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I'm using Tru Oil as a finish right now on one of the two guitars on my bench and its building up nicely. How long do I need to wait on Tru Oil before I work through the grits and get it up to a nice gloss?
-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

I'll be using that as well and am curious too. Please post picks of the finish when done.

So many people rave about True Oil for necks. My experience is that it starts feeling pebbly after a while. Maybe its a reaction of my skin oils with it? I prefer water-based lacquer on the neck - no problems. I have finished the body of a uke with the product and its seems fine for that.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

I like it very well as a satin neck finish and it seems to hold up great for me. I was hoping to get some answers on the gloss, though.

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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

Jack, I don't think True Oil can be brought up to a high gloss, semi-gloss yes.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

The photo is a mahogany neck done in Tru-Oil. I waited about two weeks before going up through the Micro-Mesh grits. I do like it for necks.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Jim that's a nice finish for true oil! I'm working on a dulcimer and will finish it with true oil . I have seen some really nicely finished gunstocks done with tru-erl.

I finished a guitar with it for a Christmas present last year...was under the gun to finish, and TruOil was the prefect answer. In my experience, I rubbed it right on with my bare fingers and wiped off ONLY the excess...but be warned, it sure gets tacky fast.

I applied two coats in one night for three nights...let it sit for two more, then leveled and applied one more coat. Hand buffed two days later with a very soft cloth. All in all, a very nice (and thin) finish.

Oh, Jack!

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

I have no problem taking tru-oil to a high gloss sand through 2000 and micromesh through 12000 by hand and hit it with the buffer fine and extra fine. I usally let my neck set for 15-20 days before rubbing out. but that has more to do with my build schedule than cure time.

Excellent info. Thats kinda what I had in mind, but wanted to see if that was a method anyone else used.
Michael, would you mind sharing your application schedule/method? Or, if you've posted before, maybe just a link. I couldn't find it when searching the archive.
Thanks.
-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

Pore fill with Zpoxy via index finger. Allow to cure over night. Sand back to near wood. Do a 60%/40% alcohol/zpoxy wipe down allow to cure over night. light 0000 steel wool tooth the neck rag on tru-oil no more than 2 sessions a day. 6-8 sessions to build film. allow to cure out do any required leveling then rub out as I described above.

I've now heard a few people on this forum (and others) say that you can't get a gloss finish on Tru-oil and it's simply not true. However, the wood you're applying it to can affect the length of time it takes to harden and I expect the rosewoods will be the worst. My first experience was using it on padauk and I found that rubbing down with wire-wool the next day I was taking it all off again and I finished up with a sort of satin finish. That was OK because that's what I wanted.

But on the next instrument I put several coats on and then left it for about 2 weeks. When I tried rubbing it down with dry wet'n'dry paper it came off as white powder. This is what Birchwood-Casey says it should do. I then polished it by hand with Brasso (good old British metal polish, what the military used to use on their buttons and buckles) and it came up like a mirror. Literally, I could see my face in the reflection on the ebony heel cap.