Finishing with Tru Oil

[Zen]

I decided to give my parlor just one more coat of tru oil on the back and sides as a final coat just to brighten things up so i sanded lightly and applied as normal. However, this time the tru oil did not dry as it usually would and i find myself with an ugly mess that needs to scraped off and sanded again. The birchwood casey tru oil was purchased a few months ago but should be ok so i'm not blaming that just yet. I put the coat of oil on lightly using my fingers to spread it as i read somewhere that it can be done that way.But, i'm disappointed with the result. This was about the 10th coat on the back and i sanded lightly in between 2-3 coats.
Just wondering firstly is this a common problem and secondly would I be better to spray a coat of Clear gloss on top of tru oil to give it a shiny finish instead, or does gloss from an aerosol can stick to tru oil finish ? The only one I have to hand is called Rust-oleum Crystal clear Gloss and its recommended for wood.

[B. Howard]

If you currently have a sticky mess you must first deal with that and get a clean base for whatever you do next. How well will the rustoleum stick to the true oil? The only way to answer that is to try it. It may be fine, it may peel as time goes by. Once you start working outside of a manufactures system of finishes you are in uncharted waters.......

You may have put the last coat of oil on to thick. Drying oil finishes will require successively thinner coats as the finish builds. A simple test you can do on most any "natural“ finish like oil or shellac is to put a very thin smear on a piece of paper and if it is not dry in 15-20 minutes it should not be used as it has gone bad.

Sorry you are having problems, but I must say I hear these things so often with true oil.

[Ben-Had]

I have found that Tru-oil thickens as it gets older (air exposure) and does what you describe. It would eventually dry but take s a lot longer and the finish is not smooth like fresh coats are and have to be leveled. I have had success thinning it with mineral spirits to get it back to a thin consistency. But when it gets like that it's best to toss it and start with new TO.

[Zen]

Thanks guys, I managed to get back to a nice smooth finish by removing the tacky mess and sanding carefully.
This time i tried a few coffee filters as a wipe on and sure enough it went on nice and smooth by using a very light coat
I'm just waiting now to see that it dries but it looks better already so fingers crossed.
Cheers
Rusty

[Ben-Had]

Thanks guys, I managed to get back to a nice smooth finish by removing the tacky mess and sanding carefully.
This time i tried a few coffee filters as a wipe on and sure enough it went on nice and smooth by using a very light coat
I'm just waiting now to see that it dries but it looks better already so fingers crossed.
Cheers
Rusty

That's good. I use a cotton t-shirt cut up for the first build coats and the final coats I use a coffee filter like you did.

[Zen]

If you currently have a sticky mess you must first deal with that and get a clean base for whatever you do next. How well will the rustoleum stick to the true oil? The only way to answer that is to try it. It may be fine, it may peel as time goes by. Once you start working outside of a manufactures system of finishes you are in uncharted waters.......

You may have put the last coat of oil on to thick. Drying oil finishes will require successively thinner coats as the finish builds. A simple test you can do on most any "natural“ finish like oil or shellac is to put a very thin smear on a piece of paper and if it is not dry in 15-20 minutes it should not be used as it has gone bad.

Sorry you are having problems, but I must say I hear these things so often with true oil.

Brian, Can anything else be used over tru oil to give a glossy finish such as lacquer or maybe renaissance wax ? I have several coats of the oil applied now and while it looks nice enough I still cant see it shine in the way I had anticipated. Or is there anything I can do to shine it up a bit without damaging the finish I have achieved with it. Its a rosewood back and sides on a parlor acoustic.

Thanks
Rusty