Tru Oil - Long term review

[wazkelly]

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Tru Oil has good points and some bad points too.

Most obvious bad points are in relation to yellowing of binding and turning any shade of blue into green.

What I do like is the natural aged look on maple necks, finger boards, headstocks and unstained timber. Even the deeper hue on EX-1 looks great, just a pity that batch of DT seemed cursed as I used same finish on the EX-5 and it worked out fine.

Takes a lot of patience and commitment to do a good shiny/glossy TO finish and if you like how some of these have turned out I highly recommend using the stuff. My method of application changed from one build to the next but if anyone wants some tips just let me know and I will be happy to pass them on.

Cheers, Waz.

[wazkelly]

An interesting question is how much is the tru oil, how much the underlying pigment, and how much the wood itself.

Good points Jim.

On the MMB4 it was Basswood with Maple neck so therefore a very light coloured kit to begin with and next to no pigment in the timber. Latest shots highlight the ageing process after just 16 months.

[king casey]

Three Years?
High time for another kit building episode eh?

cheers, Mark.

[wazkelly]

Three Years?
High time for another kit building episode eh?

cheers, Mark.

Yeah, it has been 16 months since last one was finished and it took about 18 months in total.

Last year was a very busy year and had no spare time at all. Seriously thinking about a semi scratch build at some stage, just not sure when.

[Simon Barden]

You need to remember that in its original use as a gun stock oil, some slight yellowing on dark wood would never be an issue. And it is expected to wear and be reapplied on probably a yearly basis.

[McCreed]

You need to remember that in its original use as a gun stock oil, some slight yellowing on dark wood would never be an issue. And it is expected to wear and be reapplied on probably a yearly basis.

Exactly the point I was going to make!
And not necessarily many multiples of coats to get a "deep" (thick) gloss finish, as we do with guitars.


Now where'd I put that AK-47?????

[Dikkybee007]

As Simon said it is a gun stock finish but you only apply once not yearly. The main advantage of this over a varnish is that when the stock gets marked it doesn't leave a white mark like a varnish so it looks good even when abused. On the guns I have used it on I have only ever put 2 coats maximum after sanding back to bare wood as that is al that is required. First to seal and second to make a satin finish as the last thing you want is a shiny gun. Where this finish is great is if you get a scratch you just reapply on the spot not the whole gun as it is quite easy to fix a scratch as it is an oil based finish so there is no need to strip and start again. Just use a piece of steel wool and spot finish and if done right you wont even know there was ever a mark there, unless you are a goose and put a scratch that is 3mm deep then a single coat wont fix that.
I have used Tru-oil on most of my guns for about the last 40+ years and unfortunately I used it on 2 guitar necks and found out it was less than desirable. I found that when I started to play it is fine but once my hand warms up and got a little sweaty it started to be harder to slide up and down the neck and I only put 2-3 coats on and it was at least 3 years of drying time so it wasn't still soft. I now use a Scandinavian oil to high light the grain and seal with a poly or leave it unsealed but unlike most people here I only ever use at most 3 coats of any finish as I find any more than that you are just wasting time and money. Personal opinion over many years of experience.

[wazkelly]

Plenty of good points there Dikkybee007.

Initially I was more obsessed with the shiny appearance of a build rather than the functional playabilty whereas these days don't care so much about dings, scratches and imperfections. Some like glossy necks and others prefer satin yet over time glossy ones will eventually wear and take on more of a satin type feel. If not, that can easily be fixed with some 0000 steel wool or 1500 grit wet & dry paper.

[blinddrew]

I think all my guitars have gloss necks, but i'm a chorder not a shredder...
My ES-5V is about 18 months old and probably had about 30-40 coats of tru-oil. When the weather is a bit more consistent I'll take some pictures in similar light and see if there's any change so far.

[wazkelly]

Not as hot or humid in you part of the world Drew compared to here Down Under but would still be interested to see if there is much change in colour over that period of time.

Cheers, Waz