Tru-Oil question...

[Wyatt]

 

Haha I would but I am a broke, jobless, highschool kid!

 

 

You can buy 8 oz. bottles of Tru Oil from an Amazon dealer for $12.61 (free shipping, no tax). No spray booth needed, no compressor, no spray gun, no anti-explosion exhaust fan. Just Tru Oil, sandpaper and applicators.

 

A pro finish job on a body will cost you $300+. If you want to do it on the cheap, there is always aerosol cans of poly at the auto store.:poke:

[Zledi]

So, I put one heavy coat of TO on and let it sit over night. Then I put a little bit of TO on the sand paper to wet sand. Then I use my fingers to push the slurry into the grain. Then I put another heavy coat on?

 

Sorry for the many questions. I like visualize stuff in my head before I do it so I want to make sure I get it right.

[linusâ„¢]

pics.

[guitarcapo]

I think it dependes on the wood but I think if you're finishing a non-figured hardwood with a clear finish, the guitar looks better without filling. Makes the guitar look more interesting...and why coat it with a clear coat to see the grain and then fill the pores so you're hiding it?

 

 

I can see the usefulness in pore filling over an opaque color or tint...or if you want some flame to pop better...but for something like ash or alder I'd probably just go for not filling...It also seems to hide scratches better and at the same time enhancing how the guitar looks as it ages.

[Quarter]

 

So, I put one heavy coat of TO on and let it sit over night. Then I put a little bit of TO on the sand paper to wet sand. Then I use my fingers to push the slurry into the grain. Then I put another heavy coat on? Sorry for the many questions. I like visualize stuff in my head before I do it so I want to make sure I get it right.

 

No last heavy coat, let it dry overnight and do it all again one more time.

[atrox]

I prefer the look of no grain filler on porous woods with True Oil personally.

 

[Zledi]

Ok, so heavy TO, wait over night, wet sand, wait over night, repeat.

 

Those are nice Atrox, I just can't get into the porous look. I don't really care for the Gibson Faded Specials that much either.

[atrox]

Ok, so heavy TO, wait over night, wet sand, wait over night, repeat. Those are nice Atrox, I just can't get into the porous look. I don't really care for the Gibson Faded Specials that much either.

 

Fair enough. "To each his own" as they say. As for the Gibson faded series... well, they are some of the worst guitars I have had in my shop.

[panther_king]

Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me, but I think you should be sure to really wash your rags/paper towels after oiling with them and crumpling them up in the trash. I seem to recall something about them catching on fire randomly otherwise.

 

 

 

I could just be retarded, but it seemed worth mentioning if I'm not mistaken.

[Zledi]

Yeah, I played an SG with the worst fret ends on any guitar I have ever played. Those things almost cut me. Ironically the GFS neck I got for $40 has some of the best fret ends I have ever seen/felt.

[panther_king]

 

Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me, but I think you should be sure to really wash your rags/paper towels after oiling with them and crumpling them up in the trash. I seem to recall something about them catching on fire randomly otherwise. I could just be retarded, but it seemed worth mentioning if I'm not mistaken.

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, I'm not crazy; {censored} is spontaneously combustable. Should probably read all of it, but section 7 is the important bit about your rags lighting on fire randomly.

 

 

Tru-oil Hazard .pdf

[twofoolsaminute]

This trip back in time is brought to you by the letter G and the new hunk of ash I just cut for a tele project. I've never worked with ash before and would like to discuss the finishing of the body. I'm thinking tru-oil, and I'm thinking filling the grain. Seems like much less of a pain not to fill it and polish it, but I think I would be happier with a high polish. Discuss.

[cratz2]

Uhhh... I don't think they are mutually exclusive. I think if your desire was to start off with a non-sanded and non-filled ash body and end up with a smooth feeling, dead flat glossy surface where you could still see the unfilled grain on the ash, but have it feel perfectly smooth and high gloss, I think you can do that with Tru Oil. I've only done one mahogany body and several maple necks with Tru Oil, but based on the mahogany project, I think you could keep building up the Tru Oil until it has filled in the grain to the point where it is polish-able.

 

 

 

If I'm understanding your goal correctly.

[twofoolsaminute]

Yes, and that is covered in this thread. I just wondered if there was other advice regarding finishing out ash.

[Quarter]

... I'm thinking tru-oil, and I'm thinking filling the grain. Seems like much less of a pain not to fill it and polish it, but I think I would be happier with a high polish. ...

Doing a flat mirror finish with Tru Oil is a major pain, or better put, a time consuming exercise in patience. While you say that you would be happier with a high polish, ultimately its up to you to decide if your willing to invest the time.

 

If I was committed from the start to go mirror flat, I'd personally do a grain fill with some Zpoxy Finishing Resin. On ash its going to take at least 2 sessions. The first will get 99% and the second to get the spots you missed.

I use a squeegee to apply it like in this vid. Also more info at this LMI link http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=Filler&NameProdHeader=Z-poxy

 

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[video=youtube;YYHxMg7n9cI]

 

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For the undecided, or on the fence approach, you could just start applying TO without any grain fill. After about 5 - 6 coats in you will know if its headed in a direction you like. If not, you can still fall back to the sand with Tru Oil / slurry technique to fill the grain and continue on from there.

This was filled with the sand / slurry method.

 

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[twofoolsaminute]

Doing a flat mirror finish with Tru Oil is a major pain, or better put, a time consuming exercise in patience. While you say that you would be happier with a high polish, ultimately its up to you to decide if your willing to invest the time. If I was committed from the start to go mirror flat, I'd personally do a grain fill with some Zpoxy Finishing Resin. On ash its going to take at least 2 sessions. The first will get 99% and the second to get the spots you missed. This was filled with the sand / slurry method. .

 

Do you use anything to color the grain?

[Jkater]

I can speak from the one time I did it and it turned out just like I hoped for. I like the feel of feeling the grain but knowing it's protected and durable. I sanded carefully and with graded sand paper using latex gloves to make sure I don't "contaminate" the wood with skin oil. I did not fill the grain. I applied ten or twelve coats of tru oil with light "steel wooling" in between coats.

 

[HanSolo]

The easiest grain fill is brush-on polyurethane (oil based, not the newer water based materials). I pour some in a cup and leave it out a few hours to thicken. Brush it on heavy and then wipe across the grain. Follow with a green scotchbrite after dry and then start your Tru-Oil. Nice thing about using the Poly is that it does not change the character of the wood because it is clear. All grain fillers, unless perfectly color matched to the finished wood's color, leave the wood pores looking like they are filled with paste.

[twofoolsaminute]

I can speak from the one time I did it and it turned out just like I hoped for. I like the feel of feeling the grain but knowing it's protected and durable. I sanded carefully and with graded sand paper using latex gloves to make sure I don't "contaminate" the wood with skin oil. I did not fill the grain. I applied ten or twelve coats of tru oil with light "steel wooling" in between coats.

 

That looks really good. Can you still feel the grain.

[twofoolsaminute]

 

The easiest grain fill is brush-on polyurethane (oil based, not the newer water based materials). I pour some in a cup and leave it out a few hours to thicken. Brush it on heavy and then wipe across the grain. Follow with a green scotchbrite after dry and then start your Tru-Oil. Nice thing about using the Poly is that it does not change the character of the wood because it is clear. All grain fillers, unless perfectly color matched to the finished wood's color, leave the wood pores looking like they are filled with paste.

 

 

This sounds interesting and makes a lot of sense. Have you actually done this? Has anyone else done this? And, if you're covering it in poly already, then is the tru oil even necessary? How does that work?

[HanSolo]

Yes I've done this on both Ash guitar bodies and Walnut gunstocks. I used the Tru-oil for ease of final finish and the fact that I could get a glass-like finish or knock it down to semi-gloss with 0000 steel wool. You could stick with the polyurethane for a final finish, wiping it on just like the Tru-Oil, but I liked the Tru-Oil better for finishing. The Poly tends to look much thicker while the Tru-oil appears like there is no finish at all. Another nice thing about the Tru-Oil is it touches up very easily. If you get a scratch, you can lightly steel wool or sand it out, apply a few drops of Tru-Oil to the palm of your hand and rub it in. It blends right in with the surrounding finish seamlessly.

[twofoolsaminute]

Killer

[Jkater]

 

That looks really good. Can you still feel the grain.

 

 

Thank you.

 

Yes, I can feel the grain and i really like that.

[Seano Porno]

Relevent to my interests. My USA Tele needs doing, and I'm determined to get it done in Jan when I have no shows.

 

I bought it with the top and sides pealed to the clear undercoat (it was black from factory), it's not the prettiest, but I think getting all of the finish off and oiling it would be badly wicked!

[Belva]

For you Tru oil fans: want something cheaper? Get a quart of boiled linseed oil and a quart of spar varnish. Mix 50/50. That's what tru oil is. Before Tru oil came along, old school gun stock makers used this stuff. Now you don't have to worry about spending 20 bucks total for enough tru oil to do one project. You'll have a half gallon of the shit for about the same price. If you can find it in pints, go that way. You'll have more than enough to do a geetar. Where did I learn this? My father.

When I was 18 years old, he didn't know shit. By the time I was 25, he had learned a whole lot!