Neck Finishing help

jimijames

jimijames

New member
Ok, so I decided I want a tru-oil finish on the neck of my project guitar, but I wanna put it on top of a coat of shellac for moisture protection - what do I need to get for the shellac? Just some flakes and denatured alcohol, do I need anything else for it? I saw pumice at luthiers mercantile for filling in the grain, do I need to? What do I need to do for this finish? I got the tru-oil, the tru-oil sealer, the shellac flakes and denatured alcohol. Anything else? Thoughts on this finish? I've heard that it's super-smooth, less toxic than nitrocellulose, and lets the wood breathe - is this true? Thanks again for the help, I have a pretty good idea of what to do, I just need to know what materials I need before I start. Also, nitrocellulose is going on the face of the headstock, are there going to be any compatibility issues?
 
Re: Neck Finishing help

I don't see the need for the shellac at all. Tru Oil is a "hard" finish very much like shellac already.

Wrap a cotton ball with a clean cotton cloth, and just wipe on the Tru Oil. I don't even wipe it back off, just 2-3 coats on the back, and 4-5 on the board if it is maple.
 
Re: Neck Finishing help

Thanks, I actually just joined, lots of good info. Because i'm on a budget, less is more, so if I can do tru oil and leave it at that, I think I will. Thanks for the quick help, I'll post pictures when i'm done so you guys can see what a you've done to me.
 
Re: Neck Finishing help

Work up to 400 grit (or 1,000 if your OCD like me). You don't need any grain filler on rock maple, so no pumice required. This isn't french polishing ;)

You can buy pre-mixed shellac and it's fine for this purpose. It should be fairly thin. Just wipe it on with an old t-shirt scrap after sanding the neck. Or you can buy shellac in a spray can. If you have a rosewood or other oily fingerboard, tape it off along the edges. The alcohol in your shellac will pull color off the rosewood and smear into the finish. (don't ask how I know that) Two thin coats of shellac is all you need. Sand with 400 after the second coat. The shellac does a better job of sealing for H2O purposes than TruOil does. Think of it as primer. You can put virtually any finish on top of shellac, including TruOil and nitro lacquer.

A t-shirt scrap wrapped around cotton balls is a great applicator for shellac or TruOil. Personally, I do 3 sets of 3 coats each with TruOil, buffing with steel wool in between each set. More, thinner coats is best, especially if you are trying to add color with the TruOil. Be careful of drips, especially along sharp edges. Please do some research on pigments for TruOil - I had some problems with that initially.

Hope this helps a little. The guys over at the ReRanch are great!

Chip
 
Re: Neck Finishing help

I want to dye the neck some to give it a vintage tint, how well does tru-oil work with water based dyes and tints?
 
Re: Neck Finishing help

The "problem" with water-based dyes is that you raise up the "fur" on the wood by getting it wet again. It may help pop the grain and the fur gets less and less with each application. Alcohol-based dye dries much faster - can be a mixed blessing, especially in terms of getting even application of the color.

To the best of my knowledge, there's no problem using either kind of dye on raw wood before applying TruOil. Please check on the ReRanch though to confirm. I can tell you that those universal tints from StewMac DO NOT mix well in TruOil. That was a failed experiment...

BTW the first rule of finishing is "practice on scrap". Try calling whoever made your neck and asking for a couple scraps of your neck wood. I always get some scraps thrown in so I have something to practice on.

Chip
 
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