Finish over true oil

[pavliku]

Hi guys,
I'm interested to know if I would be able to put polyurathane over true oil.
Has anyone had experience with doing this?

I would like to because the soft wood top I coated with true oil is simply not hard enough to sustain a vigorous level of play ( I have only played this instrument -very gently - for a few days and have already dented the finish and the wood beneath with the glancing blows of my thumb nail.)

Thanks, Paul.

[sebastiaan56]

TruOil is generally used on its own Paul. Ive done numbers of guitars and mandolins with it and they are fine. You need to leave it for a week or so to reach full hardness but it is pretty resistant to wear. What is your top wood, spruce, cedar?

If it is your playing style then maybe a pickguard is needed.

[pavliku]

Sorry for not replying - I havn't had acess to a computer since I posted this topic.

The top is WRC. It was left a couple of weeks to harden before I played it.

I have never had this problem with any other guitar I have played so I don't think it is my playing style .

No doubt I didn't achieve the build up of finish that I thought I had. As it is the top would be a mess after a few months of playing.

If was to put another product over the truoil would any adhesion problems manifest in the short term ie. as the finish dried, or would the adhesion problems manifest later (something that an initial test of compatability may not show) Anyone had experiance with this sort of thing?

Thanks, Paul.

[Mark McLean]

Paul
Tru-oil certainly isn't bullet-proof. Any oil finish is going to be kind of soft. If you put that over a notoriously soft wood like WRC it will be a bit delicate. I have Tru-oil on 2 guitars - one of them with a WRC top. In my experience you could still smell the stuff for weeks, and it actually took many months to harden to the maximum. A couple of years later (no pickguard) that guitar certainly has lots of marks on the top. On the plus side, Tru-oil is cheap, easy to apply by hand, looks good and is non-toxic.

I don't know if you can put another finish over the top of it. You will need to experiment on some scrap - but let the oil cure really well before you coat over it
cheers
Mark

[pavliku]

Thanks Mark.

You pretty well summed up what I was thinking.

Paul.

[jeffhigh]

I've put nitro lacquer over cured truoil with no problems, just sanded dowm the truoil first, but not to bare wood.

[pavliku]

How did you judge that the truoil was cured - by smell alone, or is there another way to judge this?

What was the reason you chose to coat the truoil with something else?

Thanks, Paul.

[jeffhigh]

Just by time, it was about 2 years old
I just was not happy with how it was wearing

[liam_fnq]

Tru-oil is cheap, easy to apply by hand, looks good and is non-toxic.


Mark

Non toxic is probably a bit of a stretch. Tru Oil's ingredients are listed in the 'Toxic Substances Control Act' in the US.

http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/files/M ... h_2010.pdf