Re-finishing an Artist TC59

[dozymuppet]

Yep, 8 to 10 coats is not my final destination at all. This is meant to be a very light interim step, aimed at the top and bottom. But perhaps thinning the Tru-Oil is a better approach. Thanks McCreed \m/

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[impala59]

Wow! 50 coats! I need to seriously reassess my finishing commitment!
I have found that applying oil (I prefer Danish) with 0000 grade wire wool will bring a deep finish fairly rapidly, in about 10-15 coats depending on the wood of course. After my recent abysmal painting efforts I am returning to oil.

[McCreed]

Wow! 50 coats! I need to seriously reassess my finishing commitment!
I have found that applying oil (I prefer Danish) with 0000 grade wire wool will bring a deep finish fairly rapidly, in about 10-15 coats depending on the wood of course. After my recent abysmal painting efforts I am returning to oil.

Yes, I've not had the fortitude to reach 50 myself, but I've have read many accounts of people who must be far more virtuous than I!
My goal is typically 24 coats but sometimes I've had to reset my count due to "flatulence of the brain", and have probably finished up at 28-30 .

I haven't used Danish Oil so can't make any comparison, but there are similarities between it and Tru Oil. Both contain boiled linseed oil, thinners (turps) and some variant of "varnish". I can't say if the Danish has higher build properties than Tru.

BTW you won't find any 0000 steel wool in my shop. I wouldn't get it near any piece of timber I'm working on or finishing. The tiny steel fibres are the work of the devil.

[Simon Barden]

I'll second that. It has its place, but not on any finish. Those steel fibres really dig in and are impossible to see unless you are in really strong light (e.g. outside on a bright day), when they become blindingly obvious. Then you can't unsee them.

[impala59]

Point taken Gentlemen, I was taught this technique by an old gunsmith friend for working on hard walnut stocks and have had no scratch or loose wire issues, maybe not so good on guitar bodies
Both below about 10 coats each

[DarkMark]

Don’t argue with him folks...
Finish your guns, I mean guitar, however you like.

[dozymuppet]

28 coats of Tru-Oil in, it's now waiting a week before final wet sanding.

To get to 28, I wet sanded with TO and 360grit for the 10th coat, and with TO and 800grit for the 15th. Then a regular wet sand with 800grit after 21 coats.







I'd do some things a little differently next time, but happy with how it's turning out.

[McCreed]

Nice! I like that much better than the original. Good job.

Personally, I would have skipped all the wet sanding in the middle and just done it all at the end, but you got a good result and that's what matters.

If you were wet sanding with Tru Oil as a way of grain filling (aka the slurry method) I would have done that very early on rather halfway through as the idea is to allow wood dust to mix into the oil (or commonly shellac) and create a "slurry" that is worked into the grain depressions. Then sanded flat, repeat, sand etc until a flat smooth surface is achieved.

That method can (should?) be done before applying stain/dye because you sand off all the t-oil/shellac from the flat areas between the grain exposing raw timber for stain absorption.

Anyway, well done! Look forward to seeing it reassembled and getting played!

[dozymuppet]

Yeah, the slurry idea I realised wasn't going to work, because I wouldn't be getting wood dust in the mix. So if anything, it was a Tru-Oil slurry, which I think didn't do any harm, but introduced some edge sanding risk.

I think there is a place for wet sanding with Tru-Oil maybe later on, like after 15 or 20 coats. However, if I've done all the grain-filling and sanding sealer work earlier on, then it should become a redundant step.

I didn't use sanding sealer in this case, and then the regular wet sand at 21 coats was primarily to tidy up some surface irregularities that I'd no doubt introduced into the finish.

[FrankenWashie]

28 coats of Tru-Oil in, it's now waiting a week before final wet sanding.

To get to 28, I wet sanded with TO and 360grit for the 10th coat, and with TO and 800grit for the 15th. Then a regular wet sand with 800grit after 21 coats.







I'd do some things a little differently next time, but happy with how it's turning out.

mmmmm, noice. Very noice. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾