Official Luthiers Forum!

Lee Valley has started selling Tru-Oil, http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.a ... ,190,42942 and I was wondering how much would be needed to finish a guitar body and/or a neck? Thanks!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

you might be albe to get away with just one bottle. I use the bigger bottle and I use about half to do the hole guitar.

I really like the false oil hahahah

The small bottle should do at least one guitar. Store the cloth you use for applying it in a glass jar with a screw top lid and a few drops of turps or it's substitute. That way you aren't using up all the tru oil with fresh cloth absorbing it.
Store the bottle with it's cap down. Helps exclude oxygen for long term storage.

Topping up the level in the bottle with glass marbles/beads will keep the minimum of oxygen in the container.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Another tip I heard was don't remove the foil under the cap... just pierce it with a nail & drip out what you need. Extends life (and store upside down as well)

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Dave
Milton, ON

Forget the tru oil.. use this. Way better stuff.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guitar-Luthier- ... 5aef276980
Or this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guitar-Luthier- ... 5aef276966

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Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Hix-Tonewood-a ... r-Supplies

i have a bottle somewhere, but still don´t know this: what´s tru-oil made of?

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Aaron, I followed the discussion about the your tung oil product a while back, and it certainly sounds interesting. Is your ebay shipping calculator accurate? I am seeing $32.95 USPS shipping to Canada. That seems pretty high for a quart can.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Hey Alex, no that is not right..the ebay calculator must be off on that.. I will refund any overcharged shipping if you were to buy some.

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Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Hix-Tonewood-a ... r-Supplies

Aaron: So how much is the shipping to Canada....??
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I was on the Sutherland Welles web site, and their polymerized tung oil and sealer is sold by Lee Valley in Canada, rebranded under their own name. http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.a ... ,190,42942 Is this much different than the Waterlox product?

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

On the back of a Tru-oil bottle, it says that it is linseed oil and some other oils. I can finish a guitar with 1/2 a bottle. They sell it here at the hardware store for $5.99 for the little bottle.

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Jason Moe
LaCrosse WI 54601

That's a good price for the small bottle. At the gun shops down here it's like $10 for the small bottle. They have a pretty good Sealer/Filler too, that dries really fast for build up.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

You can buy 32 oz. bottle of Tru Oil on amazon.com for $14.10. Last time I checked, shipping to Canada was very cheap. When I finish the 3 oz bottle I paid $18 for at the gun store, I am ordering from Amazon.

Bob

I did a guitar with the 3oz bottle, and have some left for touch ups, etc. I also poked a hole in the foil and stored unside down. Loved it, and will use it again, tho I may try tung oil soon. Cheaper, and not supposed to go off in the bottle....

AAron, I'm also put off by the calculator. You've got lots of timber I'd be interested in, but at $58+ for post to Australia, it's a no-go. I had a guitar, neck off, shipped for $70, so your calculator may not be accurate???? I'm hoping......

You would have to be finishing A LOT of guitars to ever use a 32 oz bottle of Tru Oil! I would go with the 3 ounce bottles. I've got about 4 applications grainfilling a walnut Strat and I'm not even a quarter of the way done with the 3 ounce bottle. I think the stuff would go bad before you could use it. If you're able to, buy smaller bottles more often. I understand shipping can be an issue, but maybe buy a couple 3 oz bottles if you're worried. I just don't see anyone going through even 8 oz. before it would go bad.

so, can someone tell me what´s tru-oil made of?

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

We don't know other than it probably contains a very high proportion of highly polymerised 'modified oil' and Linseed oil. The 'modified oil' bit might be linseed oil as well. Tru oil solves in turpentine or it's substitue.

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Thank You and Best To All

Isn't that interesting! I used to make the same finish using equal parts of thinner/high gloss poly/boiled linseed oil. You can make a gallon for about $20. It would be somewhere between satin and semi gloss, and really make the grain deepen.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

thanks guys, it´s amazing the kind of things you can find on teh internetz.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

I've used varnish/oil/turpentine mixes since I was a teenager -- my favourite finish on new or restored interior furniture. Lots of recipes floating about and I remember a good FW article decades ago comparing versions. Gloss spar varnish (as it has high solids content and no flatteners, unlike interior satin varnishes), high-quality BOILED linseed oil (not raw or "chemically boiled"), and turpentine. Ratio 1:2:3, or thereabouts. It's easy to use (apply and keep wet for 15-20 minutes, let it rest for 30, buff dry, repeat next day), no brush marks, and infinitely repairable, BUT, it's not terribly durable and only moderately resistant to liquids, so not suitable for surfaces in direct contact with wet glasses or plant pots, gunstocks, or IMHO guitars.

I've also used Tru-oil, for gunstocks and for guitar necks -- still do. It is MUCH more resistant to moisture and has sufficient solids that one can build a real film thickness that can be leveled and buffed. There are obviously additional components that give it these qualities, and I have no idea what they are. Not as durable as lacquer, but feels "fast" on a guitar neck and resists sweat well (will still need refinishing much earlier than lacquer, but easily done). Personally, I don't think that other polymerizing oil-type finishes, home-made or commercial, come close to being comparable, at least not those I've used. But then, I don't know the recipe for the mysterious Stradivari varnish.

So, both great finishes and both have their place, but I don't regard them as similar. Even if you have to pay high price to import Tru-oil at your location, it will likely still be a cheaper option than lacquer, and likely more satisfying in the long term than other polymerizing oil finishes.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Tru oil is really great if you don't have a top of the line spray booth and all that.

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Jason Moe
LaCrosse WI 54601

Thanks to everyone for the replies and all the info! I'm not sure what finish I'll end up using for my challenge build, but I may use Tru-Oil at least on the neck. I really like the looks of a satin finished guitar, and I think that doing a hand applied finish may be the way to get there. I've got a four stage Fuji, so if I can find out how to to get a satin look with a waterbased finish, I may go that way. Thanks again!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker