Matting Tru Oil

[stefanhotrod]

Sorry, another Tru Oil question ;-)

I find it much more easy to get a gloss or high gloss surface from Tru Oil rather than silk or matte…I‘m using fine/super fine scotch brite pads. On my current neck project I‘ve finished the back of the neck with 16 thin coats of TO but still rubbed thru in some areas…

1) Do I really need more coats?
2) Should I do a straight or circular motion with the scotch brite?

I want a super smooth and scratch free unique surface that‘s still protected/coated from Tru Oil.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Beebe]

Do several coats of linseed oil at the end. It should be more matte than the tru oil.

Maybe follow that up with some paste wax.

A hardwax oil can give a nice matte finish.

You could also give a really nice 0000 steel wool a try, like Liberon brand. Go in straight lines parallel to the grain with very little pressure.

And lubricate the wool with something. I like using a pure artist oil made for paints.

 

[stefanhotrod]

Thanks. I thought about linseed oil too as a final coat. What about fine pumice? Anyone knows how to use it?

 

[Sea Devil]

A "pure artist oil made for paints" is almost certainly linseed oil. It might or might not be boiled. It could also be walnut oil or stand oil.

Virtually any oil-based paint or medium is compatible with every other. They can be mixed together or applied one over the other, but you must always observe the rule of "fat over lean," meaning that slower-drying and/or heavier applications go over thinner, faster-drying layers.

 

[Boreas]

Sorry, another Tru Oil question ;-)

I find it much more easy to get a gloss or high gloss surface from Tru Oil rather than silk or matte…I‘m using fine/super fine scotch brite pads. On my current neck project I‘ve finished the back of the neck with 16 thin coats of TO but still rubbed thru in some areas…

1) Do I really need more coats?
2) Should I do a straight or circular motion with the scotch brite?

I want a super smooth and scratch free unique surface that‘s still protected/coated from Tru Oil.

Thanks for your help!

IME, with a TO or other finish of that type, once you have a nice, glossy finish, more coats usually don't do much. You wipe it on, and wipe 95% of it off. It's beauty is its ability to get INTO the wood and make softer woods more wear resistant. But a nice feature of TO is that if/when you do get wear, a couple touch-up coats every few years will rejuvenate it.

What color are your "fine" Scotch brite pads? I find the "fine" pads too abrasive. The pads I often use S/M calls "light duty" and are white. (3M 07445 Cleansing Pad). There is virtually no grit in them and, depending on the finish, can actually polish it instead of dulling it. They are more for cleaning and polishing, but work fairly well to dull softer finishes.

 

[hamerfan]

I heard good things about this:

Stock Sheen & Conditioner, 3 fl. oz. Bottle

www.birchwoodcasey.com

 

[schmee]

No need to use Scotch Brite, you are just taking off finish as you put it on. Use a cotton cloth.

 

[Beebe]

A "pure artist oil made for paints" is almost certainly linseed oil. It might or might not be boiled. It could also be walnut oil or stand oil.

Virtually any oil-based paint or medium is compatible with every other. They can be mixed together or applied one over the other, but you must always observe the rule of "fat over lean," meaning that slower-drying and/or heavier applications go over thinner, faster-drying layers.

Good rule! I'll remember that one.

Yup. It's a water washed Linseed oil. No driers. I was using it to lubricate steel wool on Shellac. I got the idea from a French Polishing technique that used Walnut oil to lubricate the applicator.

It's thick, has good glide, and a little goes a long way. I got mine from a place called The Art Treehouse.

When finished, I wiped the oil off with a little spike lavender essential oil (from the same store) because I didn't need it to dry on there. But if some did I know it wouldn't ever go rancid. ...I also already knew the spike lavender wouldn't hurt the shellac finish because I tested it.

 

[Beebe]

Thanks. I thought about linseed oil too as a final coat. What about fine pumice? Anyone knows how to use it?

Pumice should be more gentle than the steel wool. Look up some techniques on "rubbing out" shellac. You'll see some ways to use pumice and to get nice matte finishes.

You could wipe the workpiece down with some linseed oil, sprinkle some pumice on there from a salt shaker and polish it with a polishing pad. And repeat until uniform.

Edit: Caution if you have any open grain. The pumice will get in there.

 

[Sea Devil]

Powdered silica is often mixed into various mediums as a "flatting" agent. I've never tried it, but that may be another option.

 

[Telecaster582]

Do several coats of linseed oil at the end. It should be more matte than the tru oil.

Maybe follow that up with some paste wax.

A hardwax oil can give a nice matte finish.

You could also give a really nice 0000 steel wool a try, like Liberon brand. Go in straight lines parallel to the grain with very little pressure.

And lubricate the wool with something. I like using a pure artist oil made for paints.

Whatever you do, do NOT use steel wool. It left scratches in mine and destroyed my pickups. Read the, Help! Scratches in finish using #2 steel wool! Thread.

 

[RHazelwood]

Thanks. I thought about linseed oil too as a final coat. What about fine pumice? Anyone knows how to use it?

I have used fine 4F pumice from Behlen quite a bit. I have done some French Polishing for furniture, and usually rub back the gloss with pumice. IMO it gives more of a satin or semi-gloss than matte, at least when you start with a high-gloss film finish like shellac. Feels very nice to the touch.

I've used it on the back of an Epi Les Paul (gloss poly neck) and while it doesn't feel like raw wood or anything, it is much nicer and not sticky anymore.

I make a rubbing pad that is similar to what you'd use for french polishing- basically a cheesecloth/gauze wad wrapped with cotton t-shirt material, tied up with a rubber band. I coat the business end of the pad with some paraffin oil (any kind of non-drying oil would probably do).

I take another bit of t-shirt cloth and pour some pumice in, then wrap the cloth around and tie it up. This is called a a pounce bag and is what I use to get the pumice on the surface. You just tap or smack the bag on the surface and a fine dusting of pumice comes out. I dust the surface like this, and put a few drops of oil on. Then start rubbing with the rubbing pad, in circles or figure eights, finishing off in straight strokes with the grain. Then clean off the slurry and oil with naptha.

In my experience it is pretty gentle and I never had any problems going through french polish, which is pretty thin. A bit messy, but an easier mess to deal with than steel wool.

 

[RHazelwood]

Whatever you do, do NOT use steel wool. It left scratches in mine and destroyed my pickups. Read the, Help! Scratches in finish using #2 steel wool! Thread.

I don't really care for steel wool, but you can do a decent job with it. You need to use 0000, or at least 000 grade, for taking down gloss. I think #2 is pretty coarse, like what you'd use for scrubbing rust off of metal or something.

But any grade of steel wool will leave little strands of metal everywhere, and thats no good for pickups. You have to seal them off, and then clean the whole work area meticulously after you're done.

 

[dougstrum]

I used to work with a guy who got good results with pumice. I felt it was messy and not worth the effort, but he was quite the perfectionist~

 

[Beebe]

I don't really care for steel wool, but you can do a decent job with it. You need to use 0000, or at least 000 grade, for taking down gloss. I think #2 is pretty coarse, like what you'd use for scrubbing rust off of metal or something.

But any grade of steel wool will leave little strands of metal everywhere, and thats no good for pickups. You have to seal them off, and then clean the whole work area meticulously after you're done.

Yes. And not all 0000 are equal. The 0000 at the hardware store is not the one you want. You want the one from the woodworking supply store that costs about four to five times as much.

 

[naneek]

use a beeswax based finish. they behave very similar to tru oil, but you apply it in thinner coats. the beeswax finish takes more buffing to bring it up to a gloss. if you just apply the finish without polishing and buffing, you'll get a nice soft sheen instead of a gloss finish.