Wood dye or water based stain with Tru-Oil?

[robin]

Hi Klegacy, I've used Tru-Oil on nearly all my guitars and all my research tells me that water or spirit based dyes/stains are OK but avoid oil based stains. I have used many different brands of stain in both water and spirit based and even some stamp pad ink, all without any problems. Apparently Tru-Oil will react with or to the oils in oil based stains.


I don't use TO on my Rosewood Fretboards, but like Zandy, I have always used Lemon Oil. But there are heaps of alternatives out there. You will have to re-apply Lemon Oil at regular intervals to keep it nice and shiny though. But I have always used TO on my Maple FB's.

I recently I visited a timber retailer at Maleny and they had a couple of custom built electric guitars on display and their Fretboards were coated in twin pack poly. Very nice! But at $3,500 each they should look pretty nice.

[wazkelly]

Hi Klegacy, suggest sanding to no more than 240 grit on maple as it is a very fine and tightly grained timber where higher levels of grit will polish it so smooth there will be very little colour penetration from the stain. Pabs is right in that you want a super smooth neck but I tend to do that in the final wet sanding and polishing stages if trying to get colour into the back of the neck.

Cheers, Waz

[klegacy]

Hi Klegacy, suggest sanding to no more than 240 grit on maple as it is a very fine and tightly grained timber where higher levels of grit will polish it so smooth there will be very little colour penetration from the stain. Pabs is right in that you want a super smooth neck but I tend to do that in the final wet sanding and polishing stages if trying to get colour into the back of the neck.

Cheers, Waz

So roughing it up a bit with 220 would be a good idea before staining? I have Minwax conditioner (prep, water based) and Minwax stain water based. Then Tru-oil to finish things off.

[Simon Barden]

Lemon oil is a very different beast to something like tru-oil. Lemon oil is just an oil that soaks into the wood and takes the place of the water that's dried out over time. The lemon oil will evaporate over time, so is best re-applied once or twice a year (it may depend on your local climate as to how fast the board will dry out). It will generally give a darker appearance to the wood it's used on, which lightens as it evaporates over time. Once you've applied it (and a board can soak up several applications if it's really dry), looking at the colour of your board will tell you when it's time to re-apply some.

Tru-oil is an oil-based finishing product that builds up a relatively hard protective surface as you add more layers and the carrier oil in the Tru-oil evaporates, so it's something you put on to start with and that's normally it. But it's not normally used for rosewood/ebony fingerboards.

[klegacy]

Beautiful color .. a bit of sanding, and then later I am thinking it is tru-oil time. Thanks guys. A little blotchiness on one neck near the top, but nothing a bit of light sanding should correct. Special American Walnut is the color.

[klegacy]

What is happening when the stain goes on and you cannot rub it off? This happened with the second coat on the neck I have that had the hybrid stain on it before. I actually had to sand it down to the wood again as it was a real mess. Sucks because the neck is not fitting in the pocket as tight as it was from Pitbull. Not bad mind you, but just not as snug. Will the tru-oil add a bit to the neck and perhaps correct this? I am scared to re-apply stain to this one for fear it may do this again. Is this perhaps just a case of the neck still being a bit wet? Could really use some tips on this one. The other neck worked fine and is good to go for oil I think. Thoughts?

[klegacy]

Applied with a lint free cloth and wiped it off immediately. Got a pretty nice even coating. Was using a sponge brush, and wiping off before. Live and learn. Hope it dries even.

[wazkelly]

What is happening when the stain goes on and you cannot rub it off? This happened with the second coat on the neck I have that had the hybrid stain on it before. I actually had to sand it down to the wood again as it was a real mess. Sucks because the neck is not fitting in the pocket as tight as it was from Pitbull. Not bad mind you, but just not as snug. Will the tru-oil add a bit to the neck and perhaps correct this? I am scared to re-apply stain to this one for fear it may do this again. Is this perhaps just a case of the neck still being a bit wet? Could really use some tips on this one. The other neck worked fine and is good to go for oil I think. Thoughts?

Hi Klegacy, suggest going easy on the area that sits in the neck pocket as it will mostly be covered up anyways. And yes, Tru Oil does add a bit of thickness after many, many layers.

[klegacy]

Would mineral spirits work to remove stain from the neck? and could you re-apply stain successfully after cleaning with mineral spirits? Also, is there a special type of spirits for water based stain or is it all the same?

[wazkelly]

Just responded to your PM on same topic.

The more I think about it wet sanding with 400 to 800 wet & dry might be the way to go to get rid of whatever the hybrid stain has left behind.