing time.

 

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewt...TruOil#p638288

 

http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/v...=10123&t=48300

 

http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4511

 

Remember that TruOil is a polymerized tung type of oil that has been heated to 500F to speed its drying time. It was originally designed for gun stocks - I'm not sure that you want a super high gloss on your favorite Browning shotgun. My conclusion was that while it seemed to give a decent finish and it has the appeal of not spraying, I get such good results with various lacquers that I'll just stick with them.

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