Tru-oil

[Dave Bamber]

Just a quick question - tru-oil is heralded by a lot of luthiers as 'the only oil finish they would use on a guitar'.

From what I can gather it's American and originally used for high gloss oil finish on gunstocks.

I've had a look around what UK suppliers I can easily fin- well okay - what UK suppliers google can easily find, and can't seem to see anywhere that stocks it this side of the pond.

I'm not really set up/interested in being set up for spraying nitro or poly, so French Polishing is my fallback option for a high gloss rubbed finish, but Tru-oil is something I'd really like to try before I get involved with meneucas, pumice and the like...

Just wondering if anyone here knew anywhere this side of the pond that stocked it?

If I had to order it from the states it rather loses it's economy unless I commit to a huge amount without even trying it.

 

[MIGNAL]

Firstly Tru-oil is what some luthiers use for a quick and easy finish. That it is but you will need to put on some 15 coats or more to build sufficient finish to be able to polish and buff it to a good deep gloss. How much different Tru oil is to the widely available Danish oil I'm not sure. I'm fairly confident that it is Linseed and Tung oil in combination, highly polymerised with an added drier.

As oil finishes go it dries fast but 15 coats will still take 2 weeks or so to apply and a further 4 or 5 weeks to fully harden before you polish it. That includes placing the article near to a window (but out of direct sunlight) to maximise UV drying.

It is available in the UK but it is expensive. Ebay UK is where I bought my bottle from, A1 tackleshop sell the larger quantity. Other sellers on Ebay stock the smaller bottles. Just search for Tru oil on Ebay UK.

 

[Dave Bamber]

Thanks Mignal, don't know why I didn't think of the 'bay.

So if it's polymerised Tung and Linseed oils with drying agent like Danish oil, what's the advantage in your experience over simply using Danish oil?

Wonderful lute rose there on your avatar, by the way. Did you carve it yourself?

 

[MIGNAL]

On the bottle it states that it contains 'Linseed and other natural oils'. The 'natural oils' bit could be any number of drying oils such as Tung or Walnut and even Hemp :shock: oil :wink:
It doesn't state that it contains a drier but my bet is that it almost certainly does.
Danish Oil is a pretty general term for a number of finishes that contain Linseed, Tung or other oils. Some Danish oils contain a small proportion of resin which makes them more like old style Oil Varnishes. Different manufacturers stick in different things but they all seem to call it Danish oil.

An Oil Varnish is not quite the same thing as an Oil finish, Oil varnishes contain some type of resin that makes the finished film a bit tougher and glossier.
That's where Tru -oil comes in. Most people seem to think that Tru -oil acts or ends up looking like an old style oil varnish rather than an oil finish. You can certainly get it to a good gloss because I've done it. Not quite as deep as a French Polished finish but it will bring out the grain a little better than French Polish. No idea if one of the Danish oils will give the same or a similar effect, astonishingly I've never tried any. It will need to be capable of producing a decent gloss. The trick is to apply many extremely thin coats - wipe on, wipe off technique.

 

[haydonc]

David Dyke Luthiers Supplies in East Sussex sell Tru Oil. I have just bought some to finish a classical guitar.