Tru-Oil Finishing Project

[ToneJedi]

This is my first time doing tru-oil finishing and I just wanna share my experience.
What you read here is fairly brief, so feel free to ask questions.

Malcolm, http://www.mtlutherie.com, gave me some advice which made this possible, so I wanna thank him for sharing his experience.

Items Required:
Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil
Birchwood Casey Sealer & Filler
Sandpaper: 400-Grit, 1000-Grit
Sanding Pads: Soft Eraser, Brass Slide, Pen
Clean Cotton/Linen Cloth
Rubber Gloves

Important Tips:
Wear gloves to ensure that wet finish does not get into your hands
Every coat of tru-oil must be applied evenly and thinly with cloth
Hang the guitar neck and guitar body securely

Body Finishing:
Oil the sides while holding the front and back
Oil the front while holding the back part
Oil the back while holding the cavities

Neck Finishing:
Tape the face of the fret board if it is rosewood or ebony
Oil the headstock while holding the base
Oil the base while holding the fret board

Wood Preparation:
Use 400-grit sandpaper for sanding
Use 1000-grit sandpaper for wet sanding
Examine very carefully in order to sand evenly

Pore Sealing: for pine or ash, not for alder, maple, rosewood, mahogany
Apply sealer, allow 2 hours to dry
Use 400-grit sandpaper for sanding
Use 1000-grit sandpaper for wet sanding
Repeat the above steps at least 2 to 3 times

Tru-Oil Finishing:
Apply tru-oil, allow 2 to 3 hours to dry
Examine for flaws after every 1 or 2 coats
Use 1000-grit sandpaper for wet sanding after every 1 or 2 coats, be gentle
Repeat the above steps at least 2 to 3 times, more coats will create more gloss
Stop when you get your desired gloss, for a high gloss finish, apply over 20 coats

1 piece pine body - unfinished:

1 piece pine body - tru-oil finish + copper tape shielding:

neck - unfinished:

neck - tru-oil finish:

I put a thin layer of lemon oil on the rosewood fretboard, now it looks darker.

 

[ToneJedi]

Additional Tips.....
After bottles are open, place upside down so when film develops, it is at the bottom
The best way to get an even finish is to first sand the neck and body evenly
Prick a small hole on the foil so the contents will not harden too quickly
How long it takes for tru-oil to dry completely depends on the weather
Always wipe away wet tru-oil off all the edges of the neck and body
Put tru-oil bottle in a container with warm water to soften it
Be gentle and very careful when sanding the edges
Be gentle with wet sanding to maintain some gloss
No need to finish the neck pocket of the body
If mistakes are made, just sand it off
Wait for 2 weeks to cure before use
Use lemon oil only for rosewood
Use lighter fluid for cleaning

 

[skipper53]

iyoh... drooling alr.

 

[ToneJedi]

iyoh... drooling alr.

Haha! Thanks! For someone with almost no woodworking experience, it turns out better than expected. The flaws can't be seen on camera and many of them are either under the pickguard or at the back of the body, haha.

Sugar pine is softer than ash or alder, minor dings are appearing even before I assembled it up..... this is natural relic, haha.

 

[taypeng81]

Nice work! how long did this whole process take to complete? btw where did you buy the Tru-oil from? I thought of trying out Tru-oil but couldnt find it locally

 

[ToneJedi]

Nice work! how long did this whole process take to complete? btw where did you buy the Tru-oil from? I thought of trying out Tru-oil but couldnt find it locally

I took a day to sand the body. Took a few days to put sealer and sanding. This week, I did a total of 7 coats for both body and neck.

You can't buy it locally, buy from amazon or ebay. If you buy from amazon, you need to use vpost. Compare prices and shipping before you buy, you'll be surprised.

 

[ShredAddict]

I put a thin layer of lemon oil on the rosewood fretboard, now it looks darker.

Hmm isn't lemon oil used to clean the rosewood board? I use it to clean but wiping it 100% dry is always the tough part.

 

[J.custom]

I believe lemon oil is used to moisturize rosewood fretboards. I usually just apply and leave it to dry/get absorbed by the fretboard!

 

[ToneJedi]

Not too sure about that, I usually use naptha for cleaning fretboard. Lemon oil is just for darkening rosewood, I probably won't need to use it again.

 

[ToneJedi]

I thought of trying out Tru-oil but couldnt find it locally

I got 1/2 bottle of sealer and 1/4 bottle of tru-oil, I can give it to you. If you want, just pm me. You can buy ikea pine wood to test it out.

 

[taypeng81]

It's ok i checked out the price on amazon..its an ok price. i can ship thru vpost in the future with other purchase but thats really nice of you. Thanks!!

I'm have been using shellac as sealer and nitro for top coat at the moment. adv is that both are available locally...and cheap too. but the solvent smell is terrible. will either try tru-oil or even water-based lacquer (which can be bought locally too)

 

[ToneJedi]

It's ok i checked out the price on amazon..its an ok price. i can ship thru vpost in the future with other purchase but thats really nice of you. Thanks!!

No problem, when I first used vpost, I used it for buying books on amazon.

I'm have been using shellac as sealer and nitro for top coat at the moment. adv is that both are available locally...and cheap too. but the solvent smell is terrible. will either try tru-oil or even water-based lacquer (which can be bought locally too)

I know you can get shellac locally but how do you get nitro locally? How do you apply it? I choose to use tru-oil because it was easy to apply, also few tools and little skills were required.

 

[taypeng81]

Got your PM thanks I'll reply here about the nitro for everyone's benefit.

we don't have traditional nitro lacquer here but what we have is nitro-based lacquer. the exact contents are not listed (trade secret). there are two brands, apilac and betex. I used betex spray can and abit of apilac for brushing-on repairs.

I have tested betex lacquer. It has all the properties of nitro lacquer - it can be re-constituted with solvent, the finish thins as it cures (1 month), it will age and check like nitro. the difference is that it dries much faster but not as hard. I suspect its nitro with a blend of additives/plasticiser. I created a thread here on Re-finishing a Harmony guitar. you can check out some of the technique i used there..

 

[ToneJedi]

Got your PM thanks I'll reply here about the nitro for everyone's benefit.

we don't have traditional nitro lacquer here but what we have is nitro-based lacquer. the exact contents are not listed (trade secret). there are two brands, apilac and betex. I used betex spray can and abit of apilac for brushing-on repairs.

I have tested betex lacquer. It has all the properties of nitro lacquer - it can be re-constituted with solvent, the finish thins as it cures (1 month), it will age and check like nitro. the difference is that it dries much faster but not as hard. I suspect its nitro with a blend of additives/plasticiser. I created a thread here on Re-finishing a Harmony guitar. you can check out some of the technique i used there..

Found your thread, thanks.....
http://www.soft.com.sg/forum/showthread.php?t=203965

 

[faekildare]

I've done 2 oiled finish on guitar body (one with tung oil, the other with tru-oil) and finished 4 necks (2 tung oil and 2 tru-oil) by oiling. I never did the lacquer as I felt it wasn't necessary and also, I prefer non glossy look of natural wood finish. The only thing i hate about oiled finish is the wood dents very easily because of the lack of hard paint. But on the bright side, it's really easy to repair.

 

[ToneJedi]

The only thing i hate about oiled finish is the wood dents very easily because of the lack of hard paint. But on the bright side, it's really easy to repair.

Great! You definitely got experience than me when it comes to finishing. How would you repair a wood dent with tru-oil finishing?

 

[faekildare]

Wood dents have to depends if it's the wood fiber that is damaged or a small chunk of wood has been removed. If it's only wood fiber, solder gun wet cloth heat technique follow by light sanding and re oiling should do the trick.
If it's a chunk of wood that has been remove, make some wood filler with the same wood that you have sand out or try getting wood of the same color and make it into wood filler filling up the dent. After that light sanding and re oiling should be fine.

 

[ToneJedi]

Wood dents have to depends if it's the wood fiber that is damaged or a small chunk of wood has been removed. If it's only wood fiber, solder gun wet cloth heat technique follow by light sanding and re oiling should do the trick.
If it's a chunk of wood that has been remove, make some wood filler with the same wood that you have sand out or try getting wood of the same color and make it into wood filler filling up the dent. After that light sanding and re oiling should be fine.

I guess prevention is better than cure, so I'll make sure I don't dent it too much, haha.

 

[faekildare]

After the third dent, you will learn to call it Mojo. LOL. I'll post up some of these DIY stuff in my blog now and then. Do go in and take a look now and then. Working on an Ibanez Korean wizard II to prestige neck project now. Finished the shaving and now doing the oiling. Also re oil-ing the body while I am at it. Will post up the pics when I am done.

 

[junkiemanxl]

great info TS!
+1

this piece of info will come in handy