Mark Mc wrote:
The approach depends on whether you are going for a bare wood, satin finish, open pore look - or a smooth as glass, super glossy, factory made guitar look. If the former (which is my preference, and definitely a recommendation for your first build) you would sand everything to about 400 grit and then apply Tru Oil (or any hard wax oil) as described above. It will start to look good after the first coat but will be better after about four, which is when you can stop. Give it a light sand with 400 or fine steel wool after coat 3. If you want the factory style super glossy effect you will need to fill the pores, prep the surface meticulously, and build up something like 25 to 30 coats of oil to get a surface that you can level and then polish laboriously with finer and finer grits and then polishing compound.
Tru Oil is very economical as you use tiny amounts. If you are doing method 1 that I described a small bottle would be enough for maybe 3 instruments - except that the stuff skins over and will dry up in the bottle long before you get number 2 and 3 built!
My hot tip, which I think I read here but I can’t remember who to credit for it - the stuff lasts better in an open bottle if you get most of the air out by filling the dead space with inert objects like ball bearings or glass marbles which you drop in one-by-one as you use the oil up. Good luck with it and with your build. Make sure you show us the result.
Tru Oil is very economical as you use tiny amounts. If you are doing method 1 that I described a small bottle would be enough for maybe 3 instruments - except that the stuff skins over and will dry up in the bottle long before you get number 2 and 3 built!
My hot tip, which I think I read here but I can’t remember who to credit for it - the stuff lasts better in an open bottle if you get most of the air out by filling the dead space with inert objects like ball bearings or glass marbles which you drop in one-by-one as you use the oil up. Good luck with it and with your build. Make sure you show us the result.
I turn the bottle upside down when storing--It skins over at the bottom of the bottle instead of the top this way. Of course, remember to turn it rightside up before you open it!
LMI had a great article about oil finishes for guitars years ago in their big handbook. The bottom line for me, whether Tru Oil or any other oil type finish is that the finish will never be better than the surface you start with. Unlike real "oil finishes," Tru Oil builds, but not like lacquer or varnish. I've used it a lot and like it. But I sand way past 400--I'll take it all the way through all of the micromesh grits. Any scratches (even 400 or 800 grit scratches) left on the surface will show up pretty obviously. If the pre-finish surface is perfect, the finish will be great.
I have a buddy who is also a banjo maker who sprays Tru Oil. Done this way, it behaves more like a lacquer finish and can hide some of the fine scratches. It gums up spray guns pretty bad--he buys the cheap Harbor Freight door jam guns and throws them away when he can't get them clean any more.
Dave
