Oiled finishes - care and maintenance?

[Manitou]

Apologies if this is the wrong forum.

I'll soon be the proud owner of a Walnut Peavey Cirrus 5 and I was wondering if anyone had tips and hints on how to best preserve the oil finish? Any cleaning tips, etc, would be deeply appreciated.

I intend to lovingly maintain this baby and I could use your advice. Thanks in advance!

Dave

[tonequixote]

If it needs cleaning, then a light buff with a fine scotchbrite pad will work. Howard's Feed and Wax works great and is available everywhere, cheap.

[202dy]

Is there a reason to introduce abrasives in a simple maintenance regimen? It depends on whether or not there is some damage to the wood itself. If there is, then it is possible that some sanding need be done but it would be unusual to need to touch up with anything coarser than 600 grit. Wet or dry silicon carbide paper will do a great job of this when oil is used as the "lubricant".

As far as regular maintenance of the finish goes, it depends on the amount of usage the instrument sees over the course of time. For most hobby players one or two coats of oil applied once a year should be enough. An instrument that is played hard and put away wet should be touched up more often.

The method is simple. Remove the hardware. Apply a coat of oil so that the instrument appears to be wet. After a few minutes test to see if the oil has begun to tack up. If it has start rubbing. If instead, the oil has soaked in apply once more. A deluxe job would be a coat a day for a week. That is above and beyond the call of duty for most instruments. One or two days should do it. After the oil has "dried" (polymerized) a coat of wax may be applied if so desired.

Most all in one treatments, those that "clean and polish", usually do neither well. Avoid them. It is not very much work to do it in two steps. It will cost another twenty minutes. Maybe.

You will have to inquire as to what kind of oil Peavey uses in their oil finish. If at all possible you will want to use the same type of oil that is already on the instrument.

One caveat: If the bass has been waxed the wax will need to be stripped off. A rub down with some naphtha will remove the existing wax.

[Manitou]

Thanks for the GREAT info - I appreciate it!

[SGT. Pepper]

DR. Ducks Axe Wax!

[Zooberwerx]

I use Briwax (www.woodworkers.com) for regular polishing and Casey's Tru-Birch gunstock oil when the finish is starting to wear thin. I use either #0000 steel wool or a worn Scotchbrite pad to rub out both. You really need the extra "bite" to work the material. I finish buff with either a flannel cloth or cheesecloth.

BTW, Rob Elrick suggested the Briwax, David King suggested the Tru-Birch. Works for me.

Riis