Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello all,
The use of Tru-oil as a guitar finish appeals to me. I have tested it and it looks good on my samples. The only negitive I see around (and after letting it cure for a week)is that it is not as hard or scratch resistant as other finishes(take a pick across it and a trail appears). I was wondering if you could mix in some.....say Minwax polyurthane in it to give it a harder and more scratch resistant quallity?

Thoughts?

Matthew

Hi Matthew -

I'm no chemist, but maybe try your idea on another piece of scrap and see what happens. I've finished only one guitar completely with TruOil and I'm quite happy with the finish overall...but true, you do suffer some pick scratches and such. There's always transparent pickguards....

Best of luck, please post your results if you're successful!

Jon

Hi Matthew--

Tru-Oil can take a while to fully cure -- maybe a month or so depending on environmental conditions, but it never will be as hard (oops, as tough ) as a nitro or the various poly finishes. A clear pickguard is a viable option. Frank Ford has mentioned, either at Frets.com or on the UMGF that he has a preference for very thin sheets of the "static cling" acetate for clear pick guard material versus the thicker stuff that requires some kind of glue. Worth checking out. I'll see if I can find a link.

_________________
Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC