tru-oil or nitro on bare wood

[hemingway]

For my next parts build I'm ordering a zebrano body, for which I want a natural finish. I've found this tru-oil technique

http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htm

which, if you miss out the pore-filling stage (which I would) doesn't sound too difficult.

However, I'm thinking that any oil product will darken the pale grain of the zebrano quite a lot. And I'm thinking that nitro won't darken it quite so much.

So my question is, will clear nitro stick okay to bare wood? By the way, I won't be wet sanding and buffing and all that malarkey - I don't mind orange-peel finish, and I know that if I tried the whole buffing thing I'd make a mess of it.

[Shepherd]

Any finish you apply will darken the grain a little. You can get an idea by wiping on some thinner. Tru-oil and nitro are both amber in color so it will darken the wood a little more but give it a warmer tone. If you want a clear finish then a waterbased product will do that.

[Tom Pettingill]

Here is some Tru Oil on zebrawood

.

[hemingway]

Lovely, maybe oil is the way to go.

[Arbiter]

Originally Posted by hemingway

So my question is, will clear nitro stick okay to bare wood?

Yes. The only wood I've ever had problems with the finish staying stuck to it would be some exceptionally oily cocobolo (literally could wipe off the oil seeping out of the wood with a paper towel and it would be wet again ten minutes later) but that's not by any means a normal situation.

Vinyl sealer or dewaxed spray shellac is always recommended as a basecoat but I've done quite a few guitars without either and it was not a problem.

[hemingway]

I'm really looking forward to this build. I've found some zebra wood knobs as well - although I can't decide if they'd be overkill.

I'm doing it without a scratchplate. I just can't bring myself to cover that grain.

Just have to wait for Axemaster to get my favourite neck in again, and I'm spendin' money.

Will be my first ever strat, too.

And after that, no more builds . . .

[originalmatthew]

And after that, no more builds.... hmmm.... lol!!!
I use Watco Danish oil for a lot of my finishes. When I want to grain fill, I use a piece of 400gr wet/dry and wet sand using the oil as the "wet". After wet sanding, I let the oil gum up and then scrape off the excess with a credit card. Then I let it dry, sand lightly to remove any more excess oil, and then finish. Works like a charm with a bit of practice...of course, the finish is satin, but you can get a pretty good shine on that satin if you let it cure and buff it. Just my 2 cents.

[hemingway]

No more builds, seriously. The wife wants holidays and furniture, not more guitars.

The body arrived today, and it's stunning, and beautifully finished. Got it from this guy. Definitely recommend him.

http://www.owenjacksonguitars.com/index.html

[piece of ash]

If you're geuinely worried about "messing something up", Tru Oil is your friend.

ANY finish will alter the appearence a bit... all about reflection/refraction.

[Keyser Soze]

Tru-oil will darken any wood somewhat, with an already pale woood this may actually be less of a concern. More so than 'darken' it will add some yellow/amber. If you are trying to keep the lighter stripes as white as possible this could be a concern.

The simple approach is to try a test application somewhere non visible (neck pocket, pickup route, etc.) If you are not satisfied with the results from TO then your best alternative would be a water based acrylic - in general they are the most 'water clear' of all the finishes.

[scat4me]

Has anyone used True Oil on a bare spalted maple body?

[glen smith]

Bump !

[scat4me]

Spoke to a Luthier today and was told that he never uses True Oil on spalted maple because it is so porous. So I am wondering if anyone has had a problem with other finishes on spalted maple.