Wudtone VS Polyurethane Finish

[SCScott]

Anyone have experience with wudtone top coat? Trying to decide between an oil based polyurethane, tung oil, or wudtone. I feel like having just the tung oil might not be enough protection, while a polyurethane might kill the tone a bit from the black korina. I was also considering a tung oil and true-oil top coat, and just polishing it up. First guitar build, any advice?

 

[RoboNarples]

Personally, I would recommend going with straight up Tru-Oil. If you apply a ton of very thin coats it can get just as glossy as poly or you can leave it satin.

 

[SCScott]

Personally, I would recommend going with straight up Tru-Oil. If you apply a ton of very thin coats it can get just as glossy as poly or you can leave it satin.

Thanks man, I'm gonna go that route. I'll post pics when she's done!

 

[rgand]

I like the Wudtone finishes. I did one with just a Wudtone finish on it and it came out great. Their gloss finish is not super glossy but it has a nice sheen to it.

Another one I wanted to see a little higher gloss so I put gloss wipe-on poly over the Wudtone. Both came out really good.

With Wudtone, I've found that too many color coats start to look uneven so I keep it to 3 or 4 coats before the clear.

 

[RoboNarples]

Whatever you end up doing, remember that the single most important aspect of finishing is patience. The best results will always come from more thin coats rather than fewer thick ones.

 

[rauchman]

So you're the one that bought that body!  Was really thinking hard on that one.  Very nice choice.  Going to be a great looking guitar.

 

[micmil]

Anyone have experience with wudtone top coat? Trying to decide between an oil based polyurethane, tung oil, or wudtone. I feel like having just the tung oil might not be enough protection, while a polyurethane might kill the tone a bit from the black korina. I was also considering a tung oil and true-oil top coat, and just polishing it up. First guitar build, any advice?

Far too late, but still relevant...

No, you're not going to 'kill the tone' of 4 pounds of wood by putting the equivalent of a plastic grocery bag's worth of weight in finish on it. Point of fact, you'll alter the tone more with several coats of tung oil than you would with the polyurethane. Which is to say despite every assertion from people that have never done back to back comparisons, poly doesn't really change anything that wouldn't be changed by any other finish. This BS comes from 40 years ago when poly finishes actually were garbage by nature and the same old grognards that crapped on in then hold the same opinion and repeat it despite the fact that poly finishes are an order of magnitude thinner and stronger than they used to be. Another problem with them is so many manufacturers of trash-tier guitars use poly finishes since they can be caked on to help cover up a lack of things like grain fillers. Said grognards point to the millimeter-thick finishes of these future bin-buddies as absolute proof that poly is bad, completely ignoring that a properly applied poly finish is approximately the same thickness as a properly applied nitro finish.

Apply the poly CORRECTLY and you won't have any issue.

Unless you consider your finish actually protecting the guitar and NOT dissolving over time an "issue."  :laughing3: