Tru-Oil Question - back of maple neck

Yeah wax it. Otherwise it will get sticky when your palms sweat.

 

would carnuba work just as well?

 

I do tru oil on all of the necks of my guitar builds. If you sanded down after you put tru oil then you'll have to another coat, I let the first fresh coat dry for about 4 hours. Then for a satin feel I do more light coats, no buffing in between. Then after those two coats have dried for 24 hours, I hit it with 0000 steel wool, then the birchwood Casey stock polish/wax/conditioner....whatever its called. Only a little though as it can gloss up the neck if your tru oil coats are thick and you buff too much. If you buff too much, go back lightly with 0000 steel wool, then burnish (rub vigoriously as if polishing) the final finish with some worn denim. Works every time.

 

If you want a satin look and feel, why don't you get a rattle can of lacquer. Spray about 5 light coats, let it dry for about a week then hit it with steel wool to knock down the gloss.

 

tru-oil dries hard, seals wood, and feels GREAT on the back of a neck. much better than satin nitro. also it only takes 2 days to do versus letting the nitro gas off. I use nitro on all my bodies, but tru-oil on the necks. best of both worlds

 

oh yes the fumes. I forgot about that. if you do ever use nitro USE a respirator. that stuff is DANK. tru-oil on the other hand appeals to my senses after using it for so long. when I smell it, I know good work is to come
good luck with everything and let us know how it turns out. be throrough and light with the steel wool, and the same with the denim. I would finish with denim regardless of if you wax or not.

 

I use Birchwood Casey Truoil on my maple Ray neck - followed by Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax. I believe that's what EBMM recommends.

 

Justin, how exactly do you apply conditioner?
Thanks

 

@ojakov, it comes in a little bottle just like the tru-oil. I have a lot of 4in x 4in squares of denim that I got from an old pair of jeans. at least they are getting used now! I take one of the patches and use it as an applicator. the conditioner is milky white and kinda runny, but you can feel the grit in the liquid when you rub it between your fingers. I dab it on the denim patch and lightly coat the tru-oiled area, then wait a few minutes and buff it out with another clean denim patch. you can also rub it in like you are buffing if you want it to shine more, and then buff again with a clean cloth etc. hope this helps

 

@Justin, thanks a lot!

 

Personally, I don't think you need to put wax or enything else on the Tru-Oil. When the Tru-Oil has hardened, go over it with 0000 steel wool and then buff it shoe-shine style with a strip of denim and you'll have a surface that feels great. That's what i do. In fact, I think waxing it will make it feel 'stickier'.

 

Dave is right, it will feel a little stickier, because you are polishing it with the conditioner (wax) and making it glossier than it was. if you want smooth satin feel skip the wax. I find the best applicator for tru-oil are coffee filters! I fold them up in half three times and use them, they only soak in so much, and then leave a thin layer behind. clean up is pretty easy too.