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I see a lot of mention of tru oil in various threads about other finishes, but not a lot of specifics. Do most of you use it by itself, on/under shellac, on the neck only, etc.
Where do you source it and what is its longevity compared to a FP?
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

j...I've used Danish Oil (a variant of True Oil) on several necks so far...no body application. I just followed the instructions and applied the oil directly on the bare wood (about 4-5 applications) and just love the dry, fast feel. I would imagine that electric shredding personnel might appreciate that feature!

I used the Watko product that I purchased in the local paint store. It is far more durable than FP's shellac. I have one neck with FP that requires an occacional touchup...no big deal really.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Hi j,

I personally don’t have a lot of experience with it. However, I can tell you that it is a breeze to apply.
I’ve also read about others using it only on the neck too. I finished my guitar completely with
Tru-Oil and was very pleased with the finish. From what I’ve read, there’s nothing wrong with an
undercoat of shellac, and probably a good idea for at least the top.

There’s a tutorial at LMI, that is very detailed, and is what I used for reference. What really made
the finish so desirable for me, was it’s ease of application, and it’s forgiving nature for making
repairs to the finish, at a later time.

The only draw back, I can think of, is it takes some time to cure between coats (about 4 coats total)
with about 1 week wait till you can do the final polish with 12,000 grit Micro-Mesh. Total time
was about 2 weeks from start to finish. I would say, that I spent about 3-4 hours total time with
the whole process.

You can get the stuff at Wal-Mart at the sporting goods dept. right around where the rifles are.
This product was originally designed for gunstock sealing & finishing. I’ve heard it was also used
on fine furniture. There are other sources I can tell you of, just pm me, and I’ll help any way I can.

Robert

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Everything has beauty, But, not everyone see's it!

Hi J.

I've been curious lately too, so I bought some at the local gun shop and refinished a gun stock. I was quite impressed with the stuff. I only put 2 coats on about 3 hrs apart and hit it with some 0000 steel wool after a couple days. Smooth as a babys butt.

Its made by Birchwood Casey and you can buy it on their website, but it was cheaper at the local store for a 3 oz. bottle. You can buy it by the gallon online.

I'd like to try it on the neck of a FP'd guitar I have, but I'm not sure about the compatibility either.

I only used about a tablespoon of oil to finish the stock.

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Horton, MI

Thought I'd mention that I was going for a satin finish on that, but I think it buffs out pretty good. The LMI instructions are very good.

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Horton, MI

I used Tru-Oil for the first time this past summer on a classical I built. My main reason to use it
was its ease of use, as I needed something that would not take big blocks of time to apply because
I'd not finished the guitar until after school started (I teach). Here's where I talk about it:
http://pweb.jps.net/~msmatsus/htmlp
ages/c26.html

I think it came out nicely, and I loved the application process! I like its "warmer" appearance
(thinner and less plasticky?) than my sprayed-on finishes. I filled the pores first with some
waterbase filler, put on a coat of shellac, and put the Tru-Oil on top of that.

As for long-term durability...I don't know yet!

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Kathy Matsushita
San Jose, CA USA
http://theamateurluthier.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathy.matsushita

Oh, yeah....I got it at a local Wal-Mart (small bottle).

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Kathy Matsushita
San Jose, CA USA
http://theamateurluthier.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathy.matsushita

I've only used it on necks so far, I always French polish my guitars. However, the Kevin Aram classical that I play is finished with it over the whole guitar. Kevin is one of the top classical builders, Julian Bream has two of his guitars and Kevin uses an oil finish on them all, his prices start at about $7500 for his base model and go way up from there, so he isn't using it for ease of application or cost, but for the acoustic transparency that the thin coating gives.

It is certainly not the poor relation of finishes, and for the home finisher, with all the attendant problems with spraying, it should be given serious consideration as a finish of choice.

Hand rubbed oil based varnishes were the norm on instruments until the 20th century. I use one on my lutes that a well know violin maker gives me. It's called Oxford Chunky Cut Marmalade, or at least that's what the label on the jam jar says!

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I'll have to pick some up and do some test pieces. I'm wondering about pore filler with it. Does it need contact with the wood to work correctly? It seems like it needs to absorb into the wood with a name like Tru-Oil. Is that correct? Or will it dry/cure if applied onto a non-absorbant surface like shellac?
I guess there's only one way to find out...unless somebody else answers, of course.
Colin, what does Kevin Aram use as a pore filler, if any?
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

J-

I have found that it will dry over shellac but has problems drying on many types of woods. Over rosewood, especially cocobolo, it is a problem. I had a problem with macassar ebony too. Even over shellac, sometimes if any wood oils are in the mix it will have a blotchy section. Waterlox, on the other hand seems to dry well over anything given a little time. I would think that an epoxy pore fill then a sealer coat (or two) of waterlox would give you a perfect ground for the tru-oil. Even the gloss waterlox will not buff out to the shine tru-oil will (in my small tests), that is why I wouldn't just waterlox the whole thing. Also, tru-oil self levels better than waterlox so a little more care is needed when applying that. This is my experience after 4-5 guitars, someone else probably has very different opinions! There is a lot of info too on MIMF. Hope it helps,

Burton

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

J,

It works fine over shellac and also over Z-poxy. Check out Ron Wisdom's latest where he used Tru-oil. Rub on thin and wipe of the excess - it doesn't sink in any more than shellac does in my experience.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

J.,

I have used it over the System 3 epoxy pore filler. No problems with it so far (~4 months).

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

J.

I'm not sure what Kevin uses to pore fill, but following some advice from Dave White on how to use Tru-oil, I tried some test pieces on Madagascan rosewood.

I found that tru-oil adheres perfectly over Z-poxy, shellac or straight onto the wood. My gut instinct would be to put a seal coat of shellac on first, but then I'm a dyed in the wool French polisher!

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

[QUOTE=Colin S] Hand rubbed oil based varnishes were the norm on instruments until the 20th century. I use one on my lutes that a well know violin maker gives me. It's called Oxford Chunky Cut Marmalade, or at least that's what the label on the jam jar says!

Colin[/QUOTE]

Ha! Colin, have you tried spreading this stuff on crumpets or scones?

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

J,

I have had several students do Tru oil finishes this semester with great success. Like others have said here, it does go over shellac, z-poxy and the like without issues. I do like a light seal coat of shellac on cedar and spruce before the oil but it is not absolutely necessary. You can also fill the pores or not depending on the look and sheen you are going for. It is very user friendly and indeed a nice finsh.
I also had a student this semester do a wipe on poly finish. This guy was nuts about a finish and took about three weeks to finally decide on the type of finish he wanted on his guitar. After many question and answer sessions and watching my finishing DVD he decided on a gloss wipe on poly. He filled the pores with a sanding sealer and then put on 6 coats of the wipe on poly. He leveled after about 3 coats and then applied a couple more and then leveled again. He then applied the final coat. He then buffed it out by hand and it is a GREAT finish!! Even looks like a professional did it!

Tru-oil is a finish that is often used by ukulele builders. I was always told that it is easy to apply and that it doesn’t dampen the acoustical properties of the wood. When I used it as part of my ukulele building school I was delighted with the ease of application and the results. We did not pore fill our mahogany ukuleles but instead used many ultra thin coats of tru-oil. The Tru-oil was applied using clean lintless cloth (old white t-shirt material) using as little of the product as possible to coat the entire surface. These thin coats really dry pretty fast and you can apply several coats a day until you have it as thick as you like (15-25 coats). Then level using micro mesh for a flat polished surface. I polished by hand with lemon oil. Although I found it strange without pore filling the result were much better than expected. I will probably continue to use this product for the quality of finish and the ease of application.

Phiip

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

Okay, you guys sold me.  I'm presently wrapping up a HRW/WRC grand concert to be delivered by Christmas, sounds like this finish may be my saving grace with the short time remaining.  Small basement shop, no provisions for spraying...was going to try FP, but I think I'll give this a shot.  Will look on the LMI site for details as mentioned.

 

This may have sold me as well.  I watched Robbies DVD a few nights ago for the first time, late at night and a bit too tired.  Good DVD, but I need to go through it a few more times with fresh eyes.  I too dont have a good spot to spray, but would like to work my way up to that.  I thought about shellac on the neck and brush KTM9 on the body for the gloss.  All the KTM9 talk makes me a bit nervious if it a good finish or not.  Looking at Ron Wisdom's getter, this may appear to be an option for the first few due to the easy application.

I use Tru-Oil on necks and am quite happy with it.  I pore fill, stain, seal with shellac and then apply Tru-Oil with my fingers.  It cures pretty hard, much more durable than FP and is just about as easy to repair.  I can adjust the finish gloss with Micro-Mesh or 0000 steel wool.  Its a handy finish, especially fo those without spraying facilities.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

JJ, did you use any pore filler under danish oil?I used z-poxy,and it gets a little grainy feeling after a lot of use,and I have to slick it up with steel wool.Another neck I pore filled with z-poxy gets the same way with a different finish.Just thought I`d mention this do you J .I`ve heard some folks apply the tru-oil without pore filling on necks.Lmi also sells a sealer to be used under tru-oil.Maybe that`s what needs to be done on necks.
                        James
                          

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

James--

Birchwood-Casey makes a Tru-Oil filler, but I've never bothered to use it.  I just use Tru-Oil as a pore filler.  Its kind  of time consuming as I probably end up with something north of 15 coats applied, but I start this at the beginning of the build and do it as glue is drying, etc.  I do two coats per day, leveled with 0000 steel wool dipped in naphtha.  When the little shiney dots go away, the pores are filled.  The oldest neck is about 18 months now and it has not shrunk back.  Five or ten years from now may be a different story, but the stuff is hardy.  I have a couple of rifle stocks that I did thirty years ago for friends and they are still looking nice and they do get treated somewhat differently than most acoustic guitars.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC