Oil Finish On Acoustic?

[Geo]

I remember reading a post on here... someone said that finishing an acoustic with oil was not a good idea because the top would soak up the oil and become "acoustically dead".

Any thoughts on this? Any affordable alternatives if this is true?

Thanks.

[Daniel Sorbera]

Well I don't know what people think on the subject, but I had an acoustic (my first acoustic build) that was finished first in nothing, than I sprayed it in clear gloss, than stripped it all off and finished it in oil which is how it stands now. The biggest difference was from no finish to the clear coat. It became a lot brighter and much quieter. I couldn't tell a difference between no finish and the tru-oil finish.

Granted that was nothing even close to a scientific test, so take this with a grain of salt.

[fryovanni]

I remember reading a post on here... someone said that finishing an acoustic with oil was not a good idea because the top would soak up the oil and become "acoustically dead".

Any thoughts on this? Any affordable alternatives if this is true?

Thanks.

First- Most "oil finishes" are mostly poly blend(just a bit of oil, so your not soaking it with oil). If you are thinking of using pure tung oil, I would not. You can seal wood with a wash coat of shellac, and avoid much oil intrusion. This is what I would do if I used true oil. Here is a link to a recent thread-link

As far as affordable alternatives. Shellac (french polish). To save a little typing this is what I said in the other thread-

One nice thing about shellac is it is dirt cheap to get set up. Shellac flakes for about 15-20 guitars will run $15, Denatured alcohol or Everclear is used to cut the shellac(again not too expensive), Extra virgin Olive oil(a little goes a long ways), old cut up white T-shirts, and wool(second hand store, old sweater lasts for many guitars), Sand paper, and I like a dense felt block, and finally Epoxy coating(not glue, this is finish, it dries much slower and is also much thinner) which probabaly costs as much as all my other supplies(but a table spoon or two will fill a guitar, so it is still relatively cheap per. guitar). The picture should give you an idea as to how important fill and prep is, as the finish is only built up it has not been leveled or polished(ruff so to speak). Look at the color also, this is one of the lighter shellacs(you can get slightly clearer), but true oil would introduce less color.

If your interested in trying FP. This gives you a wonderful tutorial-Milburns French Polishing Tutorial

Peace,Rich

[Geo]

Thanks for the replies. I'll do a little more research.

Here's what I was going to use. It's equal parts boiled linseed oil, clear gloss Miniwax, and turpentine. I've used it on two electric guitars. Someone on another forum shared the recipe with me. He used it on many guitars before he bought equipment to spray nitro.

Any thoughts on that?

[wohzah]

I don't have too much on acoustic guitars but I do know a fair bit about oil finishes. My toss up for the most sound efficient would be a very lightly apply 4 coats of 1 part mineral oil and one part turpentine. I think the above mixture is ok, but if I were you I would cut the Minwax and just use the linseed and turpentine, but again I am no expert.

[Southpa]

I refinished an old Fender Newporter in teak/tung oil mix a while ago.

It worked out very well, . The guitar is a 3/4 size so it never had a lot of volume but the finish has not changed the sound at all. Other pics show how the mahogany back and sides looked before. The oil really brings out the grain.

[WezV]

i dod do a danish oil finish on a re-topped cheap guitar and it sounded pretty dull for a few weeks afterwards but eventually started to open up nicely.. it defintely dampened it somewhat going from no finish to the oil but i cant be sure it wasnt just the guitar opening up as they do anyway

[Geo]

I think the above mixture is ok, but if I were you I would cut the Minwax and just use the linseed and turpentine, but again I am no expert.

That's interesting. Just curious, why would you cut the Miniwax? Of course, I don't know why the Miniwax was included in the recipe, so maybe I'm farther behind than I thought. I'll test the mixture without the Miniwax and see how it works. Thanks for the replies. I appreciate any more input.

For my first acoustic, I think I'm ok with using an oil finish even if it interferes with the sound a little. Mostly I am trying to get familiar with the construction, which is a bit different than a solidbody electric.

[wohzah]

I said cut the minwax because the build up of the poly might help to dampen especially with the turpentine helping to bring the finish into the wood. I am not much of a fan of minwax for anything more than knife grips and small projects or with bocote (matches it very, I don't know why), because of its tendency to yellow. But in this instance I thought the build up would hurt your sound. Again my knowledge of acoustic guitars is very limited but I know a good bit about finishing.

[fryovanni]

I think it wold be smart to test the finish on a spare piece of spruce, just so you know what it is going to do. It is the penetrating oil that becomes problematic(again my opinion). Most blended oil finishes build on the surface, and are not heavy on the penetrating oil(there is no reason to want a finish to penetrate the wood, thin surface finishes provide the protection needed). Some oil finishes break down and lose there ability to slow moisture transfer, this is also something I would not want.

Really though, as I mentioned, a very thin wash coat of shellac(which only builds on the surface). Will effectively seal the surface, and keep your oil finish on the surface.

Rich

[Geo]

Thank you guys. This is very helpful as I stumble my way through this.

[foil1more]

Oil is definitely a good finish. I have finished many things other than guitars with Tung oil and I always use it on guitar necks because it won't wear off. And it is almost impossible to screw up.

[dugg]

All finishes affect the sound of even electric guitars. Rub on oil finishes are exellent on electrics and ribs, backs and necks of acoustic guitars. Violin makers go to great lengths to seal the soundboard surface before using an oil varnish, which doesn't soak in nearly as much as a turp/tung oil (or some other drying oil) hand rubbed finish. The damping effect of oils on soundboards has been a problem for violin makers for centuries, and well documented. Most serious classical guitar builders use french polish for the soundboard because it leaves the sound almost the same as unfinished wood.