Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

[wasteofo2]

I recently got an unfinished Warmoth J-bass body made of Black Korina. Because of the awesome way the wood looks, I've decided to leave it natural, and just finish it in Tung Oil. But, I've never finished anything before...

So, I'm looking for some pointers. From what I've heard, it's ridiculously easy, just put it on a cloth and spread it around, making sure it's evenly distributed, and repeat daily for like 4 days. But, there's probabally a whole wealth of info here that could help me out, so please, any pointers you have, share them with me!

Thanks alot,
Jacob

 

[Curly]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

shalom, Jacob

here's an article at Luthier's mercantile
use the drop down on the left to check the "True Oil" article

although they're talking about Tru Oil, which I've used on a couple necks, the idea is much the same

here's a link to a project posted here that should be some inspiration:
Serda strat
(it's in Spanish)

Spector basses also features oil finishes on many models ... that may give you a few ideas

I'd suggest using a stain, such as a water or oil soluble aniline dye to start

 

[Blueline]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

i use true oil for my necks - its a polymerized tongue oil
not all that difficult to apply
the key is that with oil you have to prep the surface even more than nitro or poly
so sand away

 

[Blueline]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

one more tip
keep the bottle upside down when not in use
the oil forms a skin at the top
so if you keep the bottle upside down
the skin forms at the bottom

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

We use tung oil to finish all of our furniture at Boulder Furniture Arts. We use it straight out of the can. We sand the wood to 220 and then apply the oil with a sprayer...but you can can rag it on too. Takes about one week or more to dry. We then spray a very, very light coat of sanding sealer onto the wood, let that dry and then rub it out with 000 or 0000 steel wool and a little mineral oil or citrus oil. Looks awesome! We do not spray enough sealer onto the wood to achieve any kind of surface build up at all. It's mostly an aid in polishing the wood to a baby's butt smooth finish.

Lew

 

[KoreanGuitarMan]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

Lew, which brand tung oil do you use? Would Formby's stuff be fine for finishing a guitar?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

Lew, which brand tung oil do you use? Would Formby's stuff be fine for finishing a guitar?

Hopes is a good brand. Made by the Hope Company in Brighton, Mo I think. It is 100% tung oil. Hopes sells it in 1/2 qt. plastic bottles. We buy it in 5 gallon containers. Lew

 

[RiffRaff]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

I've used tung oil on a couple of home wood projects, very easy to work with and pretty much idiot proof (although I pushed it!). Here are some pics of my Koa wood fireplace mantle, I spent quite a bit of time sanding (down to 440) to remove all the fine scratchs and then used 0000 steel wool to finish it off. I didn't seal it before using the oil, koa is so dense there are virtually no pores in the wood. I put the oil on and rubbed it in - don't let it sit, it will gum up when you try to rub it in and you'll end up sanding it out. I put four coats on the mantle, it has a nice semi gloss finish (more gloss than matt) and it's held up nicely over the last couple of years.

 

[wasteofo2]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

So, lemme clarify this.

I got the bass body all shaped and sanded from Warmoth. The body's very smooth except for a few little rough spots at the edges where it's rounded. Do I need to sand the body, even though it's already very smooth, or should I just sand the edges until they're as smooth as the body?

 

[RiffRaff]

Re: Tips for finishing an unfinished body in Tung Oil Varnish.

the more sanding you do using finer grades as you go will net you out a smoother finish. You may have to apply a sealer (depending on the look your going for) first, sand and then apply the oil. Whether you use a sealer or just apply the oil it will look best when sanded well - no scratches or rough areas.