Tru-Oil Finish

[Sponson Thrisby]

[QUOTE="I even was wondering if maple necks (one-piece or two) could be finished in tru-oil only? Tinted? like yellow but not amber... ??
[/QUOTE]
On the tele I also used Tru-oil on the maple parts of the neck -everything but the rosewood. It worked just fine.

 

[rudy4444]

I'm not a fan of Tru-oil. It can be used for a "quick n' easy" finish with application of 3 coats, but if you want any amount of finish build it requires a LOT of coats and a LOT of time. Sometimes "easy" isn't a particularly good answer.

When I was doing custom lap steels I switched to 3 applications of Minwax Poly Satin Urethane over 24 hours. I found the results to be much better than any of my previous Tru-oil instruments.

In the last couple of years I've migrated once again to using European hard oil finishes. (These were developed by the hardwood floor industry and have over 50 years of being a durable long term finish).

You can read the details and see an example of Osmo Poly-X hard oil starting in post #73 of this build topic:

[URL="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/building-a-short-scale-p-bass.1487102/page-4#post-24701230"]Building A Short Scale P Bass[/URL]

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Cool thread. I'm waiting for some Warmoth parts to arrive, so this is useful information. I've ordered water based finishing oil from Crimson Guitars for the job.

View attachment 4576148

Test that first to understand it...

One of the main differences when handling waterbourne vs. solvent finishes is "grain raising". Water tends to swell wood fibers a lot more than solvents and make smooth surfaces not so smooth.

It's not difficult to deal with, just an extra layer or two that need proper sanding, but it's good to expect it. The sanding of early coats will be far coarser than you might expect, like 180-220, while an early solvent coat would be 320-400.

I use lots of modern waterbourne products, mainly General Finishes, and they're super easy to handle, fast drying, and look great, but they're different than traditional materials.

Also, always treat waterbourne just as you would solvents if spraying. They aren't flammable, but they still have some stuff you don't want in your lungs if atomized. Waterbourne and non-toxic are fully different subjects and often confused.

 

[MrClassicMetal]

Test that first to understand it...

One of the main differences when handling waterbourne vs. solvent finishes is "grain raising". Water tends to swell wood fibers a lot more than solvents and make smooth surfaces not so smooth.

It's not difficult to deal with, just an extra layer or two that need proper sanding, but it's good to expect it. The sanding of early coats will be far coarser than you might expect, like 180-220, while an early solvent coat would be 320-400.

I use lots of modern waterbourne products, mainly General Finishes, and they're super easy to handle, fast drying, and look great, but they're different than traditional materials.

Also, always treat waterbourne just as you would solvents if spraying. They aren't flammable, but they still have some stuff you don't want in your lungs if atomized. Waterbourne and non-toxic are fully different subjects and often confused.

Thanks for the advice, it's the very 1st time I'll be doing this so I really appreciate it.

Apparently the finish that I got is flammable:



The full description can be found here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Brich]

Tru oil is great, just finished my third neck with it. I'd recommend taking your time with it, aim for a min. of 10 coats if you're looking to enhance the grain like you stated in your OP. I also like to thin the last few coats with MS, it will help the last few coats to lay smoother. Be sure to give plenty of drying time after application, I waited 3 weeks before buffing to a semi high gloss, and finished with wax

 

[groovepump]

This one was Tru-Oil as well. I will say it's unforgiving as far as any scratches or or dings you didn't notice prior to oiling it. It goes on so thin that it will NOT fill even tiny scratches unless you really lay on a lot of coats, so spend a lot of time on prep, once the oil goes on, you are more or less committed. This was around 25 coats IIRC, and you can see a couple micro-dings I missed in final sanding, probably dropped tool marks. This was not wet sanded with Oil because I didn't want to risk walnut dust migrating into the maple, but I don't know if that's actually a problem. My Holy Grail finish would be something this easy to apply but that dries really hard and scratch resistant. I'd like to try the Minwax Oil Modified Water Borne wipe-on poly, which supposedly gives a similar ambering effect, but dries a lot harder.

View attachment 4576073
View attachment 4576074

Beautiful bass.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Excuse me, Sir, where do I buy this bass? Thank you

It was a one-off build for my son as a graduation present, maybe he'll wrassle ya for it.

 

[41Hz To Go]

I wouldn't use it on a fingerboard, I don't think it's hard enough, and rounds would show wear pretty quick. I've been using Stewmac Fingerboard oil, which dries really fast and MUCH harder. Here's just one coat on Rocklite Ebano, a synthetic ebony substitute:
View attachment 4576105

And about 5 coats on Bubinga
View attachment 4576106

wow dude, thanks for the info. I'm yet to receive my warmoth neck (tele, maple, ebony board, p bass nut). Can't wait!

 

[41Hz To Go]

Yes, but you would need to keep the coats very thin, and stick to a minimum number, if you want to preserve the classic "freshly polished bare wood" look of the ebony. Stewmac's fretboard finishing oil is a purpose made product for dark fretboards and is easy to get a good result with, but if you have tru oil and want to seal the fretboard to prevent moisture loss, tru oil works fine. Ebony needs to be polished pretty thoroughly before applying finish. On typical body or neck woods, stopping at 320 works fine. For something very hard and dense like ebony, I switch to abranet and go to at least 800 before putting anything on.



Try it yourself on scrap and decide!

After decades of screwing with finishes, I've pretty much given up on "apply this first to enhance the grain then switch to this other product" kind of approaches. I see a lot of people recommending a coat of X before using Y, but I've never found that it's worth the trouble, at least when it comes to applying different varieties of transparent finishes on top of each other. Any thin transparent finish is going to penetrate the grain and help lock in "depth" - you don't need a different product to do that. On the other hand, if you want to tint one product, get it into the grain, and then clear coat with a different product - or, you want to use a legit grain filler first, to ensure a smooth finish - those options make sense. But if it comes to wiping on one thin transparent product then switching to a different thin transparent product, I don't think it's worthwhile.

Thanks for the info dude. I'm still waiting for my warmoth neck. Still in the planning phase for the finish.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

It was a one-off build for my son as a graduation present, maybe he'll wrassle ya for it.
View attachment 4576383

Coast Guard or Navy? Please thank him for his service.

 

[BelmontBiker]

Tru Oil first timer here….not playable yet but used it all around on my All Parts maple neck. Even covered my headstock water slide decal with it. I’m a big fan so far!!!

 

[Ric5]

The closest I've ever come to "woodworking" is giving my cutting boards and fretboards the occasional rub-down with mineral oil. I'm planning on purchasing an unfinished Warmoth neck, and based on all the research I've done I'd like to finish it in Tru-Oil.

Looking at pictures on the internet, I've seen two different kinds of Tru-Oil finishes: flat, smooth finishes that let the wood grain shine through, and textured finishes that look like an oil painting on canvas.

Is this just a matter of quality and using the right process? Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of? My goal is just to protect the wood from any dirt or oils on my hands, keep it moisturized, and bring out some of the character of the wood grain, but I'd like to keep it extremely smooth and silky, not textured at all.

Additionally, for the fretboard should I skip the Tru Oil and just use something like mineral oil or Danish Oil?

I like tung oil with a little mineral spirits added. The more mineral spirits you add the faster it dries and the harder and more glossy the finish is.

 

[hennessybass]

I was recently a first time Tru-Oil user. I'm happy with the way things came out.

Started with a 2 piece alder body from Warmoth. I thought about ash, but didn't want to mess with sanding and grain fill and all that stuff... and I wanted alder anyway. I also thought about doing StewMac color tone under the oil for more of a brown, but I really wanted a natural / kind of vintage amber thing, so I decided against it - also factoring in that it was my first time doing this.

Sanded it a bit - very light sanding on my part. I think Warmoth comes sanded to 220 - I went up to 320 & then 400. Body felt smooth at this point, and felt even more smooth after the oil.
I did 6 coats of Tru-Oil. I applied it with a clean cotton t-shirt cut up into little squares. I wore gloves each time. In between (some) coats of oil I used 0000 steel wool. I think after the first and second coat I did steel wool. Then maybe after 4 and after 6 to finish it up. Gave a very good wipe down each time after steel wool, including spraying an air duster in all the tight spots.
My schedule was not very regular,,, some coats were the next day, others were a week in between. Waited about three weeks (I think) after the final coat before hitting it with the steel wool for the final time.

I must have sanded against the grain in one small spot, which I noticed after a coat or two, but it's mostly covered by the pick guard, and only noticeable with a close inspection. I'd keep an eye out for that and be more careful if I did it again. I also kind of put on too much oil around the control cavity on the first or second coat and had to knock that back before the next coat. Again, covered up - but I'd be more careful around the tight spots next time.
Over all easy and a good experience.

Here are the pics...

 

[gamb]

I was recently a first time Tru-Oil user. I'm happy with the way things came out.

Started with a 2 piece alder body from Warmoth. I thought about ash, but didn't want to mess with sanding and grain fill and all that stuff... and I wanted alder anyway. I also thought about doing StewMac color tone under the oil for more of a brown, but I really wanted a natural / kind of vintage amber thing, so I decided against it - also factoring in that it was my first time doing this.

Sanded it a bit - very light sanding on my part. I think Warmoth comes sanded to 220 - I went up to 320 & then 400. Body felt smooth at this point, and felt even more smooth after the oil.
I did 6 coats of Tru-Oil. I applied it with a clean cotton t-shirt cut up into little squares. I wore gloves each time. In between (some) coats of oil I used 0000 steel wool. I think after the first and second coat I did steel wool. Then maybe after 4 and after 6 to finish it up. Gave a very good wipe down each time after steel wool, including spraying an air duster in all the tight spots.
My schedule was not very regular,,, some coats were the next day, others were a week in between. Waited about three weeks (I think) after the final coat before hitting it with the steel wool for the final time.

I must have sanded against the grain in one small spot, which I noticed after a coat or two, but it's mostly covered by the pick guard, and only noticeable with a close inspection. I'd keep an eye out for that and be more careful if I did it again. I also kind of put on too much oil around the control cavity on the first or second coat and had to knock that back before the next coat. Again, covered up - but I'd be more careful around the tight spots next time.
Over all easy and a good experience.

Here are the pics...
View attachment 4576649
View attachment 4576650
View attachment 4576651

Gorgeous! What wood is that neck?

 

[hennessybass]

Gorgeous! What wood is that neck?

Thanks.
It's a one piece rosewood neck. It has a skunk stripe which might be pau ferro?

Neck is from an AM Pro series with the rosewood neck that was done in a limited run for Guitar Center. It's a 60's neck profile with vintage reverse tuners and hootenanny button.
I played one at GC when they were released and loved it. Had GAS for a rosewood neck ever since then, and got one off Reverb. LOVE the neck but did not care for the body color, string thru bridge, or pickups... so I made my own with exactly everything I wanted.

I was going to have MJT do the body with an amber nitro finish, but decided to go with the Tru-Oil. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Coast Guard or Navy? Please thank him for his service.

Mass Maritime Marine Engineer. No need to thank him yet, he's only been to sea a couple times, heading back out for a 4 month gig next month.

 

[wiscoaster]

It was a one-off build for my son as a graduation present,

... and it goes very well with that uniform.

 

[Chrome Dome]

Lot of good info,about refinishing. Waiting on unfinished neck,and getting anxious about refinishing this neck,with rosewood fret board. I have some Danish stain with Walnut tint,going to try.

 

[spoonman69]

I recently fell in love with tru-oil. I bought a 1-piece swamp ash Precision Bass body finished in Walnut Tru-Oil... The finish is truly beautiful, gorgeous, the touch is smooth and never sticky... it truly is amazing. I'm about to buy another raw body (swamp ash surely again) and I'd love a white tru-oil finish, if that even exists!

I even was wondering if maple necks (one-piece or two) could be finished in tru-oil only? Tinted? like yellow but not amber... ??

I hate to use someone else's thread to post pictures but couldn't resist.
These photos don't even pay good justice; crappy cellphone quality.

View attachment 4575865 View attachment 4575866 View attachment 4575867 View attachment 4575868 View attachment 4575869 View attachment 4575870 View attachment 4575871 View attachment 4575872

That finish looks great. But what do you mean by "walnut tru oil"? As far as I know there is only one kind of tru oil, which isn´t that dark as yours. Thanks.

 

[InstantEctobass]

That finish looks great. But what do you mean by "walnut tru oil"? As far as I know there is only one kind of tru oil, which isn´t that dark as yours. Thanks.

Birchwood casey sells a walnut stain that you can apply because the tru-oil coats