This is weird... because I never stated that 10 applications of Tru-oil is thinner than 4-5 of lacquer.
When you, in an earlier post said this:
OK, you stated thin, not thinner, but if that wasn't the quintessence of your statement, please expand
Next you continue with this:
I never said that lacquer doesn't soak into wood. I said
So please have a look at your own style of posting before saying thing like this
Stating things like that have a tendency to bounce right back at the originator. Lest agree on refraining from that...
To the actual case:
To my personal experience (from 25 years of using different types of lacquer and maybe 10 years of using try-oil) true-oil will soak into wood much deeper than lacquer. It also takes a few more applications before you have "saturated" the wood with true-oil compared to when using lacquer. When I shoot lacquer I always have a film build up after the second application, but often already after the first. With Tru-oil, to my experience, you need as stated 2-4 applications. Remember that I stated that I apply the oil in very thin layers, thus requiring more layers before the formation of a film. However your milage may vary
And also as already stated: 10 applications (actually a few more when adding the sand level/reoil-process) of Tru-oil is for oil-over-stained-wood to ensure no sand throughs. For true oil over natural wood you can get away with as few as 3-4 applications but generally seldom more than 5-8 applications, once again depending on the type of wood you are working with
Everything I state is based on how I make things and are not in any way "laws of physics". I just doesn't agree with you statement that using a few more coats of true-oil is is a waste of time compared to shooting a few less coats of lacquer. You have to look at the total process. When shooting lacquer you need to ad time for spray gun assembling before shooting and dissembling/cleaning after the application. Repeat that up to 5 times depending on your total process (OK kan be as little as once of twice) and you have quite a lot of time spent on spray gun maintenance alone. Then you need to add time for thinking the finish, adjusting the spray gun etc etc. You also need to spend time to buff and polish the finish after maybe 5 weeks of drying. Compare that to using oil; you grab the bottle Drying time for the oil, when applied thin enough is 45-60 minutes. That is a time saving process.
Don't try to read something into what I wrote. I try to write what I think with no hidden messages
Regarding the lacquer soaking into the wood, albeit differently than tru-oil, that was a simple statement that only adds to what you stated and in no way contradicts your post.
The general idea behind my original post is that you can achieve a nice, thin finish with traditional lacquer with much less work and time. "Waste of time" is relative and is only from my point of view. I never said anything about "thinner" finishes.
4 coats of lacquer can be done in 5 min each, 1 hour apart. Total spraying time = 20mins. I leave the lacquer in the gun between coats. Cleanup is another 5 mins. Say 30mins total time investment if you count some amount of setup (setup the guitar for spraying, put everything back in place once done etc.).
Having used tru-oil and still do for certain things, in my experience, doing a body with it would be more time consuming for me.