How to hand finish a guitar with True Oil
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- čas přidán 13. 09. 2024
- This is my process of hand finishing a guitar project.
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Thanks for watching
One of the best videos I have seen. I want to do my guitar this exact same way. i will be watching this again. Just before I start.
Ready to tru-oil my guitar build tomorrow. Just wanted to watch this again before I start. Thank you.
I’ve used your technique several times. I like the results.
I typically will apply 8 coats then sand off most of the finish with the steel wool and or 400 grit and keep building up/sanding off until a completely flat surface then finish with 2-3 coats using the TrueOil spray. Nice video
Yeah that works as well. The thing is that many people have there own way of doing things that are good too.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars That's the beauty of TrueOil, there really isn't a right way for a fabulous finish
What about buffing?
Great video , you took your time and explained everything simply , subscribed 👍
Thanks buddy!
Good video, I put 16 coats on a nutmeg rifle stock and man it nice. Tru oil is great.. I would like to see how it looks using cheaper wood such a Basswood or Ash. Certain grainy woods look
better than others with oil..
I like the masking tape idea. But I have a long roll of double-sided tape. From China, cheap as dirt, and would work perfectly between the masking tape sections.
Thanks for this, very good and clear instructions. I also liked the look just after three coats of TruOil - could the process stop there? Or is there any important benefits of putting more than say 10-14 coats?
Cheers from Stockholm
The more you put, the shiner it’s get. And it will be more durable.
Two, Two back plates covered in oil ah ah ah aaaaaaah!
Tru oil isn’t even oil, it’s a varnish.
@@sloebone7399 it's a mix of oils, varnish and mineral spirits
Tru oil my pick my guitar it easy and quick take you fr your info
Love it..seen 2 of your tutorials..inspires me to strip off a guitar and give it a try..
Thanks for a great video tutorial ! How long do you let the guitar dry before you use compound and wax ?
I’ll give it a good 7 days. Nothing scientific about it, I just wait a week to pass.
Nice work as usual buddy! And solid advice!
Thanks for blowing my eardrums out with the blowing
You're more than welcome!
Don’t shake the Tru oil, it’ll create little bubbles in the finish.
Thank you!
Well done. I’ve found u can also thin TruOil w a bit of Naptha for wash coats at the beginning or at the end to get a smooth final coat.
johnnypk1963 Interesting, I'll give it a try next time!
Manicaro Custom Guitars czcams.com/video/APO1wwm359Q/video.html
That's a beautiful guitar.
Equal parts boiled linseed oil, polyurethane, Naphtha just as good as tru oil and a lot cheaper
Thanks for the tip!
What about buffing it when finished with the coats?
I should have another video doing so, basically I use a small buffing pad on my cordless drill with a cutting paste. I wouldn’t use a big buffer as will dig in the finish very very easily.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars thank you!
If I had an unfinished maple fretboard & neck, would you use tru oil on it with same technique as this video?
Yes absolutely!
Good. Video, thanks!
Hi! Can you use tru oil on water paint or stain? Does it affect the color? Thank you.
I used it on stains many times, as long as you let the paint/stain dry you should be ok
Question: I dont have much time to be applying multiple coats a day, it's usually dark when I leave for work and dark when I come back from work, will it mess up the finished product if I can only apply multiple coats on weekends? Or should I try and strive for one coat a day each evening and ramping up the coats on the weekends?
No, it won’t mess up your finished product. I do that to get the guitar done. If you don’t have a deadline for your project, you can apply your coats over the weekend.
Beware, beware the use of steel wool on a finish like this; if the varnish/ oil is not absolutely cured and hard (not just dry to the touch) at the time of wool-buffing, the varnish will grab microscopic bits of steel wool and embed them in the finish. Automotive grade sandpaper is safer.
Thanks for the tip, i'll keep that in considaration. Never had any issues so far.
I like steel wool for many buffing projects but I have to agree with instrument builders (and gun stock finishers) who raise a sign of the cross at the mention of steel wool near a curing varnish.
Boy I learned that the hard way!
I suppose you are referring to stuff like 3M wet sanding paper. Which grit would you suggest for this specific step Sir?
Hi, after you buffed it with the steel wool you put some liquid on a rag and wiped off the steel particles from the pad.
What was the liquid?
Oh that's just alcohol for cleaning.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars
Can I wipe it with Naphtha?
Can't tell you 100%, I never used it. Try it on a small piece a d go light with it.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars Thank you sir for taking the time to answer my questions. All the best to you
I think you have a beautiful looking guitar. I keep hear builders state that an oil finish will dampen the tone.
I am finishing a Semi-Hollowbody and I don't want the tone to be dampened by the finish. What do you recommend.
Excellent video and process. Thank you for sharing.
Telling you the truth, this the first time I'm hearing that. Every luthier, guitar player believes in his own myths. I don't think that oil finishes dampens tone, may builders uses it a lot. All recent guitar demos on my channel are with truoil finish, just have a look and listen to them.
The pickups make the tone.
@@calebproductions5970
True words tone wood does not exist anywhere except in a advertising executive's head
@@daraboy1973 “tonewood” as a term is marketing bullshit but there is no question that different woods equal different tones with acoustic guitars. I would say that different woods are also a factor with hollow body and semi hollow electrics. The differences may not audible with solid body guitars but I do believe that different woods (any object for that matter) have different resonant frequencies and vibrate different. So I think different woods do impact solid body guitars at some level but it may be imperceptible audibly, especially if you don’t spend a lot of time coaxing feedback and overtones from high powered amps cranked where some of those minor differences could translate to different notes feeding back etc. That’s IMO.
Can you use a heat gun to have it dry in 5 min.
I've heard about this just recently. I'm not sure man, never tried it and personally I wouldn't try it my self. Up to you if you want to experiment with it.
You mentioned that you haven't stained the top yet, did you put oil on the back and sides so that you don't get stain on the sides?
+Ash Finlayson yeah that was the intention and it worked great, basically I sealed off the sides before staining the top
Manicaro Custom Guitars I love the vids! do you use wood filler before True Oil?
I sanded with oil to create a paste, but apparently wasn't enough.
Tru oil is the finish, so do everything you need to do before applying it.
How high of grit did you sand the body to before applying the first coat of tru oil? 400 grit?
Yes P400
Hi MC, have to say wery good job, I know oil finish is not hard and durable but wood sounds beastly, I have two questions:
- wood can be stained before oil?
- how many coats of oil works well?
Thanks a lot man!
Fabian Fredes thanks. Well definately the wood has to be stained before the oil coats or before any lacquer, or else you'll be staining the oil not the wood. Regarding how much coats, depends mostly on what results you want. Regarding a body I put around 11+ coats so I'll have a nice shine. If I want a satin finish, 9 coats or less will be enough.
Thanks for quickly replying, I have to refinish an Ibanez RG321MH, but I want black grain and red stain overall body, but there's not many information about oil finishing, thanks again!
"Tru-oil" is a misleading name for this product. It's not an "oil finish" -- something that soaks into the wood and offers little protection from abrasion and wear -- but rather a wiping varnish -- something that stays on top of the wood and offers a moderate degree of protection. It's not the protective shield that you would get from lacquer or polyurethane, but it's more than you would get from shellac. This is an important distinction for acoustic guitars where an oil finish would result in damping and compromise the tone. Tru-oil works fine on acoustic guitars.
Fabian Fredes
Once the body is stripped you can stain with black making sure to really rub it into the grain. After ample drying time sand it back. This will leave the pigment in the grain, but remove it from in between. Then a thorough cleaning. I use a dust cloth and then a rag dampened with Naptha. Next wipe on your color pigment. After a good drying you can do several coats of Tru Oil. My rule of thumb on coats it to take an old T Shirt and cut it up into application cloths. Once I use them up I’m done. Follow the recommendations in application, sanding, and buffing that he has here in this video.
I am not successful to apply tru oil without little streaks. The streaks are very good visible in sunlight. The streaks comes no matter i apply it with my fingers or whatever else (Kitchen Paper, old T-shirt, etc). Even mixing with mineral spirit did not help. I just wanted to give up an throw the true oil away. Will the streaks disappear after polishing?
Are you doing all the coats at once?
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars no i wait 4hours between each coat
What I'll do is 3 coats 1 along 1 day and the next day I'll scuff it down with 0000 Steelwool to remove imperfections, then apply 3 more coats throughout the day. And repeat
1. i applied a stain-(then released guy at home depot told me wrong then i re-sanded)
2. applied a varathane
3. that's it. it's been drying now for almost 18 hours . i a dry 60-70 degree basement with a dehumidifier. However A. I don't know what to do next because i haven't added an acrylic and b. i haven't gotten it the color i wanted it yet either. It look like a little darker and not even from when or where i started and i would like for it to be a datker cherry or mahogany color. please help :) and when do i add the acrylic, how / and what kind? sorry to bother you.
Varathane is a stain or clear coat?
Manicaro Custom Guitars varathane is a combo of polyurethane and stain. Like a 2 in 1. I would if just gotten stain but I don't know since I already applied the varathane 24 hours ago. My guitar had a cedar look. Now it looks like honey cedar and want it to look cherry /mahogany. Somewhere around there. And my stain iis dark mohagony. Or my varathane. I would love for it to be near the color of guitar in this video.
Derek the guitar in the video is made of mahogany and then I put oil. By acrylic, you mean a clear coat of acrylic right?
Manicaro Custom Guitars yes I'm aware of that. I was just wondering if you used acrylic or lacquer. Another guy on CZcams swears by lacquer... That's all I wanted to know - was when and what I should I apply clear coat. How long after staining?
i'm so sorry . Damn it. I keep writing Acrylic when i mean Lacquer. I was wondering how long after a Varathane job do i wait to spray on lacquer ? sorry. In my first post, i meant when i put on my oil, after wiping it down 90% lighter than what i would like. I didn't mean to sound like a smart ass. I just meant i liked the color of the guitar.
I thought for a second he was going to run to the store to get the super glue.
Hi man... How much time did you wait to sand it? How much coats of true oil did you apply? How much time the true oil spent to be dry? I have a Mahogany project to finish and like your's so much! Thank's... Sorry about the many questions... But i'm Just a begginer!
You can start applying coats as soon as you finish the sanding. I usually apply 11-14 coats for a glossy finish. I leave a minimum of 3 hours between coats.
Manicaro Custom Guitars Thank's! Aswome job! Just perfect!
Just a final question .. Did you sanding between the coats? Or Just after the final coat to polish?
Maico Botega I just go through with some 0000 steelwool between coats. What I suggest you to do if you're not in a hurry, do a coat in the morning and one in the evening and rub it out with steelwool in between
Thank's for help me! And thank's for the patience as weel!
I have a Tacoma acoustic guitar that I don't think was finished with lacquer, I want to refinish it with tru oil, will that work, and what sand paper grit do I have to use?
What makes you think it’s not lacquer?
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars The finish doesn't have a gloss like in lacquers, looks like all natural.
@@SalvvOrtiz Could be French Polish, you can rub some alcohol somwhere on the guitar and see if its gets gummy. If so its french polish, becouse alcohol melts french polish, and if its so, be aware that it will kind of ruin the finish on that spot.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars Thanks man I'll do that!
How much of the tru oil will you need to completely finish the guitar body? I'm looking at buying the 90ml bottle and I'm wondering if I'll need more than one bottle
For just a guitar body one 90ml bottle should be enough.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars Great! thanks a bunch
Why do you put like 10 coat of true oil ? 3 is not enough ?
If I want a nice gloss finish, no 3 is not enough! Sometimes I go even with 12/14 coats.
One question, I did oil finish on my guitar just like you did on this one, so my question is, is there any way to do a paint job on it since the oil penetrates deep into the wood, so I'm not sure if paint will stick.. Is there any way??
The oil penetrates until a certain quantity, then there will be top coats to get that high gloss shine. I don't suggest doing a paint job on top of polished Tre-oil finish, you better sand down to the wood and do your paint job.
Tru oil isn’t really oil, it’s varnish. I wouldn’t try to paint over it. I don’t think it would work out well.
Whenever I go over tru oil with steel wool, it just leaves scratches that are very hard to cover...it's kind of frustrating.
Are you using 0000 steel wool?
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars yes! I guess the oil is not dry enough, and it gets scratched. But I see lots of people doing the same between coats and leave no scratch. Even 2000 grit sand paper just makes a mess....
I usually leave 3-4 hours between coats and usually it's dry enough for the steel wool. If you leave small scratches, remember you're going to put another coat of oil. Or else you can put 3 coats leave it over night to dry and then hit it with steel wool before you start putting more coats.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars Thanks ! Maybe the steel wool isn't good quality too. I will certainly try again.
Can I do a paint job on my guitar and then finish it with tru oil?
@@getheroutofthetruck thanks
Yes you can, I did the same on the black Ceruse one.
What are you applying it with?
Just a piece of cloth, a worn out t-shirt.
I love baked potatoes. Can I have butter on mine?
John Steed yeah sure, you want to pick it up or delivered?
Doesn't oil stain the clothes the player is wearing?
Nope.
Sorry please and thank if you could help
God damn that cold flu!!
LMAO
As i commented to the other guy...they have good coke over there...jees cut this guy some slack...also notice the long pinky nails...there for bumping
Warning....true oil makes you sniff a lot.
😪😪😪
STOP SNIFFING!
😪😪😪
Way too much open grain, you need to fill those pores.
I know
And ps if anybody wants to give him crap or me...first off i could be wrong...but who cares...btw malta is a great place to score in europe...jus sayin....theres no shame in drug use hey he makes nice guitars and like to get high who cares
You're wrong big time buddy!