erikbojerik Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I am strongly leaning toward Tru-Oil for my bass proj (padauk-maple-walnut-ebony-bocote), but I am a little worried about how well the Tru-Oil will penetrate and adhere to the oily bocote (which is a Mexican rosewood). Anyone tried Tru-Oil over any of the rosewoods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpeg2 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Anyone tried Tru-Oil over any of the rosewoods? I used Bocote for the top of a guitar & finished with Tru-Oil - no problems with the finish at all (didn't do any pretreatment either). Came out beautiful Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Your not gonna get much penetration with oil and rosewood, but you don't need much. Oil penetrates wood and just the very top layer reacts with the oxygen in the air and "dries." The stuff will pretty much sit right on the top. Occasionally you will get a reaction between the oil in the rosewood and the finish and it won't dry quickly, but it's really easy to get it back off if that happens. Usually you just have to wait a frustatingly long time and your okay. Do my standard thing for finish and ,ake a test board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I've heard of curing issues with truoil over rosewood.. not sure about the oiliness fo bocote vs plain jane rosewood.. it's all the same family so i assume it's very dense. I'd try a test piece like they suggested. I've also seen it suggested to wipe woods like that down with napths to get rid of any natural oils and then hit it with the truoil. Just don't rush subsequent coats on a wood like that.. I'd do the first soaker coat, then let it penetrate for a few minutes then wipe off and let it dry a day.. then afte that guage how long it takes for subsequent coats to get nice and hard before the layer more on. TruOil has linseed and other oils in it, but it also has a lot of polymer material so if any of the oils are going to work with that kind of wood, truOil would be it. You might get a nice finish doingn 2-3 coats of truoil as mostly a sealer, then waxing and buffing for the shine. You'll have to rewax it every couple of years but it'll make a nice looking instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I had some trouble with it on Cocobolo (You didn't say which Rosewood). It never cured completely and was sticky. I just wiped it off with some acetone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I am strongly leaning toward Tru-Oil for my bass proj (padauk-maple-walnut-ebony-bocote), but I am a little worried about how well the Tru-Oil will penetrate and adhere to the oily bocote (which is a Mexican rosewood). Anyone tried Tru-Oil over any of the rosewoods? ← Just for the record....Bocote is not a member of the rosewood (Dalbergia) family. Bocote(Cordia Tricotoma) is closely related to Ziricote and Pau Ferro(known as Santos or Bolivian Rosewood, but neither is a member of the rosewood family). To the topic at hand....I have used a mixture of equal parts boiled linseed, white shellac and denatured alcohol as a sealer on Bocote. It does afford some protection but does not penetrate deeply as has been discussed. I used this method with letter openers that I made using Bocote as the handle material.....the finish seemed to hold up well after the openers were handled many times over the years. Multiple coats and a good wax buff after the Tru-Oil should give use a decent finish.....You may want to build up the initial coats with a weak mixture of the Tru-Oil and mineral spirits( the wipe down with acetone or naptha before application is a good idea)......The big name wood turners will apply the first coats of their finishes(Waterlox) diluted and build a good base for the final coats. George Nakashima used to use a 1:1 mix of boiled linseed and varnish on his furniture.....of which much of it was Rosewood.....usually East Indian. But again you won't get a great deal of penetration in the most oily woods. Scott Rosenberger....Where have ya been! I'm almost ready to place another order.....Need anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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