Tung oil neck help

jackson929

Junior Member
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I know this has probably been beat to death here and I did do Google searches.

I in my first build (and totally addicted).  I am going to lacquer the headstock and tung oil the neck from the nut down with pure tung oil.

It sound like a cut the tung oil 50/50 (I am going to use mineral spirits because it is on hand)  for a few coats, buffing each coat after application.  Then on the final coat or 2 use 100% tung oil.  Does this sound correct?

Then my main question is... Since the neck is not bolted on yet.  Do I oil all the parts which will connect into the neck pocket?  Or not touch the entire section at all?  TIA

EDIT:  Also I am aware of the warranty factor. 
 
As I understand it, Tung is a penetrating oil - it's supposed to absorb into the wood.  100% Tung oil is really thick.  I remember reading someplace that it's for really porous applications, like concrete or really rough timber.  I never used Tung oil on a neck, but I used it on a body.  I cut it 50/50 and my experience with it was that the wood initially absorbed what it could while I applied it, then it just pooled on the surface.  After letting it sit for a little while and absorb a little more (30 minutes or so), I wiped off the excess, and didn't do another coat for a few days.  It takes a really long time to fully...do what it does (I don't want to use the word "cure" because I'm not sure if that's what it actually does). 

I don't recall bothering to buff between coats, although I might have.  It doesn't seem like it would be necessary because the Tung oil absorbs into the wood, as opposed to  sitting on top of it.  If you want a final layer of protection and to give a little shine, you can use carnauba wax, which can be tough stuff to work with.  Chucking a buffing pad into an electric drill would be really helpful buffing up/out the carnauba coating, but it's possible to do by hand - just takes a bit more time and effort. 
 
Take a look at a build thread and sée how to handle the neck pocket.
 
Rick,

Just any build thread or is there a specific main one that covers the entire process? 
 
I have used Tung oil on a couple of necks.  First off, my experience is in using pure Tung oil, diluted and wiped onto the wood. (As opposed to commercially available Tung oil finishes that may have very little actual Tung oil in them!)  Anyway, you apply a liberal amount of the solution, let it soak in for about an hour, and wipe off the excess.  Wait a day and repeat (as many times as desired).  Then hang the neck up and wipe off any oil that surfaces daily for about two weeks.  Then leave it alone for a month or more to solidify or whatever it does, and then wax.  I used furniture paste wax on mine  and really like the feel.  Be advised that you will not get a glossy finish much beyond what the wood was like to start with.  Hope this helps with your project.  :icon_thumright:
 
jackson929 said:
Do I do the part that goes into the neck pocket or leave that unfinished?

It's not really critical either way. Commercially finished necks will have that part finished. You could choose to do the sides and leave the bottom of the heel unfinished if you wanted some wood to wood contact.
 
Jackson - I coated the heel of mine with the rest of the neck.  The beauty of the pure Tung oil is that you just slop on a heavy coat until the wood won't soak it in, wait an hour and wipe off the excess.  There is no real 'build' to the finish as it happens in the pores of the wood.  Very time consuming from start to finish (no pun intended!) but super easy.  Also darkens the wood a bit and pops the grain.  I think you will like it.  Just make sure you are working with diluted pure Tung oil in following these directions.  There are also videos about it.  Best of luck. 
 
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