TRU-Oil, neck finishing

[bryanarzaga]

i decided to try this on a few of my guitar necks where the thin poly finish was already becoming boring..

what wipe on or spray poly(i use minwax) does it just coats it as it is, and sometimes its desirable what im doing is just testing out this TRUOIL finish, which raises the grain of the wood(being and oil finish)..

here we have some mic necks..citri-strip'd and sanded down, they do have grains which wasnt that present unless i put some naptha over it(which i did in these photos)





so as the naptha begins to dry out so does the grain begins to lessen its presence..




here's the Citri-strip way..just wipe on the poly or finish,(here i had to leave it overnight since it was only 40 degrees that time) i can imagine the process would be so much quicker if it was done in 70 or above degrees





applied the first coat(middle and top neck), bottom neck no finish applied



middle neck with 1st coat





kramer focus neck 1st coat



comparison shot



all 3 necks applied with base tru oil coat



after the 1st coat i gave it two days of drying time again, it all depends in the weather ..if its hot outside it would be done quicker if your in the 90 degrees hot..that would be just a couple of hours

i did a total of 4 coats, which to add the slight sanding of the finish was a 2 week process..

here it is after some hand buffing









here it is attached to the body

[arpeggiosfromheaven]

TFS, sir bry

very nice, ganda ng pagkakagawa mo.

[bryanarzaga]

TFS, sir bry

very nice, ganda ng pagkakagawa mo.

its like saying, you're good in making ice cubes..

its a no brain-er process..

[r_chino18]

How does it feel now?

[bryanarzaga]

How does it feel now?

feels like smooth wood, ok some may think thats its an oil finish its going to be gummy, no its not..this finish is used for Gun stock finishing..

[r_chino18]

feels like smooth wood, ok some may think thats its an oil finish its going to be gummy, no its not..this finish is used for Gun stock finishing..

Still a different feel from a satin/matte finished neck?

[shodawmoon]

feels like smooth wood, ok some may think thats its an oil finish its going to be gummy, no its not..this finish is used for Gun stock finishing..

so it's gonna feel like it was never there?...the oil I mean..

I like how it turned out. thanks for posting.

[bryanarzaga]

Still a different feel from a satin/matte finished neck?

yes, still different..i guess it depends how its done..because i buffed em super smooth..

so it's gonna feel like it was never there?...the oil I mean..

of course the oil is just a finish, it will harden just like poly..the diff is the chemical reaction of it..plus its grain popping factor

I like how it turned out. thanks for posting.

cool!

[Jaco D]

Bryan, yung "Naptha", is that what is called lacquer thinner back home o paint thinner?  Did you have to seal the wood before laying down the oil or is the oil the sealer as well?  i've never tried true oil but I've tried danish oil for a Warmoth neck ages ago and I didn't like the results.  Went back to spray poly (never got the hang of wipe-on stuff) and just sanded the end product (once dried out for like a week) with 0000 steel wool then buffed it with those powerballs used to make automobiles/wheels shine.

[jbarot]

bry did you thin it down with denatured alcohol?  i find it too thick when i used it once and i'm really curious how a thinned down version of tru oil is like because i haven't tried it thinned down

[bryanarzaga]

Bryan, yung "Naptha", is that what is called lacquer thinner back home o paint thinner? 

not sure, it is a sort of a paint thinner(the label says that), well in most cases where i go to ace they even sometimes recommend Ronson lighter fluid, and even the mineral spirits one(says its a paint thinner)..

Did you have to seal the wood before laying down the oil or is the oil the sealer as well? 

me, i didnt..tru oil is acts as a sealer..

i havent tried Danish oil, i actually got my answer from D.Bunker who built me a guitar,  well i did inquire what he used and what he used to polish after the fact..but not as a step by step process..it usually is a trial and error start but the good thing is it doesnt damage the neck..

two of another chinese guitars arrived today and once i saw the unfinished strat neck back..i had to do it, here's the result..this is just one layer of tru-oil..which i applied around 12 noon..and got back from my fishing trip around 10pm..





so D.Bunkers tools worked, since he already told me what the things used (tru-oil and turtle wax)..

how i apply it is like this, either use your fingers to spread it all over the neck flat, but i prefer using paper towels..it covers more area and i can make it flat..i like using 1 or 2 coats now.

i removed steel wool for this process..its thin enough to polish by hand with turtle wax..and the shine and feel is slippery

bry did you thin it down with denatured alcohol?  i find it too thick when i used it once and i'm really curious how a thinned down version of tru oil is like because i haven't tried it thinned down

didnt need to, 1 layer which is thin enough to buff to get that shine and gloss without it feeling plastic like which that poly does..

[Al_Librero]

Nice. I did the same thing for my Warmoth neck, but I used tung oil. It looks very similar, and I'm pretty sure the feel isn't far off either.

[bryanarzaga]

Nice. I did the same thing for my Warmoth neck, but I used tung oil. It looks very similar, and I'm pretty sure the feel isn't far off either.

tung oil is also a finish, should be the same..but i havent tried that

[Al_Librero]

The method of application is practically the same. I wouldn't use paper towels, though. And I would've used Tru Oil as well had I known a store sells them locally now. Ironically, tung oil is the stuff that's difficult to find here now. It's a good thing I bought a quart back when a hardware store had plenty in stock some years ago.

[shutterbugjohn]

@TS, thanks for sharing! kudos to you sir. goodjob always!  i went to sm north earlier to check out that gunstore HANN, thought they were selling TRUOIL pero wala di alam ng mga saleslady. meron lang sila yun panlinis daw ng gunstock. recently i read a thread here at gc talking about where to buy truoil. been browsing for the past hour and still di ko mahanap. hehe. sana makabili ako ng truoil soon. will try it out.

question sir, gano katagal curing time before pwede na magamit yun guitar body or neck?

[bryanarzaga]

@TS, thanks for sharing! kudos to you sir. goodjob always!  i went to sm north earlier to check out that gunstore HANN, thought they were selling TRUOIL pero wala di alam ng mga saleslady. meron lang sila yun panlinis daw ng gunstock. recently i read a thread here at gc talking about where to buy truoil. been browsing for the past hour and still di ko mahanap. hehe. sana makabili ako ng truoil soon. will try it out.

hope you can get some!

question sir, gano katagal curing time before pwede na magamit yun guitar body or neck?

you've probably read some different opinions on drying time and it actually depends on the weather..when i was doing the necks it was 60 degrees which is still a bit cooler so it took like 1-2 days that it didnt feel sticky...right now its *almost* 100 outside and basically  it would cure overnight, the hotter the area the faster it cures also consider the amount of layers you're building..i do 1 or 2, but usually 1 if it fits the scheme of the project..

i prefer a glossy look which takes 1 layer and buff it up(not with steel wool) but just a buffing machine at a slow rev, some use it only for a grain pop and sealer..which is 1 layer or 2 then use 0000 steelwool then hand/machine buff(steve benfords method),also it does tint so if you prefer a pale looking neck consider wipe on poly (minwax)

[shutterbugjohn]

hope you can get some!

you've probably read some different opinions on drying time and it actually depends on the weather..when i was doing the necks it was 60 degrees which is still a bit cooler so it took like 1-2 days that it didnt feel sticky...right now its *almost* 100 outside and basically  it would cure overnight, the hotter the area the faster it cures also consider the amount of layers you're building..i do 1 or 2, but usually 1 if it fits the scheme of the project..

i prefer a glossy look which takes 1 layer and buff it up(not with steel wool) but just a buffing machine at a slow rev, some use it only for a grain pop and sealer..which is 1 layer or 2 then use 0000 steelwool then hand/machine buff(steve benfords method),also it does tint so if you prefer a pale looking neck consider wipe on poly (minwax)

thanks for the info sir. i had some reading on LMII and they suggest to have it cured for 2 weeks. i guess that means really really cured.

[sulayman44]

you talk like em rapscallion Huck Finn 

[bryanarzaga]

you talk like em rapscallion Huck Finn 

what the..lol how so?

thanks for the info sir. i had some reading on LMII and they suggest to have it cured for 2 weeks. i guess that means really really cured.

even with 1 coat? probably if its 20 coats/layers?

[shutterbugjohn]

if i remember around 4-6 coats yun recommendation. siguro playing safe lang sila sa 2 weeks.

[Ryn]

The method of application is practically the same. I wouldn't use paper towels, though. And I would've used Tru Oil as well had I known a store sells them locally now. Ironically, tung oil is the stuff that's difficult to find here now. It's a good thing I bought a quart back when a hardware store had plenty in stock some years ago.

@Bryan

Nice job!

@Al_Librero

Where can I buy those tru-oil? I'm planning to do this on a maple neck/fretboard. Thanks.

[cayle]

@Bryan

Nice job!

@Al_Librero

Where can I buy those tru-oil? I'm planning to do this on a maple neck/fretboard. Thanks.

Gun shops. Hahn carries them.

[shutterbugjohn]

called up HANN's main office earlier, wala daw sila truoil or tungoil.

[cayle]

called up HANN's main office earlier, wala daw sila truoil or tungoil.

Oh? I saw some sa Hahn, Festival Mall a month ago. Out of stock na siguro.

[arpeggiosfromheaven]

called up HANN's main office earlier, wala daw sila truoil or tungoil.

lol