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So what's your Oil finish mix?

Greg Johnsen

Greg Johnsen

May 1, 2005
1,100
1
35
Hickory NC
#1
When you apply oil to a bass as a finish, what's your mix? Do you use straight tung oil, mix it with linseed?

I'm just curious about other people's "recipes" and I'll post the one I'm going to use below, don't know the correct amount, just the ingredients.

Tung oil
Linseed oil
Polyurethane
Mineral Spirits

I'm pretty sure that's what it is, and it is very protective for an oil finish, much more so than tung oil alone.

Anyone else want to share?

Greg
 
#3
Tried and True
Danish Oil Finish
Polymerized Linseed Oil
Non-Toxic
Safe for the Environment
Safe to Use
No Petroleum Distillates
No Petroleum Derivatives
No Heavy Metal Driers

Used full strength.

Great stuff if you haven't tried it yourself.
Dirk
 
#4
First Bass I put, 2 coats of Tung Pil, then 4 coats of Danish. I didnt like the look of Tung on Mahogany, I found it darkened the wood a bit too much, so I stripped it down and put 7 coats of Danish. The Birdseye is amazing with it. Next Bass is going to be 3 coats of Tung, and then another 7 of Danish, 2 days between each coat, and a good 3 weeks until I buff it and install the hardware. Tung is perfect for the back of a neck, but everyone here probably knows that already. A friend used Teak Oil, about 7 coats I think, then he put Beeswax (Hiscock's recipe, I think..) and his Bass is lookin sweet ! Peace.
 
#5
I used woodcrafts 100% tung oil. At least thats what it said on the bottle.:smug: I didnt use any thinners, polys or anything else in the mix. About 10 coats of the stuff, sanding 400 grit between each coat. After the last coat i went to 600, then finished it off with Mylands clear wax and gave it a nice buffing. It came out with a very nice satin/semi-gloss finish :)
 
#6
Check out "Tru-Oil" made by Birchwood Casey. It's marketed as a gunstock finish but works great for guitars/basses. Super easy to work with. Once you have your wood sanded to the level you want (more on this in a minute), all you need to do is wipe some oil on with a rag (I use cheesecloth), let it penetrate for anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes or so, and then wipe off the excess. Note that you do NOT want oil finishes to penetrate deeply - wipe off the excess relatively quick. Repeat as often as you feel necessary to build the finish (yes you can "build" with this stuff) - Generally 3 to 6 coats is plenty. No dust issues, hardly any fumes, no major temp./humidity problems, easy to repair, no spray equipment - yep, I like it. No it ain't as bombproof a finish as a thick mirror coat of lacquer (it IS an oil finish after all), but on a well taken care of instrument it makes a fine durable finish.

As far as sanding, here is the other trick. Think in terms of wood polishing rather than sanding. The product that makes this possible is Micro-Mesh. GREAT "sandpaper" that lasts forever, is ultra high quality, and most importantly has grits as fine as 12000 (yes that's twelve thousand, not twelve hundred). With this stuff you can get most hardwoods buffed to a mirror shine without any finish on it! I do all my (unfinished) ebony and rosewood bits with this stuff and most folks can't believe that it's bare wood. So, back to the oil finish - what you do is polish the wood (after sanding to 320) with MicroMesh up to say 3600 or 4000 grit, then do your oil coats, let them dry thoroughly, and then "finish the finish" (again with MicroMesh) up through 12000 grit. If you prefer the more satin type finish of normal oil finishes, then simply stop polishing at a coarser grit.

No need for any beeswax applications (but you still could). A nice light wipe of lemon oil as a final step and then again every once in awhile keeps things fresh and minimizes fingerprinting.

MicroMesh and Tru-Oil : good stuff.
 
#7
In between coats of oil finishes where is a good place to store the body for drying and will 0000 steel wool work for the between coats? Also are the between coats done with the sandpaper, micro mesh or steel wool wetted with whichever oil product you are using?
I just started a project and plan to use Formby's low gloss fake tung oil.
Thanks
 
#8
MicroMesh and Tru-Oil : good stuff.

True that! I just finished a bass this way and wow, you have to try the 'Mesh' man.

It's not cheap but seems to last pretty well. You can tell the ifference immediately.:hyper:
 
#10
I think it is well worth it for 2 reasons:

1. NO residue of any sort unlike steelwool, etc.
2. One 'strip', as they call it, lasts many times linger than ANY paper I know of mostly because the backing is a stretchy, almost rubber like material that just DOES NOT give out or wear through.

I bought a sampler box for about $40. I wouldn't do that again because I see that Stew Mac has indiviual strips for sale so you can finish a bass with $3.00 worth of the stuff.

IMHO
 
#11
Son of Magni said:
Agreed on the Tru-Oil, I love it. Micro mesh seems to be quite expensive, does it really last long enough to be worth it?
Click to expand...

Absolutely worth it. There is simply no other product like it available and once you use it you will not be able to build without it. Don't worry - lasts a real long time. I go through "regular" sandpaper at an alarming rate, but I can get two or three instruments (easily) out of a kit of MicroMesh.
 
#14
I have a 12oz of Formby's low gloss tung-oil and just ordered a 12oz of Behlen's master gel. I bought the Formby's before I started researching my project. The instructions say to recoat after 12 or 24 hours cant remember.
Well PJ at Spector e-mailed me and said they use Behlens master gel.
If the two products work together with the Formby's as a base coat I can get on with my project while I wait for the Behlens.
Is steel wool really a no-no? I cant find Micro-mesh anywhere local, Wal-Mart, Farm and home and Menards dont carry it.
It also looks like Butchers bowling alley wax is going to be hard to find.
I have my body finished in the 320 grit stage. How long is the wood safe from any kind of drying stripped?
 
#15
Do NOT wet(oil) sand, or sand undried oil with MicroMesh - that nice long lasting quality will go out the window in a hurry if you do. Also, with the Tru-Oil/MicroMesh approach, there is simply no need for wet sanding. Drying time on TruOil is pretty quick and rushing things along is a sure way to end up with an "unhappy" result.

You will not find MicroMesh at WalMart (or any other quality product worth spending your money on). Again, a little patience is in order here. Shop online from specialty sources such as StewMac, Luthier's Mercantile, Allied Lutherie or higher quality gunmaking/woodworking supply houses. Likewise with the TruOil.

Steel wool is perfectly "safe" to use, but you have to pay attention to detail (which you should anyway). Make SURE you have not left ANY little bits behind before applying any new coats of finish - otherwise you trap little bits of metal in your finish and they will be impossible to get out. An air compressor comes in handy here. If you are ever working on an instrument that has pickups still installed (yep, it happens), be aware that the magnets WILL attract lots of bits of metal - NOT fun to get rid of. Remember that metal bits will be left on your workbench, tools, rags, etc. and they have to be kept clean. OR, you could just avoid steel wool altogether.
 
#18
pnchad said:
MicroMesh and Tru-Oil : good stuff.
Click to expand...

It's what the Mystical Matt Friedman used on all the oil finishes on Acacia basses, and it's what I use on all my stuff. I even strip the laquer off the necks of all my cheapos and tru-oil them. 5 coats is about the magic number for me. :)
 
#20
bassksun said:
Do you guys use the grain-filler under the Tru-oil? I don't like the way it darkens the wood. I want to stain and then oil. Possibility?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I have used grain filler under TruOil although it's generally not the effect I'm after. It's really just a personal aesthetic consideration - whichever works for you is fine. There are many different products (including one from TruOil themselves) that will work well if you choose to fill. When I do grain-fill, I use System 3 epoxy.

As far as "darkening the wood" - this really depends on the wood itself. Some species will darken a lot and some almost not at all. Thing is, if a particular wood is going to darken under TruOil, it will pretty much darken under any finish. Yes, TruOil does have a bit more amber coloration than say clear lacquer though. The effect (color wise) is very much like as if you used some of the lighter shellacs.

If you want to darken or color your wood by staining, this is no problem at all. Depending on the wood you can either seal first and then stain, or apply stain directly to the bare wood, or some other such method, and then apply TruOil like you regularly would. I generally use alcohol based aniline dyes.
 

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