Tru-oil. How much do I need?

[briny001]

I am about to begin finishing an all-maple neck and an all-mahogany body, and I've decided that I want to use tru oil. I know how to use sealer and grain filler on the mahogany, but I'm not necessarily looking for a "glass like flat finish." Would it require a ridiculous ammount of Tru-Oil if I skipped the grain filling? And, if I just filled once or twice, could I still get an open pored feeling? (The body is approximately LP sized flat top).

Tru oil is kind of expensive compared to pure tung and danish oil. So, how many 8 oz. bottles should I buy to complete the body and the maple neck?

 

[jackthehack]

See these this thread:  http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=2669.0

On that build I did something like 40 coats of Tru-Oil without filling the body first; I think it took almost 2 of the 4 oz. bottles of Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil.

 

[pabloman]

You can get an 8oz. bottle of Tru-oil on ebay for $13 with free shipping. That seems reasonable to me. I have a mahagony hollowbody with a maple top and a maple neck that I am most likely going to do in Tru-oil. On the Birchwood Casey website they instructions on how to grain fill using Tru-oil and sandpaper to make a slurry and letting it dry and whatnot. Seems pretty straightforward. Good luck. I can't wait to see pics. ccasion14:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I'm also doing a mahogany body in TruOil (see here: http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=13358.0), and I tried a few experiements on pieces left over from the body blank.  You could skip a grainfill, but I wouldn't recommend it - just a single coat of sanding sealer or water based grain fill will save you a whole lot of time. On the piece I tried to just straight Tru Oil with no fill, it took 6 heavy coats before I felt any difference - and this was without wiping the excess.  You'll do much better if you do thin coats.

If you use a grainfill/sealer on the body, you can easily finish the whole body & neck with a single bottle of TruOil.  If you're going for a more open pore feel, even less.

Also, TruOil can be had for a bit cheaper ($7 or so) at many sporting goods stores or a gun shop.

 

[briny001]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.  I was a bit worried that It'd go through the bottle quickly, and then have to keep buying more.
I am excited about this project. Can't wait to get it started (but i've got one or two other tasks to get out of the way first)