Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm still on the fence on the French Polish or Tru-Oil finish for the neck. I'm working on two guitars right now, so I may do one of each. My question is on the pore filling. Do you pore fill a mahogany neck with to prep these? Would you go with the Z-poxy? Will tru-oil finish very well if I use an end grain dust & shellac recipe to fill the pores with? Egg Whites? I've done FP over z-poxy and I do like it, I was just looking for some ideas of what else may work well.
-j.

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

Hi J, I don't do either of those but I've heard that they both make for a nice neck. Either over Z-poxy work well.

Now I will tell you what I've just done, sort of a mix of a few options.

I've pore filled with thick CA, let cure for 1/2 hr, sand back to wood, apply one coat of danish oil (watco from the borg), leave it for 30 mins, wipe any excess off, wipe on another coat, leave it 30 mins, wipe any excess off, apply one more thin coat, just keep rubbing in the oil, wipe off excess right away. Next day, scuff with oooo steel wool, do two more coats, last one thin as before. Leave this for a week, rub out with oooo steel wool and some paste wax, buff shoe shine style. Make a really smooth, non-sticky mate finish. I'll post a picture of it later tonight.

So far this is the nicest neck finish I've seen, that's not really saying much as I've only seen/played factory guitars or those finished with Nitro or Cat Urethane. This is by far a smoother, silkier feeling neck over Nitro.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I've done 7 necks and all I've ever used is Tru oil with Z Poxy as a pore fill. No regrets so far.

I do not know what end grain dust is.
I finished one neck with Tru-Oil, filling the pores with 320 wet-or-dry paper lubricated with Tru-Oil, no need for shellac. Worked great for a satin finished neck.

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I just did my first Tru-Oil neck over Z-poxy. So far so good. I really like it. I used it on the Rosewood headstock veneer and heel cap too and it looks nice.
Terry

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Sawdust sanded off of the end grain seems to be finer and works better for me to fill pores with when I use that method.

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

Can anyone tell me the differences between Tru-Oil and Shellac as far as feel and look go?

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

Tru oil is a slicker (less friction) feeling film after some cure time at least to my feel

by the way I always fill mohogany necks I use Zpoxy.

J,

Try doing some samples of each finish. Both products are cheap and then you could decide from actual experience instead of other people's experience and explanations.

I'm thinking that Robbie's advice is good. It doesn't take long to do a couple of off-cuts or even a piece of mahogany veneer from the Borg. I use Tru-Oil on mahogany necks and I don't bother to pore fill with anything, though I may use Z-Poxy on the next go-around. The big caveat here is that I do these for myself, so I'll put on 12 - 16 coats of Tru-Oil depending--pretty intensive from a labor standpoint. The finished surface is NOT glass smooth, but it is really fast. There is a hint of pore still visisble in the right light. It kind of gives the vintage vibe that I personally like, but I am sure that it is a show-stopper for someone building for a living.

_________________
Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Can't remember the name right now but the same company that makes TruOil also makes a pore filler made specifically for TruOil that is extremely easy to apply.

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/index.html


click on the link, then on the tru oil bottle to get there.

I was a little surprised to find that I paid about $8/bottle for this from LMI and I could have got it direct from the manufacturer for about a dollar a bottle less.

I'll know next time. A small bottle of this stuff goes a LONG way. I have several bottles of it. So far I am loving the look and feel of it. I guess the real test will come in the durability of the finish over a long haul.

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

I've had the tru oil for a few months. I picked it up at wal*mart for about 5 bucks. I used it to touch up an oak dining room table. It worked great.
I am using one of the off cuts from the neck blank. One side Tru-Oil, one side FP. Z-poxy first.
Thanks.
-j.

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

I just finished applying tru-oil to a guitar body, back and sides. I also used it on the neck for this one.

I used the System III epoxy with a little silica to fill the pores on the neck and body. For the neck, I rubbed out the tru-oil using 0000 steel wool and paste wax. I really like the way it looks and feels. For the body, I am letting it harden for a couple of weeks (just finished it yesterday), then I'll go at it with micro-mesh and buff it out.

I buy it at a local sporting goods store for about $4 a bottle.

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