Making Tru-oil A Little Better?

[matthew bryan]

Hello all,

I would like to use Tru-oil as a finish on my guitar. The only negitive I see around is that it is not as hard or scratch resistant as other finishes. I was wondering if you could mix in some.....say Minwax polyurthane in it to give it a harder and more scratch resistant quallity?

Thoughts?

[killemall8]

i feel that would completly defeat the purpose of an oil finish. a hard finish is not an oil finish. if you ad poly to it, i might harden like poly, but then why not just use poly?

[Mattia]

The off the shelf 1-part polys aren't all that scratch resistant, IMO. Certainly not the kind of 'scratch resistant' bulletproof finish all those imported asian guitars have made people think is 'normal'.

Also, what killemall8 said.

[wohzah]

Apply the oil then wax it, offers decent protection same color. I use butchers clear bowling alley wax. My favorite stain/finish, oil then wax. And if u scratch the wax it is wicked easy to touch up. Apply with steel wool contradictory to instructions.

[marksound]

Tru-Oil doesn't need anything added to it to be hard and durable. Granted, it's not as hard as the polyester armor they put on a lot of mass-produced guitars, but who wants that anyway? Tru-Oil was designed for and has been used to protect gunstocks for years and years.

I've started finishing my guitars' necks with Tru-Oil. It couldn't be easier to apply, it cures much faster than lacquer, and I don't have to worry about guitar stands eating the finish. It feels great, too.

[fryovanni]

Tru-Oil doesn't need anything added to it to be hard and durable. Granted, it's not as hard as the polyester armor they put on a lot of mass-produced guitars, but who wants that anyway? Tru-Oil was designed for and has been used to protect gunstocks for years and years.

I've started finishing my guitars' necks with Tru-Oil. It couldn't be easier to apply, it cures much faster than lacquer, and I don't have to worry about guitar stands eating the finish. It feels great, too.

Applied by the right people Catalized Urathanes and Polyester seem to be a wonderful finishes. Outstanding clarity, thin, durable. I have been looking over some of the Cat. Poly finishes that have been popping up at the OLF(not that they havent been around here for a while also). The thickness has been measuring out right about where Nitro winds up. The clarity is really impressive. The cure is fast UV or Catalized. I am itching to pull the trigger and have one shot for me.

Peace,Rich

[marksound]

Applied by the right people Catalized Urathanes and Polyester seem to be a wonderful finishes. Outstanding clarity, thin, durable. I have been looking over some of the Cat. Poly finishes that have been popping up at the OLF(not that they havent been around here for a while also). The thickness has been measuring out right about where Nitro winds up. The clarity is really impressive. The cure is fast UV or Catalized. I am itching to pull the trigger and have one shot for me.

Peace,Rich

"Applied by the right people." There's always a catch.

[Mickguard]

I don't know about adding ingredients to the mix anyway. Especially messing with highly toxic materials.

I've used a tung/linseed oil marine varnish (called Le Tonkinois) and it cures very hard -- perhaps not as hard as those bullet-proof finishes you find nowadays, but where's the fun in that?

The marine varnish takes a longer time to cure though, or, I should say 'settle in', because that's really what seems to happen. Several months after polishing, it becomes quite hard, fairly level and almost as brilliant as a nitro finish. Has a more vintage-like sheen to it.

Best part is that it's 100% natural and non-toxic (i.e., it is NOT the same as Tru-Oil). It's harder to sand and polish--but I haven't tried spraying it yet. That's coming up.

[soapbarstrat]

Sounds like a wipe-on poly is what you really want.