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Tru Oil fretless fingerboard

sonicnuance

sonicnuance

Supporting Member
Commercial User
Aug 30, 2003
1,479
457
California, USA
www.sonicnuance.com
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Engineer & Owner, Sonic Nuance Electronics
#1
In "The Fretless Bass", Rick Turner states:

"I've come to prefer Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil sealer and oil for treating fretless boards. It penetrates the wood's surface, dries very tough, and looks good. It won't eliminate wear, but it's not as problematic as superglue."

I use roundwound strings on an ebony fingerboard. My questions are

1) How many coats of Tru-Oil (if more = harder) should I use?

2) Can a Tru-Oil finish stand up to roundwound string wear any longer than bare ebony?

3) Will it change the tone (brighten it hopefully)?

4) If I don't like it, how do I remove it?

Thanks for your help,
Mozart
 
#3
I don't think that Truoil will brighten the tone compared to ebony-string. It may make the surface marginally harder, but not by much. I have put Truoil (2 thinned coats) on two fingerboards before, one fretless- both boards were pau ferro. My intention was only to seal it and I buffed the surfaces lightly with 0000 steel wool to get a matte finish. If you do decide to experiment and don't like it, gently (patiently) use steel wool to remove and occasionally wipe clean with mineral spirits.

If you try to build truoil with many coats and go glossy, you will need to let it harden for at least 4 weeks. even then, the wear marks would be much more obvious than if you used it as a thin sealer. You probably don't want to wait that long either.

This is my opinion only: I wouldn't worry about wear too much about wear or preserving original condition. I also happen to love the sound of wood- string mwaaaah! If you do want to go toward a harder surface, ask the lurking luthiers about thin epoxy coating. (I use West Systems for other things, but not FB's) I hope this helps! Let us know what you decide. peace,
Rodger
 
#6
mozarwasagenius said:
1) How many coats of Tru-Oil (if more = harder) should I use?

2) Can a Tru-Oil finish stand up to roundwound string wear any longer than bare ebony?
...
Click to expand...

I would think that you would only want to apply what will be absorbed by the fingerboard. You don't want to build up a finish. The tru-oil will be much softer than ebony if you build it up. I think thinning it is a good idea because that will help it soak in.
 
#7
Son of Magni said:
I would think that you would only want to apply what will be absorbed by the fingerboard. You don't want to build up a finish. The tru-oil will be much softer than ebony if you build it up. I think thinning it is a good idea because that will help it soak in.
Click to expand...

+1
Truoil finish resides mostly on the surface- on its own doesn't soak in nearly as much as tung oil or Watco Danish oil. To test this, I took small pieces of open-pored mahogany and flooded them with truoil and wiped away the excess. After applying a few coats and letting it dry for a week, I sliced through the pieces with a fret saw and then took shavings off the surfaces to get an idea of how much it soaked in. I was surprised to see how little it was. With dense, oily woods it is probably even less.
 
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#8
I put four or five thin coats over two days

It looks beautiful. It feels a little weird as it is sticky in the sense that any glossy finish is. I'm not sure if the tone changed to be honest. The highs may be a little brighter... not sure.

It seems to be holding up ok to the roundwounds so far. I may leave it on for a few days to see how I like it.
 
#10
Rodger Bryan said:
Truoil finish resides mostly on the surface- on its own doesn't soak in nearly as much as tung oil or Watco Danish oil.
Click to expand...

Tru-Oil is not an oil finish, and will never penetrate as such... it is a polymerized varnish *made from* linseed oil. If you cut it with denatured alcohol it will, I believe, penetrate a little deeper. However, it will never penetrate SUPER deep, as it contains drying agents to cause it to cure within a matter of hours... a true oil finish (as opposed to a Tru-Oil finish ;)) may *never* fully harden.

That having been said, I have a (fretted) bass I finished in Tru-Oil about 8 years ago, both the mahogany body and the maple neck and fingerboard, and it is still in good shape.
 

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