Advice on tung oil finish

Hi there,

After an almost-2-year hiatus I am back and trying to get some things finished. Good to see the community is still going strong!

So in January this year I finally got around to attempting to apply a finish to my custom-order Pitbull bass neck (with Tele-style headstock) that I've had since December '17. I'd shaped the heel soon after it arrived and then sat there for about a year. In that time I ordered some tung oil and citric turpene from The Woodworks in Sydney along with some yellow dye to make a vintage yellow.

Their instructions said to mix the oil 50/50 wtih the CT, which I did, along with some dye to get the desired colour. Then, do four coats with approximately 2 days in between, until it was dry enough to lightly sand. For each coat, wipe off the excess before leaving to dry.

So it went well seemingly. Here's the first coat:

Attachment 31806

I waited about 3 days between each coat to give it plenty of time. Here's a few more shots:

Attachment 31807 Attachment 31808

Coming along nicely. After the final coat:

Attachment 31809 Attachment 31810

Looking good. So it then went to hang in a cupboard to cure. So, I checked it regularly since then and noticed it was getting patchy in places. I though this might have been due to different parts of the neck drying quicker or slower than others, but after 6 months or more, it hasn't really changed.

So now, it looks darker in some places than others, and also has some very shiny/waxy areas that overall make it look pretty crappy.

As I've reached the attachment limit for this post, I will close this one off and start a new one.

Here's how it looks now:

Attachment 31811 Attachment 31812

Attachment 31813 Attachment 31814

On the back of the neck you can see the various light and dark patches. On the head, those shiny bits are not just light reflection, they look like that in reality, worse even - it was difficult to get decent shots of it. They are waxy-looking areas that are shinier than the rest of the finish. There's a few on the back as well but they didn't show up particualrly well in the photos.

So, looking for advice on what to do. Looks to me like it needs more coats but not sure whether I should sand those waxy bits off or what. I'm guessing that the reason (or one of the reasons) for the patchy finish is because I did it in January when It was very hot and humid (Brisbane weather). So it's nice enough at the moment, not too cold, not too humid. Looking to finish it off.

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers,

Pete

Quote:

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Originally Posted by filthyPierre

Here's how it looks now:

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I just use F&W Golden Teak on necks.
Gloss laquer as opposed to Tru-Oil.
e.g. My lastest Bronco Bass mod:

Attachment 31815

cheers, Mark.