Tru oil and vintage tint??

[Mark W]

I'm going to be finishing a maple neck (rosewood fretboard).
I have a Mahogany Carvin neck that has tung oil finish that I really like, playingwise.

However, I was kind of wanting a vintage tint to the neck.

Is it possible to do some type of oil and get a vintage tint?

Also, not being familiar with tru oil, (which I was planning on using) will the pegface come out with a satin sheen similar to the semi-flat lacquers or urethanes???

 

[jackthehack]

You can shoot the neck with Fender Neck Amber from ReRanch.com (the more thin coats the darker the amber) and after letting it dry real well put a Tru-oil top finish on it.

Tru-oil is a lot glossier than what you're thinking, here's an axe with about 40 coats applied over 6-8 weeks check gloss/reflections in pix:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=2669.0

 

[chrisg]

just tagging this so I can follow the discussion

 

[jackthehack]

Not the greatest pic, but here's a build I did with Tung Oil over Fender Neck Amber:

 

[Mark W]

would you recommend tung oil or tru oil for a satin type sheen and better playability???

 

[jackthehack]

Neither one is really what I'd call a "satin" finish; they're both kinda glossy, although you can "de-gloss" them a bit using 000 or 0000 steel wool, thing is they'll gloss back out in the course of playing/rubbing on them.

I've used both finishes as I live in the Midwestern NetherRegions that do not lend themselves to being able to shoot lacquer much of the year...

Tung Oil (assuming you're using real/pure Tung Oil) takes a LOT longer to dry out between coats than Tru-Oil.

 

[TomK]

I'm not sure why you would want to put an oil finish over lacquer.  From what I understand the Re-Ranch sprays are tinted Nitrocelulouse lacquer.  Usually when players want an oiled neck (like Tung oil) its for a particular feel.  Tung oil even though it has a varnish component won't hold up like a real lacquer and would need some additional applications after months or years of playing.  This is perfectly acceptable if your using oil for that "into the wood feel".  If you want an oil feel and a vintage tint I would recommend using "Transtint" dye.  Its water or alcohol soluable and it comes in a honey amber color.  In fact the Transtint honey amber color used to be described as "the color of an old Fender neck".  GIven the fact this is a dye you can (and should) experiment by putting a few drops in water and rubbing it on a scrap of maple and checkin the color. You may have to add some tint or add some water/alcohol depending on what your looking for. Leave your scrap dry and then apply tung oil to see how that changes the color (Tung oil is not colorless)  One other thing to keep in mind is that the grit that you sand the wood to will have an affect on your final color.  220 will look a bit darker than 400 because the surface will hold more of the dye fluid.  Once again use a scrap to test the sandpaper grit/Dye/oil results.  Once you wipe the dye on the neck leave it dry for about 3 or 4 days then apply the oil.  Do not try to tint the tung oil with the dye, it won't work (don't ask my how I know).  I personally would not rub oil over lacquer I don't think its going to give you the feel your looking for assuming your oiling for the tactile sensation and fast neck feel.  For a really nice feel you could let the oil dry then wet sand to 2000 grit using mineral spirits as a lubricant.  I ahve used this on furniture and its great.  You can then leave the headstock glossy.  Dyeing the wood then oiling will really make any figure you have pop nicely. 

 

[jackthehack]

There's no lacquer in Fender Neck Amber just tint