Tru-Oil over spray can paint?

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Verzila

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I'm thinking about finishing options for my current build. I like the idea of a natural neck finished in Tru-Oil, and a coloured body. For the body I'm thinking spray cans and clear coat over the top. Can I use ru-Oil as the clear coat over the top?

If not, and I need to look at other options for the clear coat (maybe spray can again) am I making a mistake mixing different finishes on the body and neck? Would I be better off using clear spray for the whole thing and forget the Tru-Oil?

Many thanks
 

Zepfan

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Tru-Oil is a oil based product.
Most paint these days is water based.
So it wouldn't be a good idea to put a oil based clear over a water based paint and even if the paint was oil based, Tru-Oil takes a while to dry and cure. That could be a problem for even a oil based paint.
It's best to use Tru-oil/Linseed oil/Tung oil/Butcher Block oil on natural wood or a stained wood and use clear for paint on a painted surface.
 

Chunkocaster

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Try it out on a test piece. If it works it works. The spray can paint is likely enamel.

Tru oil dries pretty fast in thin coats. I apply a coat every 2 to 3 hours up to 20 plus coats and buff out the next day. I've seen reports of people waiting up to 24 hrs between coats but it's unnecessary. I think it just became a thing due to internet posts.

Apply a thin even coat and it will seal the paint in. If it looks good and the paint hasn't reacted to it in 24 hrs it should be fine to continue building the tru oil to the desired finish.

It would be much easier to just spray a compatible clear coat over the painted body though.

Doing a spray can body and tru oil neck is fine and what most people do that use tru oil on necks and finish the body themselves.
 
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dogmeat

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I can't imagine that would look good even if it all sticks
 

Chunkocaster

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I can't imagine that would look good even if it all sticks
It would look as good as he wants it to depending on how much time he puts into it. It would come up like a high gloss tinted clear coat if level sanded and polished correctly provided it didn't react badly with the paint..

It's the hard way of doing it though. The only advantage I could see is being able to do it on his lap while watching tv and not needing to invest in drop sheets etc. If I painted a body with a aerosol can i'd just do the clear coats with aerosol too.
 

Silverface

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I'm thinking spray cans and clear coat over the top.

You need to be FAR more specific.

"spray can paint" generally means enamel (the stuff you paint old bikes and lawn furniture with), which is NOT a very good guitar finish'. The reasons have ben described at lest a dozen times in the last week or two, so I won't be redundant. Regardless, Tru Oil is NOT A CLEAR TOPCOAT for anything.

1. It's not clear. It's brown.

2. It is a penetrating varnish stain, like Danish Oil. It has an oil stain component and a polymerized oil (varnish) component. It's to be used alone - or topcoated.

3. It provides a VERY thin film. Nowhere near the thickness of any topcoat. Even used alone you'd need 100-200 coats to equal the thickness of a typical lacquer system - the next thinnest coatings system.

I suggest you do some research into coatings types to get a clear understanding of "what does what". The Reranch site is best for lacquer basics; look up any of the websites for major polyurethane coating brands for that info.

And forget "paint" completely. This is "wood finishing", whih is dramatically different from "painting"

Oh, and as far as Tru Oil - it's a gun stock treatment that some have adapted to guitar finishing - but you need to understand all the OTHER finishing products to understand why it might...or might not...be used.

But again, if you look at th formula and do testing on the product, it's just the same as most any other generic Danish Oil. A varnish stain, in ONE color - brown.
 

ukepicker

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Well, I'm no expert.
But I've used TruOil over rustoleum, whitewashed latex, india ink and bare wood. It has behaved exactly the same every time for me.
I applied the thinnest coats I could with my fingers. Hit it with 0000 steel wool about every 5 applications or so. I let it dry for a loooong time when I was happy with it. At least a week. A month is great.

Tru Oil has a bit of an amber tint to it. It'll change the color slightly. I used it over rustoleum light blue one time and the amber tint changed the whole thing a little towards green. Just what I was after.

But, again, I'm no expert. Just offering up my experience.
 

Matthias

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I tested Tru Oil over oil paint (not spray paint). It worked on tests. But the question is on an item like a guitar, how durable is it over time?

As you’re in the UK, I’d suggest looking into the Wudtone semi-opaque finishes. I used a transparent amber on my Tele build and you can get them to a satin sort of shine.

img_3252-jpg.310409
 

LowCaster

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If the neck is bolt-on , there Is no reason not to use different finishes.

Tru-oil is frequently used on necks because it may give a thin and natural feeling finish. Think of it as a nicer alternative to the satin finish used on many modern fender necks.

On the other hand I don’t understand why you would like to apply tru oil over spray can paint on the body. It is not a clear coat. You need a great number of layers to build a coat thick enough to polish it. The interest of tru-oil is that you can use it on bare wood, get a good protection of the wood with a few coats, easy to apply, kind of natural look and touch...

You could use dyies on the body and then finish it with tru oil if you want that natural look.

But if you start spraying the body with spray cans, you might as well finish it with a proper clear coat: two coats of clear lacquer, then sanding and buffing. That’s not so difficult.
 

urbandefault

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I've seen a finish with Reranch Inca Silver and Tru-Oil sprayed thin as a "clear coat." I don't remember the specifics, but it looked good.

No idea how it looks years later, and I wouldn't recommend trying it, but some people are hard headed and can figure out a way to do most anything. :lol:
 

Silverface

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I've seen a finish with Reranch Inca Silver and Tru-Oil sprayed thin as a "clear coat." I don't remember the specifics, but it looked good.

A story like that has to have specifics to be useful IMO. How many coats were sprayed to make a "thin" clear coat? How brown did it turn (since Tru Oil is not clear)? And how long did it take to dry?
 

urbandefault

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A story like that has to have specifics to be useful IMO. How many coats were sprayed to make a "thin" clear coat? How brown did it turn (since Tru Oil is not clear)? And how long did it take to dry?
Like I said, I don't remember the specifics. And also, like I said, I don't recommend it.

I understand that you have a lot of experience, but there's no reason to jump on everyone who doesn't post the exact words you would use.

Other people know stuff too. :lol:
 

Silverface

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I understand that you have a lot of experience, but there's no reason to jump on everyone who doesn't post the exact words you would use.

Sorry, didn't mean to come off like that. My point in those types of post is that all these threads are here forever and individual posts can be found out of context by using Google (with no clue as to the original post or subject). Newbies sometimes pick up on incomplete posts like that and misinterpret them as "recommendations".

I was simply clarifying the fact quite a few more details were needed. It was in no way meant as criticism - just additional information.
 

urbandefault

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Sorry, didn't mean to come off like that. My point in those types of post is that all these threads are here forever and individual posts can be found out of context by using Google (with no clue as to the original post or subject). Newbies sometimes pick up on incomplete posts like that and misinterpret them as "recommendations".

I was simply clarifying the fact quite a few more details were needed. It was in no way meant as criticism - just additional information.
Fair enough. No harm, no foul. :)
 

trev333

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I use d/oil on all my necks.... and if I paint the headstock I coat the duplicolor lacguer as well...

d/oil is pretty clear and not brown..... there's about 10 coats wiped onto this cream colour without much change in hue....

I've never used tru oil.... don't see any reason why... ;)

DSCN2401.JPG
 

LowCaster

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That's good to know, but here you have a good reasont to do so: no need to worry about transition or taping the headstock for protection. Is it so good that you would chose to use it as a clear coat on a painted body? What would be the benefit?
 

Silverface

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I've never used tru oil.... don't see any reason why...

Because you already are using a Tru Oil type product, in a way. It's a penetrating oil stain with some varnish content - i.e. the same thing as Danish oil. Both contain linseed or tung oil and a polymerized oil - i.e. "varnish".

Tru Oil is basically a Danish Oil type product formulated for treating wood gun stocks. Some guitar folks started using it and it's become the "next big thing" - which I find a bit amusing, as Danish Oil has been used on guitars for decades. Danish oils vary in specific formulation, and Tru Oil is just another variation. I find it to be very close to Watco medium walnut that's been thinned to the solids content of Tru Oil (whidh is very, very low).
 

Tellyboy_88

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Hi everyone!

I tried applying tru oil over spray can paint in two of my project (a butterscotch Telecaster and a black stratocaster). The choice of the colors was not random: tru oil has the trend to became yellowish, and in an inconsistent way. If you apply tru oil over spay can paint, laquer, enamel, ect, It will not penetrate into the wood, because it's sealed by the paint itself. Tru oil will remain on the surface and will dry as a varnish. If you apply it by rubbing, the result is an irregular "clear coat", somewhere thinner and less yellow, somewhere thicker and more yellow. Due this inconsistency, the reflection of the light will be not uniform.
Thath means, the final result wont be as a laquer clear coat, no chance, even after a wet sanding and polishing.

The pros are: very easy application, you don't need particular tools ..just your hands!

I've chosen the colors black and "butterscotch" because the imperfections of tru oil are less evident.
Here few photos of my projects.
Thanks for reading.
Tellyboy88
IMG_20200327_202728117.jpg
IMG_20200329_155916828.jpg
IMG_20200329_155842150.jpg
IMG_20200327_203515042.jpg
 
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