Christodav's TL-1AR first build

[christodav]

The first Tru-oil rub on the top has been done and is now drying!
The back is still drying from the previous intensifying coat. I will have to sand it back again with 1200 and it may even require 1 last coat before the Tru-oil.
I am maybe going to use the spay on the next coat??? We'll see.

Chris

[wokkaboy]

look forward to hear how the spray TO goes Chris. I'd just spray fairly light coat first up.

[christodav]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHyfGqAZJ4Q&t=1270s

This bloke babbles on and on most of the time, but check out his experience at 7:10 and on. This is the video that got me very curious.

I thought I woulds start by using the traditional method which seems to have maintained a fair bit of shine. My guess it's because of the numerous intensifying DT coats I have laid down.

[andrewdosborne]

Burst looks great on this Chris. For the TO spray I've read it's good for the final TO coat to get it nice and thin/even but don't see why you cannot use to build up finish from scratch

Sent from Lineage OS 14.1

[christodav]

Thanks Andrew. Now that I have got to this stage, I know that I can do it SO much better next time, but all thing considered, it looks quite good. I am really pleased the way the contour cuts turned out.
I have now done 1 rub and 1 spray. It seems to be sitting quite nicely and building already! I am going to do one more spray and leave it for a week or so to dry.

I have to study now for my forklift license course on Tues and Wed.

Chris

[christodav]

1 x rub on oil, then waited 1-2 hours and then 2 sprays 30mins or so apart. Now wait.



Oh and those things that look like marks at the base of the guitar in the black section are reflections no marks.

Chris

[phrozin]

that looking good what did you refinish with over the oil ?

[christodav]

that looking good what did you refinish with over the oil ?

I used Tru-oil oil once and then gave Tru-oil in an aerosol can a go in 2 applications.I haven't started with the Tru-oil on the back yet, but I believe that I'll do the same thing.

I can't believe how easy the spray went on and how well it is sitting.

Chris

[christodav]

Here's the thing.

What I have discovered so far is If you want a gloss finish with Tru-oil, forget wasting time with the traditional rub on method and go straight to the aerosol can. For AU$23-, I already have a finish that is dry enough to handle carefully in less than 24 hours of it's first round of coats and has remained as glossy as it was when it was first laid on. It still looks WET and polished! I have tiny bumps (like dust) on the surface if you turn it at certain angles in to the light, but the shine on the thing is amazing. The bumps should sand down and hopefully vanish after I cut it back and spray the next coats. There is no real orange peel, just slightly uneven basically from the intensifying coat underneath. I seriously believe that I have reached the stage within 24 hours so far that would have taken days or weeks to get to with the standard method.

Now, this is important to note. It will all depend on the finish that you want to achieve. If you want to maintain the look and feel of the timber and simply want a light satin type finish for protection, then stick with the standard oil, it's perfect for that. If I was doing a guitar with deep grain and wanted to maintain a natural feel I would still wipe it on. However, if you wish to add gloss and a clearcoat type finish, I would highly recommend the aerosol in my experience so far. I have seen all the videos of people laying 15-30 coats of Tru-oil - that now seems stupid to me after using the aerosol can.

Now I have to wait for the intensifying coat on the back to dry for another day or two so I can sand it and perhaps lay down one last coat before the Tru-oil.

Chris

[Simon Barden]

Looking very nice. As it stands, I'd be worried about not having enough depth of protective finish. It may look glossy now - but that's not the whole point of the finish. You need enough of that finish on to have enough depth to cut it back, polish and then be thick enough to last more than a few months before wearing through (unless you want it to look worn quickly).

If that were a lacquer spray, then you'd probably want at least 5-6 clear coats on, and some would go even more (say 8-10) before cutting back and polishing - depending on how thickly they'd sprayed the coats. I'd expect the same depth of finish from the Tru-Oil spray, so whilst it may already look shiny, I'd seriously consider adding several more coats of it.

Looking at some comparisons between wipe-on and the spray on the web, the spray doesn't penetrate like the wipe-on does into the wood, so you aren't getting the depth of finish with the spray that you do with the wipe-on method. e.g. http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/3613. But you've at least got one or two coats of the wipe- on the body first before the spray, so that should have locked it into the wood nicely.

I'd probably agree with you that 30 coats of wipe-on is probably rather unnecessary, especially if the wood has been sanded flat in the first place. 10 coats of wipe-on is probably going to take a couple of weeks to apply, but then again building a guitar isn't a race. The spray may be just the thing for those final coats - but I'm sure you'd find that you'd get just as good results after sanding and polishing with wipe-on as with the spray. And the wipe-on is significantly cheaper. You pay a lot for the can and the propellant.