tru-oil poblem (question)

[sundin4prez]

so im in the process of trying to finish up my warmoth double neck bass/guitar and i have run into a problem. first i apllyed a oil based miniwax stain and everything went well, next i began to apply the tru-oil. i followed the directions on the reranch board and everything went well into this morning. i went to look over my work and i noticed that there a hundreds of tiny little bubbles in the tru-oil finish.. so what did i do wrong and how can i fix it?  thanks

 

[jackthehack]

Are you using the Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil product?

I've never experienced that, and have applied Tru-oil, Tung oil and lacquer on after staining various woods with the oil-based Minwax stains. One thing I can tell you for sure is that the stain can take a LONG time to dry especially if applied heavily. It can feel completely dry to the touch, but isn't, had a couple of resand jobs due to applying lacquer when the stain wasn't really completely dry and had subsequent issues with the lacquer not adhering properly and clouding in places. If you think it's dry, always wait an extra week to be sure....

Another tip with the Tru-oil is to apply the coats as thinly as humanly possible. I usually wipe each coat down with the rag I use to apply it with about a minute after applying to make sure it's uniform and there's no excess anywhere. You wind up having to apply a lot more coats but in the end it's worth it.

Here's a DIY finishing thread and the finished L5S I did last year using the stains and Tru-oil; wound up taking about 6-7 weeks to do the finish.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=1946.0

 

[sundin4prez]

it's kinda hard to show my problem in pics... but i'l try

 

[sundin4prez]

you can see it best in the 2nd pic

 

[ByteFrenzy]

+10.000 to jack - a sufficiently thick layer of oil based stain/filler/finish/whatever can take forever and a day to dry. Putting anything over it before it's done is just inviting disaster.

 

[jackthehack]

Love that staining job, what exactly did you use and how do you do it?

Kinda hard to see exactly what's going on there. If you asked my opinion of how to try to salvage it from this point, I'd try letting it cure out at least a week and then see if you can smooth out the Tru-oil that's there using some 00 steel wool or #600 sandpaper. That will be a very slow tedious process, but if you can get it back smooth with the bubbles rubbed out you might be able to then apply more very thin coats. If it continues to "bubble" you may have to strip it back down and start over.

Are you using the Birchwood Casey product? Did it go on smooth and the bubbles form later on as it dried? How thin/thick a coat did you put on?

 

[sundin4prez]

i used this companys stain  http://www.swingpaints.com/770_799.htm its called emerald blue..... i think i put on the birchwood casey tru-oil on to thick and thats why the finish to bubbbley (i use that word cause thats all i can think off, it's not bubbling persay but the finish just looks ruff as shit....it not even at all).... so i guess my question is how to either smooth out the tru-oil or how to remove it and start over again....also what is the proper method to applying tru-oil, i was just using my fingers to apply it.... thanks

 

[ByteFrenzy]

Tru-oil is pretty forgiving, as long as you keep the coats thin and the drying time long. The bottle says to leave 2 hours between coats but that's nowhere near enough - I'd say one day  between coats and two if you plan to sand / steel-wool in between - smell the finish before sanding. If it's still smelly that means it hasn't cmpletely cured yet. You CAN apply it with your fingers but I prefer a piece of cloth. Just use a new piece for each application - saturate one area when you start applying, then move to a dry area to smooth out the coat once it's on.

 

[guitlouie]

Hey sundin, that is looking really cool.  Hope you get your "bubbles" sorted out!

 

[Mor Paul]

+1 on the guitar looking pretty cool. I hope you get the problem sorted out.

 

[jackthehack]

It depends on humidity/temperature, but ignore the directions, it needs minimally 12-24 hours between coats