After months of Tru-oiling...

[crash]

After tru-oiling and sanding, I finally got a good process down for this.  I filled the grain with tru oil by sanding it into the pores with about 220 grit, then working put to about 600 grit.  After that, successively wet sanding up to 3000 grit between coats.  That final coat was giving the biggest problems.  I tried sanding and polishing to get a nice glossy finish, but it never looked as nice as just a final thin coat. 

For the last coat, I mixed 2/3 tru oil with 1/3 naptha.  This allows the tru oil to level better to avoid wipe marks.  Any thinner than that and it is not enough to give a nice final coat.  I ended up sacrificing a whole microfiber cloth for the final coat.  Any time I tried cutting a piece, I would always end up with fuzzies on the finish, which meant going back to 3000 grit and trying again. 

Here are the final results.  Not prefect, but it is as good as I'm going to get.  This Shedua wood looks like a hybrid between Koa and Walnut.

With the pickguard.  The camera does not like to pick up the color of the pickguard.  It is vintage pearl, so it is more cream colored than what shows in the picture below.

 

[DangerousR6]

...WOW, that's shinny...Nice job.. :icon_thumright:

 

[Great Ape]

Whoa...great job! Nice earthy lookin' guitar...P-90's?
What's the neck gonna be?

 

[stubhead]

For Pete's sakes, STOP! It's done, OK?... It's great! I am really, really considering doing the simplest possible finish of both the maple neck and walnut body coming round the bend... just two or three grades of ScotchBrite pads(the white ones have no abrasive, the rest are considered about 00 and 000 steel wool). And a jug of Tru-Oil, and a jug of spirits of some form. This guy advocates thinning the first coats with lots of mineral spirits, then gradually thicker with Tru-Oil.

http://www.nagelhome.com/gunstock1/

 

[Cagey]

That is an outstanding job! Every time I get to the point where I want to just dismiss oil finishes as a cop-out, something like this comes along. Well done!

 

[SlartiBartfast]

That is sweet! Well done, sir!  :guitaristgif:

 

[Dan025]

that's a beautiful piece of wood!  ( that's what she said :toothy12: ) and a pretty sweet finish too.

 

[DangerousR6]

That is an outstanding job! Every time I get to the point where I want to just dismiss oil finishes as a cop-out, something like this comes along. Well done!

A cop-out...my ass!!!!

There's still a lot of work involved in an oil finish... :doh:

 

[Cagey]

That is an outstanding job! Every time I get to the point where I want to just dismiss oil finishes as a cop-out, something like this comes along. Well done!

A cop-out...my ass!!!!

There's still a lot of work involved in an oil finish... :doh:

No question about it. But, the work is rarely invested, so the finish is almost always second-rate and looks exactly like what it is - a home-made compromise.

It's funny - the absolute best finish you can get is the easiest - a catalyzed urethane. Shoot it and forget it. It's very nearly perfect once it's cured. A little buffing, and POOF! You're done. That's why the OEMs use it. Problem is, you can't really do it at home unless you have a lot of money for the proper setup or a death wish. Oil and lacquer are both a major league pain in the shorts, but at least you can do it with little risk to hearth, home, and health.

 

[crash]

An oil is really about the only finish I can do at home.  I don't have any spraying equipment.

Now that I have the whole process down, I could do the same in about 2 weeks.  This one took some trial and error.  Or more like, screw up and sand back.  That last coat is the key.  Put it on right and don't buff it, don't polish it or anything. 

Planning on some of Troubled Tele's Roadhouse P90's.  Neck still undecided.

This guitar is probably going to sit for a while before it gets a neck.  I just had an impulse buy on the probably the largest guitar, from the tip of the headstock to the bottom of the body, out there.  I'll have pics of that in about a week when that shows up at the door.

 

[Cagey]

An oil is really about the only finish I can do at home.  I don't have any spraying equipment.

That's true for a lot of people. Spraying is messy business and requires a place to do it, proper ventilation, an investment in equipment that might not get used for anything else, etc. so it's difficult to justify.

I'm not trying to take anything away from oil finishes - yours is proof positive that it can be done with exemplary results. It just rarely is.

 

[crash]

I managed to get a couple pictures that actually shows the finish.

The first one you can really see the surface of the finish from the reflection of the ceiling.

 

[swarfrat]

Stunning - I just went for the almost matte look from a couple coats. I didn't realize you could get tru-oil that shiny.

 

[Mad Hatter]

That is simply stunning work, and anyone that's every done any kind of surface finish work knows the number of hours that went into that.  I just wanna touch it!

 

[JCizzle]

Looks pretty damn good!

 

[Updown]

Darn fine job indeed ---- crash  :headbang:

Looks pretty bloody shiny, looking at it from all the way down here in Oz  :icon_biggrin:
Pickguard and knobs  :icon_thumright:

Well done sir !!

 

[D-rock]

The grain in that wood is outstanding!

 

[keeper006]

Nice, I know how much time and effort must've gone into that. So now that you've got it down, how many coats would you say to get that glossy without all the sanding back?

 

[swarfrat]

That there's just showing off.

 

[bagman67]

That there's just showing off.

If you got it, flaunt it.