What do you use to hand apply your TruOil?

[rauchman]

Greetings,

In the process of doing the finish for the guitar I'm working on.  What do you use to apply your TruOil (insert other finish here)?

I've been using cloth rags purchased at Lowes.  Looks to be T-Shirt material, but when applying, as the TruOil starts to get tacky, I often have bits of rag material coming off the rag into the finish.

Is there a different material that would be better to apply the TruOil with?

 

[bagman67]

Two preferable applicators are coffee filter paper, which does not lose fibers into the finish, or your fingers, which I think I remember seeing in information provided by our friends at Birchwood Casey.  You should also count on laying it on extremely thin in numerous coats to build the finish, if that is not already your method.  It'll take you a week or more of 2 applications a day to build a film that will accept a buff to a high gloss, if that's your goal.  Otherwise just go until you have the sheen you want. 

 

[stratamania]

I tend towards either my fingers or folded shop towel, or folded coffee filters are also a popular choice. But whatever you use it needs to be lint free. Also use thin coats and don't overwork the tru-oil if it is getting tacky you very well may be doing so.

 

[Ric Moore]

I use folded blue shop towels

 

[rauchman]

Thanks for everyone's info.  Had no idea about coffee filters.  Will try that.  Also, for the Blue Shop Towels, do they lint up after a while?

The T-Shirt rags I'm using seem to hold up until the finish starts to get tacky.  I've been trying 3 coats of TruOil and it's in that 3rd coat that the tackiness occurs.  Will try just doing 2 coats and see how that goes.

Learned a couple of things on this go around from the guitar I built last year.  Last year, I was wiping a mix of TruOil and Naptha.  This year, I'm rubbing the TruOil in.  Also, used 600grit wet/dry using TruOil, and this seemed to fill in the pores well.  Have a much smoother surface.  Used 0000 steel wool a couple of times between coats too.  Really smooths things out.  Also, used 1500 grit wet/dry with TruOil, and this seemed to take it a little further.

Now at the point of applying coats though.  Will try the coffee filter and see how that goes.

Again,....thanks all!

 

[Ric Moore]

I just pull a sheet of blue shop towel off the roll, cut it into fourths, and then fold it for applying the oil. I don’t spend a great deal of time wiping on the very thin coat and I don’t reuse that square again. Haven’t tried coffee filters yet but I’m sure if I did, I would just end up buying some and I always have extra rolls of towels around.

I’ve sanded with TO like you said too and like how it smooths up during an interim coat. Don’t use steel wool though. Someone on here recommended synthetic wool and that’s what I use instead.

 

[rauchman]

I just pull a sheet of blue shop towel off the roll, cut it into fourths, and then fold it for applying the oil. I don’t spend a great deal of time wiping on the very thin coat and I don’t reuse that square again. Haven’t tried coffee filters yet but I’m sure if I did, I would just end up buying some and I always have extra rolls of towels around.

I’ve sanded with TO like you said too and like how it smooths up during an interim coat. Don’t use steel wool though. Someone on here recommended synthetic wool and that’s what I use instead.

Great info....thanks!

 

[wildbill]

I know this is an older thread but there seems a lot of interest in TruOil so here's my $0.02. For the first coat I use a gun cleaning patch as they are very lint-less. The wood will suck a good bit of oil on the first pass. For the next 37,002 coats, I think hand-rubbed finishes should go on with your hands but I'm old school. I have found that putting a thin nitrile glove on that hand seems to work rather like a squeegee and allows you to remove any excess and leave a smooth coat. For me, those coats are measured in drops. Less is better with TO and the coat should be as thin as possible and allowed to fully dry before the next. White 3M pad lightly before each new coat to remove the gnats and level sand as needed depending on how well you grain filled.

Rambling now....I have done the oil slurry grain fill with TO and find that it works, just not sure if it works better than grain filler. Jury is still out, good reason to start another guitar body. I am currently doing a walnut body that I used the slurry method on and it looks great but still need 11,793 more coats of TO. The last coat or two I thin with mineral spirits and spray, let it dry like it was lacquer (weeks) then buff. TO is a labor of love but nothing else can touch the appearance and depth of oil on figured wood IMO.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

In the absence of coffee filters, used dryer sheets work well too.  Do NOT use a new one.