question about tung oiling a tele neck

[sarNz]

hi everyone, i have an SX project that i'm working on. i've stripped the orange, and am almost finished stripping the poly underneath that. (i wasn't going to, but i left some stripper on too long and it ate through some spots and would have looked stupid if i left it)

I wanted to do some artwork on the fret board, possibly with paint or a sharpie. If I tung oil OVER this, will it still stick? maybe tung oil / marker / tung oil? If not, what kind of low gloss finish would be protective? thanks guys, can't wait to get some more done on this thing.

[Billm]

Your paint or markers will probably soak into the wood and blur. You'd want to lay down a layer of shellac or permanent fixative/sealer and do your artwork on that. Then spray a light coat of sealer or lacquer over that. You have to dust it on, not get your artwork too wet.

Then you can build a good finish. I prefer Tru-Oil to tung oil. It's available from sporting goods shops, where it's used to protect gunstocks. It cures harder than tung and can even be brought to a high gloss with enough coats. I have it on the necks and bodies of several guitars I've made and it holds up very well. I've even used it on the stripped-and-refinished oak table in the kitchen. It stands up to everything, but doesn't look thick, like poly.

[sarNz]

Thanks a lot! What I decided to do instead of artwork is this:



I imagine the process is still the same, shellac / paint or marker / lacquer / oil

Thanks for the tips, can't wait to try it out. Aren't projects fun?