Tru-oil?

[bobostein]

How hard is it to apply tru-oil? Is it sticky or is it a good idea to put some on the neck? Can I just rub it on the fret board and frets or do I want to do each space between the frets one by one and not get any on the frets? Sorry for all the Qs but this will be my first time putting a finish on a bass

[mikeyswood]

This is one of those questions that is best answered by actually doing it.

[jworrellbass]

You won't hurt any of your frets if you put oil on them. I use cheese cloth or polishing rags to apply oil. Just follow the directions.

[Pilgrim]

You DO NOT - DO NOT - want to apply Tru-Oil or any linseed-based product on a fretboard. if you do a bit of research on TB and other forums, you will find that people use many different kinds of products, but most of them haven't done 30 seconds' research on the product they use. Linseed oil eventually seals the surface, and over a period of many years, oxidizes and darkens. It is NOT suitable for periodic treatments of fretboards.

Start by reading this thread, which is active on TB now:
Best oil for rosewood boards?.

My personal take is that on the very, very rare occasion (once very few years) when oiling a fretboard might be desirable, Fret Doctor is the best choice. It is formulated for that specific purpose, contains no petroleum or linseed oils, and is a pure vegetable oil formulation.

I also suggest that if the fretboard has no problems and seems to be retaining its original color, it doesn't need to be oiled.

The fretboard on my 1963 P has never been oiled and is holding up fine.

[jworrellbass]

Oil Does Not penetrate into the wood. Many rosewood fretless fb's with oil have been sanded and epoxy finish has been applied. Epoxy will not stick to an oil finish. You will not hurt a FB with oil.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by jworrellbass

Oil Does Not penetrate into the wood. You will not hurt a FB with oil.

where does it go?

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Fret Doctor is the best choice. It is formulated for that specific purpose, contains no petroleum or linseed oils, and is a pure vegetable oil formulation.

This may be a stupid question, but doesn't vegetable oil rot?

[jworrellbass]

Originally Posted by standupright

where does it go?

On the surface of the wood. You can easily sand the oil out. If it penetrated you would need to sand deeply to get past it. If you have an oiled instrument and you have to sand out a dent or scratch it doesn't take much to reach bare wood.

[Fletcher Munson]

Originally Posted by bobostein

How hard is it to apply tru-oil? Is it sticky or is it a good idea to put some on the neck? Can I just rub it on the fret board and frets or do I want to do each space between the frets one by one and not get any on the frets? Sorry for all the Qs but this will be my first time putting a finish on a bass

Are you talking about periodic maintenance, or finishing a new neck?

If you're looking for periodic maintenance on a rosewood (or other) neck, then Tru-oil is definitely the wrong product. It would pretty much ruin a rosewood or ebony fretboard.

But if you're talking about finishing a a new maple neck, then Tru-Oil can be a great finish. There's a ton of information here:

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/

Many, many threads on Tru-Oil. Just do a search. Also check out "Houndog's Tru Oil finish" in the FAQ section. I've used it on a maple/rosewood guitar neck (NOT on the rosewood) and a maple/maple bass neck. Great stuff.

And, to answer your question, when used as a finish on raw necks, it is easy to apply.

[jworrellbass]

http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htm

It seems that this is one of those topics that personal experience really comes into play. I use tru-oil on rosewood all the time and for years, never had any problems. Others disagree with this.

http://www.peerlesstone.com/node/55

[Fletcher Munson]

Hmmm. Well, I shouldn't have said that Tru-Oil will ruin a rosewood neck. It would ruin it for me.

Tru-Oil is a sealer (like linseed oil or tung oil) and will "finish" (seal and harden) the wood. This is not what I, personally, want for my rosewood fretboards, I like to use bore oil to prevent drying and (the possibility of) cracking. But I would never want to seal the rosewood.

So, to each his own. I love Tru-Oil as a finish, but I don't like to seal or finish my rosewood or ebony boards.

[mikeyswood]

Originally Posted by jworrellbass

You won't hurt any of your frets if you put oil on them. I use cheese cloth or polishing rags to apply oil. Just follow the directions.

Preach on Brother John!

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

You DO NOT - DO NOT - want to apply Tru-Oil or any linseed-based product on a fretboard. if you do a bit of research on TB and other forums, you will find that people use many different kinds of products, but most of them haven't done 30 seconds' research on the product they use. Linseed oil eventually seals the surface, and over a period of many years, oxidizes and darkens. It is NOT suitable for periodic treatments of fretboards.

Start by reading this thread, which is active on TB now:
Best oil for rosewood boards?.

My personal take is that on the very, very rare occasion (once very few years) when oiling a fretboard might be desirable, Fret Doctor is the best choice. It is formulated for that specific purpose, contains no petroleum or linseed oils, and is a pure vegetable oil formulation.

I also suggest that if the fretboard has no problems and seems to be retaining its original color, it doesn't need to be oiled.

The fretboard on my 1963 P has never been oiled and is holding up fine.

There are way too many things wrong in this statement for me to know where to begin.

Originally Posted by jworrellbass

Oil Does Not penetrate into the wood.

PREACH ON BROTHER JOHN!!

Originally Posted by standupright

where does it go?

Oils sit on top. Think of it like putting sand on a concrete surface. The smaller sands (oils) fall further into the concrete (wood).

Originally Posted by Rocky

This may be a stupid question, but doesn't vegetable oil rot?

It can rancidify if the oxidation goes wild. Citric acid would help slow the oxidation into a better coating. You could buy citric and add it or just go with lemon, orange, or even lime oils that already have it.

Originally Posted by Fletcher Munson

...will "finish" (seal and harden) the wood.

:Headsmack!

[jworrellbass]

Mikey you're the BEST! I'm getting so sick and tried of overly oppinonated views that don't have any facts to back up thier claims. Oh well, whatda gonna do?

[Joshua]

What we're going to do is follow rule #1, bar nothing.

Don't make me try to decipher "intent" over the 'net. I will always err on the side of caution...

[bobostein]

Thanks everyone for the help

[Pilgrim]

I was trying to be helpful. I've used Tru-Oil in the past, and I find that it gives a nice hard-shell finish when multiple coats are applied. I can't speak to the effect of single coats, but most of the information I have found online which seems authoritative discourages the use of linseed oil products on fretboards.

I think Tru-Oil would be a good finish for any wood surface on which a hard shell is desired, such as a firearm stock, a solid body instrument, or perhaps a maple fretboard - which I hadn't thought about before the post in the thread above. I do not personally consider it an appropriate finish for a rosewood fretboard, and there is a considerable body of opinion which agrees with my stance. I am considering it for the body of a bass I'm working on, but I won't use it on the fretboard. Others may well disagree, but that's my stance.

If readers believe that oil does not penetrate into wood (such as a rosewood fretboard), then I encourage them to do more reading and research online, including examining the micro-photo online at: http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm. A Google search using the character string "does oil penetrate wood" will reveal numerous websites which contain clear references to oil penetrating wood. I leave the rest to the reader's judgment.

[mikeyswood]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

If readers believe that oil does not penetrate into wood (such as a rosewood fretboard), then I encourage them to do more reading and research online, including examining the micro-photo online at: http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm. A Google search using the character string "does oil penetrate wood" will reveal numerous websites which contain clear references to oil penetrating wood. I leave the rest to the reader's judgment.

Are you referencing the sales pitch? Have you seen the cross section micrographs of the cells?

[Pilgrim]

Most of that page is indeed a sales pitch, but I found the photo quite illustrative, although the stated penetration illustrated is 30mm (1.18 inches) which seems like a lot. I'm wondering about that.

My belief based on research I have done today and 40-odd years of working with wood and using oil finishes is that some formulations of oil do indeed penetrate wood. I do not agree with blanket assertions to the contrary.

[mikeyswood]

The picture on that site is no way associated with African Blackwood. Not even the smallest paraffin would move 30mm into a piece of wood.

Common sense can dispel this snake oil site.