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Anyone using tru oil as a finish on their acoustics ? I have an Indian rosewood back and sides acoustic almost finished so decided to use a tru oil finish--birchwood casey tru oil-- and I'm having a problem. I used Bolgers Sanding sealer after a careful sanding with all the different grits and then a day later I applied the tru oil and allowed it to soak in before removing the excess with a spatula.

I allowed 8 hours drying time and decided to rub down again with sandpaper to apply another coat, but it just came off in a gooey mess and does not appear to have cured properly. I'm wondering if its because i did not allow enough drying time or has the oil gone off as its about a year old or maybe more
Any advise appreciated
Rusty

Hi Rusty.
I really like using Tru-Oil and I am just guessing when I offer you that I "think" your problem could be the sanding sealer is "blocking" the oil from soaking in and drying... Or it could be the old oil... I am going to wait with you to hear from the guys here who will not be guessing when they answer... Buying an acoustic guitar kit... Money. Buying tools and clamps... More money. Advice here from genuine good people... PRICELESS!

Sincerely,
Rich

if the product is old always do a test sample.
This should be dry in 24 to 48 hr.
lets face it , for all the time invested use fresh or at least something you know for sure is viable.

clean it off and start over.

Part of your problem may be that you're putting it on WAY too thick. You're finishing an acoustic guitar, not a gunstock or a solid-body electric. What you want to do is put on the thinnest possible layer, and then another thin layer, and so on. Here's a link to proper finishing techniques:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6zmitx ... e=youtu.be

It seems that LMI is no longer offering Tru Oil as a finish, and they've removed their instructional write-up from the site. However, I've still got it on my computer as a .doc form. Is there a "files" section on this site where I can upload it for general reference?

Thanks JLT

I will have a look at You tube. I finally got it all nice and smooth again and ready to start from scratch
I'm nervous about it this time lol
Dont want to end up doing all of that work again I guess

So, from what people are saying here--very very light coats and wipe off as much as possible every time ?

Zen wrote: So, from what people are saying here--very very light coats and wipe off as much as possible every time ?

Exactly!

the key to any good finish is light coats and it isn't what you put on, it is what stays on.
In most cases the finish work will be at least if not longer than the build time. I spend 20 hrs on finishing

I sent this thread to BC and received the following reply.


Dear Tom,
Thank you for your inquiry.
I apologize for the delayed response.
This is a busy time of year for us. When I have some downtime, I will take some time and check out the forum in depth.

In the meantime, here are a few answers that you can pass on.
Tru-Oil doesn’t have a shelf life. It can last for 30+ years. Even if it has dried out to solid form, it can be thinned out with mineral spirits.
Adding mineral spirits wont hinder its performance. Anytime it gets thick, you can thin it with mineral spirits.
When opening a new bottle, don’t tear off all the foil. Just poke a small hole into the foil, just enough to pour it out into another container.
When storing the bottle, store it upside down. Tru-Oil will always skim over, but if stored upside down when you go to use it, flip it over and the liquid will be on the top.

Secondly –
The dry time can often vary from piece to piece. It can depend on the type of wood you are working on.
Certain types of wood are extremely oily by nature. Such as - Ebony, Rosewood, Cocobolo.
In fact they are so oily that the drying process proves to be extremely difficult. The Tru-Oil has a hard time penetrating through the natural oils and drying can prove to be very difficult if not impossible. (You can try thinning out the Tru-Oil out with mineral spirits, but that will also increase the dry time.)
Under normal circumstances – low humidity, thin coats, and dry wood Tru-Oil will be dry to the touch in 2-4 hours, but we recommend 12+ hours between coats.
If the wood is oily we recommend that you try to dry the wood out before using the Tru-Oil.
You can try washing it with warm soapy water, followed by numerous alcohol washes.
I have spoken to several consumers about this issue, and the feedback is that you have to be very patient, allow a lot of time and experiment with different things.

One consumer told us that he did find a way to get the Tru-Oil to dry. (Working on Cocobolo)
He washed the stock, followed by a couple of alcohol washes, then he used “ Bulls Eye Shellac thinned out to 100-200%.
He applied the shellac with a paint air brush. After the shellac dried, he was able to get the Tru-Oil to adhere and dry.

Finally, Tru-Oil is no longer offered by LMI due to the CARB regulations. CARB- California Air Resource Board.
Birchwood Casey is no longer able to sell, or ship any of our petroleum based products to the state of California. It has been a great loss for many of our consumers as well as for us as a business..

I hope that helps.
Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thank you,
~ Sandy

Sandy Ellertson
Customer Service

Birchwood Casey
http://birchwoodcasey.com

GREAT POST!!! Thanks again.

tommyboy wrote:
Finally, Tru-Oil is no longer offered by LMI due to the CARB regulations. CARB- California Air Resource Board.
Birchwood Casey is no longer able to sell, or ship any of our petroleum based products to the state of California. It has been a great loss for many of our consumers as well as for us as a business..

Well, at least it's still available, and LMI didn't drop it because it didn't work.

Woodcraft Supply in Sacramento still carries it, but my guess is that they, too, will discontinue it when present stocks run out. I only hope that I can score some on my yearly trips to Arizona or Oregon. If not, maybe I can make a detour towards Nevada. I do like Tru-oil on necks.