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Thread: Oil finishes and stains for ash/maple?

  1. #1
    Member Mr.Drifter's Avatar
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    Oil finishes and stains for ash/maple?

    So, I've got an ash body with a maple neck and fretboard.
    I'm tossing up what to use now, was originally going to go with a paint finish, but now I'm thinking a good oil and maybe dye would be ideal.
    So, the initial thought was tru-oil, however I can't get it locally, which I can deal with, but would prefer getting something locally and quickly hah.

    Next thought was boiled linseed oil, however that doesn't have a varnish in it apparently, so might not be as hardy.

    So now I'm just kinda stuck between what they would look like, and whether they'd be viable. Definitely keen on an oil finish.
    I'm thinking of maybe putting a dye on the wood first, but not sure how I'd go about that/ where I'd get the dye from semi locally. Did look into the dingotone dyes/ finishes, but wasn't sure how well they'd go with the whole transition from body to neck finish.
    Though, I wonder if the finish stuff from them gives off an oil like sheen to the wood. If not, could probably get one of them and some oil to use over the top or with the oil or something

    Ideas/ thoughts?
    Will those two oils work well for maple fretboard/ neck as well?

  2. #2
    GAStronomist stan's Avatar
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    Tru oil seems to work fine and plenty of good results with it here. Havent used it myself.
    Other options are shellac and danish oil. You can get a gloss finish to satin with either. Shellac is good because it plays well with a variety of finishes

  3. #3
    Overlord of Music WeirdBits's Avatar
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    Oldie but goodie, Danish Oil on mahogany scratch build with a QLD maple neck rebuild later. The oil adds a touch of colour, with perhaps a hint of burnt gold.
    Scott.

  4. #4
    I used Tru-oil on my IB-5 bass. I applied about 10 light coats directly to the neck, with some light sanding every few coats, then finished with fine steel wool. This yielded a satin finish with a beautiful feel.

    For the body, I first stained with a Feast-Watson water-base stain, and then applied Tru-oil.

    After a few weeks to fully cure, I finished with Renaissance Wax.

  5. #5
    Member Mr.Drifter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by colin2121 View Post
    I have used Tru Oil on a JM-1. I was unsure about it with the first few coats but it built up a nice gloss with multiple coats. I would most likely use it on the next build.
    I used Feast Watson Scandinavian Oil on a JB-4. Gave a nice matte finish and tended to give a slight golden hue to the charcoal stain I used.
    Not sure about danish oil, have not used it.
    As I said earlier, I would most likely use tru oil in the futue.
    You can check out the two builds mentioned
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ight=Colin2121
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ight=Colin2121
    I think it was you who used a walnut stain prior. Did the truoil do anything weird to the stain afterwards? Or did it all work fine?

  6. #6
    Member Mr.Drifter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by colin2121 View Post
    This was the one with the waknut stain.
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ight=Colin2121
    I did not notice any change in the stain. Just a build up of the gloss with each coat (I applied each coat with a rag and wet sanded every 5th coat with 2000 grit wet and dry using tru oil on the paper). Just stopped when I had the gloss level I wanted.
    Let it cure for a week before polishing.

    You could test your stain and oil inside a cavity before using it across the body. I did that to be sure of how the stain and tru oil react.
    Rad.
    I ended up getting a walnut stain and danish oil, so will have a test spot in the cavity and see how it goes first. Fingers crossed it works well

  7. #7
    Member Mr.Drifter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by colin2121 View Post
    Put up some photos as you go.
    I always used a rag for staining and oil application - found it gave a more even finish.
    Another thing I did was to put the oil on the back of the rag and squeze it out the other side when applying as it filtered out any lumpy bits.
    Will do. I've got a build thread going, it's an explorer 7 string.
    IF the spirit based stain works well with the oil (shall see with the test patch), then it should look rad. Otherwise, may look rad for a different reason.
    Planning to leave the stain on for as long as it takes to dry, then oil over it, so any spirit has evaporated or what not

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