How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

Ayrton said:
The whole guitar or just the neck?
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The whole guitar, its currently unfinished. Alternatively I could use tongue oil on the body and tru-oil on the neck but why complicate it?

It comes in small bottles here in Canada (3 FL Ounces / 90ml) so I'm assuming I'll need more than 1.
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

I am assuming you have stripped the guitar, so have you filled the grain back in? You will want to do that. Birchwood Casey has a grain filler, but any quality filler should work.

Wiping the finish on will eat up some time on a full body, but you can get nice results. Tru Oil is pretty hard to screw up. The total amount really depends on how far you want to go with the finish, but two bottles should be enough.

Have you used it before?
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

Ayrton said:
I am assuming you have stripped the guitar, so have you filled the grain back in? You will want to do that. Birchwood Casey has a grain filler, but any quality filler should work.

Wiping the finish on will eat up some time on a full body, but you can get nice results. Tru Oil is pretty hard to screw up. The total amount really depends on how far you want to go with the finish, but two bottles should be enough.

Have you used it before?
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I'm going to grain-fill first - I have this:
https://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/.../90mL-Walnut-Wood-Filler/_/N-ntlsg/R-I1625281

I also planning Minwax Red Mahogany Stain prior to the tru-oil.

This is my first guitar build, I'll get three bottles just in case.
 
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Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

I have read where people have used wood fillers, but I stick to tried and trued methods. Timbermate, Behlen or Birchwood Casey is what I would use. Tint the filler (I would do black if staining red) and apply, scrape/sand back and then stain. The filler will seal the wood and help get an even stain color. Here is how I do it, but plenty of methods. This is for the body, use a cotton T-shirt or rag to apply the Tru Oil. The first 2-3 (wait until each coat is dry to the touch) coats will sink a tad and dry kind rough to the touch. This is fine, and you don't have to sand between the coats. Let those first coats dry for a good 24-30 hours. Now you can block sand with no rougher than 1,000 paper or 3200 micro mesh. Use a hard sponge or rubber sanding block. All you are doing at this point is knocking off the roughness, so spritz some water on the paper and light circular motions. The reason for this is Tru Oil is self-leveling and the smoother the surface, the easier it goes down. Now you can build the layers as heavy as you want. I would suggest no more than one coat per 24 hours at this point as the thicker you go, the longer the dry time.

Once the body has fully cured, you can do a final wet sand and buff.

The neck is the same, but I typically stop after 3-4 coats and then buff with wax. I prefer a more satin feel on the neck.
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

This is my first guitar build, I'll get three bottles just in case.
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Don't make that mistake. You want to buy the freshest bottle you can.... And one bottle will suffice for a Les Paul.
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

The smaller bottles actually do make more sense in this case but get two. Don't open the second unless you have to. Also, only poke a hole into the center of the foil (1/8"), and that will help keep trash out of what goes on the rag. When you close the bottle back up, store it upside down as well.
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

Also, only poke a hole into the center of the foil (1/8"), and that will help keep trash out of what goes on the rag. When you close the bottle back up, store it upside down as well.
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In a glass jar with a lid on it.... just in case. AGAIN.... Don't ask how I know this.
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

I have had good success storing the bottle upside down, but the glass jar is a good idea.
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

I think I was done with just one for my tele.


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Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

As said here, a little Tru-Oil goes a long way. I'd take Ayrton's advice and buy 2 small bottles rather than one large bottle.
 
Re: How Much Tru-Oil do you need?

Well that was an adventure... 6 stores and 250km later I got my Tru-Oil (2 small bottles) from Lee Vally Tools (their last two). Everyone else who listed it as being something they carried was out of stock or could not ship until early January.

Did not realize how rare it is to find it here in Canada. Also picked up three oil-based tints: Gun stock (orangish), red mahogany, and ebony plus some sand paper and dust masks.
 
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