Indian rosewood treatment

George700DL · #1 01-26-2010, 10:41 PM

Quick one - I made my saddle and nut from indian rosewood. I know for a fact this type of wood does not take polyurethane (never cures properly), so I assume other types of oil varnish will have issues as well. Is it OK to leave it completely unfinished, like ebony? The string slots are obviously left bare no matter what (rubbed with pencil). Right now there is nothing on the saddle or nut, and I was planning on leaving it that way unless I'm advised otherwise.

By the way, I used Formby's "Tung" Oil Finish on my new bass, based on some of the experiences I read here. I think it worked very well - dried fast, and thin. I am aware that there is no actual tung oil in this product, but despite that marketing gimmick, I think it's a good product.

George

moles · #2 01-27-2010, 12:09 AM

AFAIK the reason rosewood will not take a poly type finish is *because* it is inherently oily. I'm sort of just guessing here - but I'd think a varnish oil would work okay on it, based on my limited experience working with it.

I'm right in the middle of a refinish on my Strunal, btw. Took me two days to strip and sand (mostly because of that dang weapons-grade base coat/sealer they put on). I'm using some Tried and True varnish oil from Lee Valley for the finish. Just put coat #2 on tonight...

What did you use to tint the Tung oil? I saw the pics in your other thread, and the bass looks killer.

Jake deVilliers · #3 01-27-2010, 01:04 AM

You can leave them alone or oil them lightly with a drying oil - Danish, Boiled Linseed etc

uprightben · #4 01-27-2010, 05:43 AM

I like to wet sand with boiled linseed oil on both rosewod and ebony.

George700DL · #5 01-27-2010, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moles

AFAIK the reason rosewood will not take a poly type finish is *because* it is inherently oily. I'm sort of just guessing here - but I'd think a varnish oil would work okay on it, based on my limited experience working with it.

I'm right in the middle of a refinish on my Strunal, btw. Took me two days to strip and sand (mostly because of that dang weapons-grade base coat/sealer they put on). I'm using some Tried and True varnish oil from Lee Valley for the finish. Just put coat #2 on tonight...

What did you use to tint the Tung oil? I saw the pics in your other thread, and the bass looks killer.

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. I kept it real simple. You can search here for "Formby's tung oil" and read the responses by Don Harris and responses from 1st Bass (I think the title is "Varnish test pics". I did the same thing: out of the can for ground, then a glaze of artist color (I only did 1), then a few coats of clear again.

George

james condino · #6 01-27-2010, 12:29 PM

Indian Rosewood ( Dalbergia Lattifolia?) will take almost any finish you want to put on it; some just take more effort or a differen technique than others. There are MILLIONS of guitars made out of it with poly based finishes that are holding up fine, ranging from the ultra cheap to very expensive.

For your bass, there is no need to put that type of finish on the rosewood parts. My preference is for a light amount of a natural hardening oil like walnut oil.

j.

Jake deVilliers · #7 01-27-2010, 02:04 PM

Good point about the poly finish - what would Yamaha, Taylor etc do if they couldn't coat Indian in polyurerthane!?

And for the record, that's 'latifolia'.

james condino · #8 01-27-2010, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

.....

And for the record, that's 'latifolia'.

Good catch Jake! I'm not sure if that was a keyboard error or if after a few years in North Carolina I'm starting to inflect a bit of local flavor into my typing....

Yamaha and Taylor have got nothing on some of the lower end import guitars that look like they were dipped in a bathtub of poly and then hung out to dry...and who can forget the Fullerplast days...

j.

George700DL · #9 01-27-2010, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james condino

Indian Rosewood ( Dalbergia Lattifolia?) will take almost any finish you want to put on it; some just take more effort or a differen technique than others. There are MILLIONS of guitars made out of it with poly based finishes that are holding up fine, ranging from the ultra cheap to very expensive.

For your bass, there is no need to put that type of finish on the rosewood parts. My preference is for a light amount of a natural hardening oil like walnut oil.

j.

Well then I stand corrected about the poly over rosewood. I remember reading somewhere about adhesion issues with poly, and I've used poly on it before with poor results. But as you said, there are ways.

I'll leave the nut and saddle naked for now, until I have the need to take the strings off.

George