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Hi folks,

I’ve been using Osmo PolyX for necks on the last 8 or so instruments and really like it. If you decide to try it, House Guitars has a nice tutorial on YouTube for applying it.

I thought you might like this video, it’s a nice overview of several brands with test results.

https://youtu.be/9xSJpkU-hsg?si=_dcZn682kSjxJnz4

Brad


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Thanks Brad. I learned quite a lot from that video.

I have been using hard wax oil as a finish on my last couple of instruments, as well as on other woodworking projects. I see a lot of advantages, as long as you are not trying to sell instruments to a traditional market where customers want wooden objects to be shiny and smooth.

I notice that you say you are using it on necks - but not on instrument bodies? What are your thoughts on that distinction?

Brad, thanks for the link.

I have no experience with these hard wax finishes.

Have you considered using their recipe of beeswax, carnauba, urethane, mineral spirits, and linseed oil?

I wonder if it would be good on a Sitka top? Would it affect the sustain or volume?

Greg

I had a customer who specified Tried and True for his guitar. He had chemical sensitivities that precluded a hardening finish. It came out pretty well. Of course, it wouldn’t shine. I don’t think it harmed the tone at all. There was so little of it on the surfaces that I don’t think there was any damping. That said, the surfaces were pretty soft—soft as wood—after finishing, so that guitar will require careful handling. Scratching the spruce was easy. I have had no further communication since delivery, so I don’t know how it is holding up. I don’t expect that the neck will hold up to sweaty hands as well as a hardened finish. When I first started building, I tried a bunch of different finishes on necks to see what would stand up to handling. The oil-based ones—varnish and its relatives—didn’t do very well. I do like a smooth, slick finish on a neck. (I usually polish my necks with bronze wool and leave them short of a shine (EM6000 cross-linked)). The Tried and True felt pretty nice and might work better on a cherry or maple neck without pores than on a mahogany one where moisture can get caught in the pores.

I’ve only used it on necks. I love it. Especially with a dark pore filler underneath.





I wouldn’t use it on a body for a customer unless they asked for it specifically. It offers no protection.


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I love the way it looks and it’s really fast under hand. I use the satin, not the mat.

I was going to try the poly osmo on a whole guitar instead of tru oil, I'm hoping for a similar effect with more protection and less effort. I'm being over optimistic aren't I..

Brad what pore filler did you use on that neck in pic?

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This one, the ebony.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-a ... b9858dbd16

A little goes a long way and the vintage look is cool I think. Bob Gramann recommended it to me.

Brad


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I use the Osmo Poly Silk 3032 on necks, lovely feel. I use 3 coats over the Osmo 1101.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.