Any experience with Tried and True Wood Finish

oyrgawd

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Anyone have any experience with this company/product?

http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/varnish.htm

I'm attracted to the non-toxicity of it, and I'd like to get some sheen on the rosewood top/mahogany back carved Tele on its way to me.  I suppose I should just write them about its compatibility with rosewood...
 
How's pure tung oil for practical, sweaty-guitar-playing moisture resistance though?  The book I'm reading puts it toward the bottom of the list for moisture protection, just above wax and linseed (but the author is talking about furniture).  It's an old book, so it doesn't say a lot about polymerized oils, but it does say they're tough against moisture.

Anyway, I called the company and they said rosewood's oiliness was "no problem" with their Varnish Oil.  I'd like to get some sheen in my finish and it offers a semi-gloss sheen.  I guess the worst that could happen is I'd have to remove it and start over...
 
I dont think oils are very easy to just remove and start over, seeing as how most are penetrating.
 
Pure tung works pretty well... but never as good as a hard film finish - like varnish or lacquer or poly.

The thing you have to remember - is the finish you spoke of is a varnish and oil mix.  Tung oil is pretty tough though, and I've used it on rifle stocks, pistol grips.. that have seen a good deal of use.  Personally, I'd not put an oil finish on a mahogany neck, or a varnish finish on any neck, but if oil is what you want, you really cant go wrong with real, pure, 100 percent tung - which dries feeling nearly silky, and soft as yer babe's butt.

For a protective, and good playing finish - lacquer or any of the 2k poly finishes.
 
Sorry, to clarify: this will be for a carved Tele *body* with a rosewood top on a mahogany core, so 'feel' is somewhat secondary to protection and looks.  I do like how Tung kind of darkens the wood.  I saw a thread where it took someone 2 months to apply to a rosewood top though and that's longer than I'd like.  And I'd like to avoid having to spray anything on.  I suppose should buy some rosewood bits and try some things out.  I need to practice anyway.  Thanks for the help!
 
Tung must be applied VERY thin, and left to dry, or it takes forever to dry.

Ya know... good old lacquer is hard to beat.  The Deft is very good (Walmart), there are others too.  And... ahem... auto parts store Duplicolor clearcoat is lacquer.

 
Kickin' it old school.  :headbang:

I've never used that specific product myself, but have tried some spirit and gum formulas that contain natural resins like dammar and amber.  Just as 'nothing else' looks quite like nitro lacquer, if you want the look of an old world (pre-shellac) finish you need to use the proper resins.  Amber based varnish can be amazingly hard and durable, but is also a mother to repair should you manage to damage it.

Might be pretty cool - and I suspect it will look very nice, with a soft warmth just like real antique finishes.  However rosin is a decidedly soft resin so durability will probably be slightly less than a pure polymerized linseed (such as Tru-oil.)  Maintenance should be easy though and you can always apply additional coats further on down the road as necessary.
 
Fwiw, TrueOil is not polymerized linseed.  It may contain PLinseed,  but its petrochemical based varnish, with some polyrazzmatazz in it too.

All I know about TruOil, is it does NOT last on maple fretboards, and tends to get the gummies no matter how you do it.  There's a product called LinSpeed that is similar, same so-so results.  On a neck, you get an incredible friction thing going...you dont realize it.  Even the Warmoth matt neck finish will gloss out very quickly where your hand and fingers rub.  The finish must be either renewable or very durable and hard to be a good neck finish - my opinion on that at least.
 
The advantage of tung oil is that it sounds better than hard finishes.  But it's not meant to be used on porous woods.  It's best for maple necks.
 
No offense CB, but unless you work for Birchwood Casey then your description of T-O as a 'petrochemical based varnish' is a distinction without a difference. 

"Tru-Oil® is a polymerized linseed oil with other natural oils added. "

http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/TruOil.htm

Remember mineral spirits is entirely 'natural' as are many other organic solvents.
 
Thanks again guys.

I ordered a 3x24" piece of Indian Rosewood and a pint of Tried and True Varnish Oil.  I'll post pics of the results to compare with other rosewood finish pics here.  I'll probably just do 6" or so, then I can try other finishes on the same piece.  Of course, this will also be my practice run for finishing a piece wood in the first place :).
 
No offense taken, and well.... lets look at the MSDS to Tru-Oil, keeping in mind the MSDS is a safety document, not a true ingredients list.

It contains mineral spirits at greater than 56 percent - a pretroleum distillate, in the form of Stoddard solvent, a form of white spirits.  

It contains naphtha, no percentage given, another petroleum based chemical, its listed down lower on the MSDS as also is "petroleum"

It contains "modified oils" - at less than 33 percent.  Those are what constitute the varnishes (proprietary).

And it contains less than 11 percent linseed oil, maybe its the polymerized kind.

Ok, thats what Tru-oil is.  Now lets find out what polymerized linseed oil is.

From the Wiki page on linseed oil -
Wood finish

When used as a wood finish, linseed oil dries slowly and shrinks little upon hardening. Linseed oil does not cover the surface as varnish does, but soaks into the (visible and microscopic) pores, leaving a shiny but not glossy surface that shows off the grain of the wood. Wood treated with linseed oil is resistant to denting and scratches and is easily repaired, but the surface is not as hard as a modern varnish, and the wood will slowly absorb moisture if allowed to stay wet. Soft wood is protected from denting, but requires numerous applications and even more drying time than harder wood. Garden furniture treated with linseed oil may develop mildew. Oiled wood can be yellowish and can darken with age.

Linseed oil is a traditional finish for gun stocks, and a very fine finish may require months to obtain. Several coats of linseed oil is the traditional protective coating for the raw willow wood of cricket bats. Linseed oil is also often used by billiards or pool cue-makers cue shafts, as a lubricant/protectant for wooden recorders, and used in place of epoxy to seal modern wooden surfboards.  


and more

Boiled linseed oil

Boiled linseed oil is used as a paint binder or as a wood finish on its own. Heating the oil causes it to polymerize and oxidize, effectively making it thicker and shortening its drying time. Today most products labeled as "boiled linseed oil" are a combination of raw linseed oil, petroleum-based solvent and metallic dryers. The use of metallic dryers makes boiled linseed oil inedible. There are some products available that contain only heat-treated linseed oil, without exposure to oxygen. Heat treated linseed oil is thicker and dries very slowly. This grade of linseed oil is usually labeled as "polymerized" or "stand" oil, though some types may still be labeled as "boiled."


So to me, from the information I can gather, Tru-Oil is a petro-based varnish with linseed oil, while polymerized linseed oil is a heat treated linseed oil which has been polymerized by that treatment.  Different animules.

Glad we got that all cleared up.
 
If anyone's interested, I posted pictures of my sample plank with 4 coats of Tried and True Varnish Oil:

http://www.blankbanker.com/main/T&T_Finish.html

I'm satisfied already, but I might keep adding coats to see what happens.  I didn't have any problems with drying (that I could tell).  The label instructs to apply it very thin and I did.  I also wiped it with naptha just before the first coat.

One question:  The label (or site, I forget) says it responds well to power buffing.  Would that be with a wax or something, or just straight onto the varnish oil?
 
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