Hello, this is the third time I have watched this video while working on my own Project, thank you for sharing your Knowledge 👍👍👍. Melbourne, Australia.
Perfect. I just finished a new body with tru oil, and through many coats and lots of 0000 steel wool, it is even, level and matte. Now I know how to buff it, two weeks from now lol Thanks for the concise and efficient demonstration.
THIS IS THE BEST TRUE OIL VIDEO I'VE SEEN. I BUILD GUITARS TOO AND USE TRUE OIL A LOT. MANY PEOPLE USE TRUE OIL BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE EASIER METHODS OF FINISHING BUT THERE IS A LEARNING CURVE THAT I SEE PEOPLE MISS. I SEE A LOT OF BUILDERS SKIP THIS PART AND IN MY OPINION IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT. THE SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER PREVENTS BURN THROUGH. GREAT VIDEOS MAN.
+eddie julian Thanks! Yep you're right and it's really easy and don't need expensive finishing materials and equipment. And yes the water helps alot, a friend of mine learned that the hard way.
I use a moist buffing pad when i cut and buff always. Really introducing water makes sanding more aggressive (buffing is sanding) however i think it helps keep the surface cool also. Man if he would have grain filled that body it would've looked like glass.
Very helpful! I'm just finishing a bass that will get this treatment, I needed some of this knowledge for sure. Off to get one of those buffing pads and some wax. :)
I use Tru oil over a shellac finish. It gives durability to the beautiful shellac finish, and is almost acoustically neutral. It’s best to take everything outside the shop when buffing out with steel wool. The fibers will be attracted to your pickups. As for wax, please don’t you use it. It’s great for cars that are left out in the weather, but bad for guitars that sit in cases, most of their lives. Wax will soften the finish.
Great tip, thanks. Whenever I use steel wool, usually I put a piece of masking tape on the pickups to prevent that. As far for the wax, I wasn’t aware of that, thanks.
I’ve used Tru-Oil many times. I treat it much like I would a regular sprayed lacquer or waterborne finish. Apply many coats light sanding every couple. Also thinning the TO w naphtha works great on the final coats. Dry sand w 800-1000 grit and buff it out on my buffing machine.
I would use a high grade water sandpaper 2500 to do the sanding process. Steel wool has bits that can get stuck even in the finish and create rust spots. Never use water with steel wool (comment below). You can get a brass wool instead. Just a thought. There us also a specific polish used with Tru oil that is used on guns. It is designed to work with the oil as it has the same solvent in it. Using pure carnauba wax is the best however, which I think Turtle wax is? If you do not have the matching wax for the oil. . Thank you for the final polis tips !!
Manicaro Custom Guitars your work is very nice! I am looking up your other videos too. One reason sanding with the oil is that it also can fill some of the pours in the wood. It helps to create an even surface with a natural fill. It is always a great thing to trade tips on what we have learned and share with grace like you do so well! Well done buddy! I will be using this oil on some harps and flutes that I make. Cheers from Canada.
After finishing the body with True Oil, now its time to buff the finish down. Watch me while I'll show you my process of buffing down this guitar body.
You don't want to use automobile waxes or cutting compounds on guitar finishes unless you are sure that they don't contain silicon. If silicon contacts any bare wood you'll likely have problems with finish adhesion should the instrument ever need refinishing.
this is what i was about to say, stick to non silicone containing stuff otherwise the stuff contaminates everything and finishing in the same area becomes a nightmare due to adhesion issues
The finish with only the Tru Oil looked better to me than after doing all that he did. Why not just wax the true oil? I've watched several YT videos where a gunstock was finished with Tru Oil, and they came out beautiful without doing anything else to them.
Exactly what I was thinking too. All these videos they buff and sand and it doesn't look any different than when they first applied the tru oil. I've noticed it with my own projects too. All I do is apply a couple coats of tru oil and sand it a little bit to make it extra smooth and do a couple more.
Technically no, it's made out off linseed oil and some other stuff. It dries faster then linseed oil but it doesn't penetrate in the wood as much as linseed oil.
the only thing i don't understand about most of these oil finishing videos is using the wax as the final component.. even if I clay bar and wax and seal the fck out of my car (which i have been obsessively known to do) .. the wax is a very temporary layer of shine & smoothness. .. I know maybe one other guitar player that gives his gtrs a full Brazilian wax ;) every few years & doing a polish with swirl remover and fret job etc and he doesn't even build. I have a tru oil gtr I did about 10 yrs ago that got a lot of praise from local luthiers right after i finished it when I took it in for some wiring mayhem on my part that still looks cool but DEFINITELY has not held up as well as some of my store bought guitars... What is the proper upkeep ritual to hold on to that beautiful finish?
True oil is not hard as a lacquer finish, by time the finish needs maintenance. What I would do is to scuff the finish with some 0000 steel wool and applie couple of coats of oil, "to restore the finish"
Manicaro Custom Guitars It's really so beautifull! I have a corrent project, by the way, very near to your's but doesn't have the maple top... Just one peace of brasilian mahogany no joint's... And you gave's me a great Idea to finish It! Thank's man!
Well, I ran into a glitch with my project. I did the prep work, got it all dulled down and smooth, but it refused to shine back up again! Maybe the drill was not fast enough to polish it back up, I am not sure, but I had to take the layer off, and just redo the oil on it. I am wondering what may have gone wrong? It just stayed dull in finish. Sigh. Oh well. I think I will just have to polish the project by hand in wax without the steel wool etc.
with the wax...I think I will have to try a different rubbing compound. I don't have what you used, so will see if another brand will work. I used a gentle one for removing swirls. Maybe I needed something stronger. Not sure! Will try McGuires...that is often suggested. I have also a pure Carnuba wax by California Gold by Mothers. Anyway, I have many layers of tru oil on it now...looks nice, but would have liked to have finished it off. I guess I can always start over if it does not work.LOL Thanks!
Try a medium cut 3m compund (its grey). Otherwise i dont think truoil would get to hard to buff. I gotta old headlight polishing kit i may try on my project. Its by mequires.
if you wipe off the excess oil before leaving the body to dry thoroughly you won't need to buff with polishing compound. You can go straight on with softened wax.
The buffing was the first half of the video, the wax was just to finish with a good shine. Well if it's not helpful for you, I invite you to check something else.
Its bad.... I'm sorry.. u can see wood grain... unless that a style. Should be royale finish!! Wood should be sand down more with like 600 or better 800. Then apply minimum of 8 coats of tru oil, light sanding with steel wool every single coat. THEN u can do all this!! Polishing and buffing....What u did, did absolutely nothing besides smoothing the surface.
Of coarse I've polished the surface, that's the aim of the video. What you explained is a application of True-oil oil which in my opinion is completely different from polishing True-oil oil. I do have an other video on how to apply True-oil, if you care to watch it buddy
Has less to do with sanding that high and more to do with grain filling prior to putting on the oil. Grain fill and sanding gets the surface flat for finishing, not multiple coats of oil.
I'm
in the process of finishing a mahogany Tele body and a highly figured maple neck your tutorial was exactly what I needed thank you
Very helpful! Thank you Mr. Dracula
LOL
Thanks for this. I'm nearly ready to finish my first guitar build and this video is just what I needed.
Hello, this is the third time I have watched this video while working on my own Project, thank you for sharing your Knowledge 👍👍👍.
Melbourne, Australia.
Cheers buddy!
Perfect. I just finished a new body with tru oil, and through many coats and lots of 0000 steel wool, it is even, level and matte. Now I know how to buff it, two weeks from now lol
Thanks for the concise and efficient demonstration.
THIS IS THE BEST TRUE OIL VIDEO I'VE SEEN. I BUILD GUITARS TOO AND USE TRUE OIL A LOT. MANY PEOPLE USE TRUE OIL BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE EASIER METHODS OF FINISHING BUT THERE IS A LEARNING CURVE THAT I SEE PEOPLE MISS. I SEE A LOT OF BUILDERS SKIP THIS PART AND IN MY OPINION IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT. THE SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER PREVENTS BURN THROUGH. GREAT VIDEOS MAN.
+eddie julian Thanks! Yep you're right and it's really easy and don't need expensive finishing materials and equipment. And yes the water helps alot, a friend of mine learned that the hard way.
I agree with eddie!
Mate, why are you shouting? We hear you.
Inside voices.
Just kidding.
I use a moist buffing pad when i cut and buff always. Really introducing water makes sanding more aggressive (buffing is sanding) however i think it helps keep the surface cool also. Man if he would have grain filled that body it would've looked like glass.
LOUD NOISES!
Thanks for sharing this process. I will use these steps.
I just tru oiled a guitar I built, and I may need to follow your process here for one more step closer to NICE ! Thank you, looks awesome.
Thank you so much for the video. No one had showed me how to Polish tru oil.
MAN THAT CAME OUT BEAUTIFUL.
Very Nice!!
Thank you. That is exactly how I want to finish my Mahogany Firebird build.
You’re welcome.
Very helpful! I'm just finishing a bass that will get this treatment, I needed some of this knowledge for sure. Off to get one of those buffing pads and some wax. :)
Awesome video and fantastic results. Thank you.
Nice job I love that colour looks really natural.
Thank you for the video that was very helpful I'm going to do that with my Gunstock
Thank you so much. Excellent display!
I use Tru oil over a shellac finish. It gives durability to the beautiful shellac finish, and is almost acoustically neutral. It’s best to take everything outside the shop when buffing out with steel wool. The fibers will be attracted to your pickups. As for wax, please don’t you use it. It’s great for cars that are left out in the weather, but bad for guitars that sit in cases, most of their lives. Wax will soften the finish.
Great tip, thanks. Whenever I use steel wool, usually I put a piece of masking tape on the pickups to prevent that. As far for the wax, I wasn’t aware of that, thanks.
Thanks for the info. I will use your instruction on my birdeye maple guitar body top
I've seen lots of true oil finish videos but this is the best.
I’ve used Tru-Oil many times. I treat it much like I would a regular sprayed lacquer or waterborne finish. Apply many coats light sanding every couple. Also thinning the TO w naphtha works great on the final coats. Dry sand w 800-1000 grit and buff it out on my buffing machine.
I would use a high grade water sandpaper 2500 to do the sanding process. Steel wool has bits that can get stuck even in the finish and create rust spots. Never use water with steel wool (comment below). You can get a brass wool instead. Just a thought. There us also a specific polish used with Tru oil that is used on guns. It is designed to work with the oil as it has the same solvent in it. Using pure carnauba wax is the best however, which I think Turtle wax is? If you do not have the matching wax for the oil. . Thank you for the final polis tips !!
Thanks for your advice, I'll look into that!
Manicaro Custom Guitars your work is very nice! I am looking up your other videos too. One reason sanding with the oil is that it also can fill some of the pours in the wood. It helps to create an even surface with a natural fill. It is always a great thing to trade tips on what we have learned and share with grace like you do so well! Well done buddy! I will be using this oil on some harps and flutes that I make. Cheers from Canada.
Excellent Video, thank you very much.
Melbourne, Australia.
Will it be okay with basswood body? By the way it’s looks great nice work !!
After finishing the body with True Oil, now its time to buff the finish down. Watch me while I'll show you my process of buffing down this guitar body.
Learned the hard way this morning that you can't use Meguiar's Scratch-X in lieu of rubbing compound. Totally dulled it and left rub marks.
Try and buff it out with some polish. Oil finish is not that strong compared to a lacquer finish.
Thanks from Italy!!!
Ciao Italy!
Very nice! Thanks for sharing!
You don't want to use automobile waxes or cutting compounds on guitar finishes unless you are sure that they don't contain silicon. If silicon contacts any bare wood you'll likely have problems with finish adhesion should the instrument ever need refinishing.
Who da hell tod you that? nonsense
@@Brankas carnauba is the only wax to use on a guitar
this is what i was about to say, stick to non silicone containing stuff otherwise the stuff contaminates everything and finishing in the same area becomes a nightmare due to adhesion issues
Beautiful!!
Noob question. What does the rubbing compound do?
If the grain is not completely filled level,rubbing compound and wax will leave white in grain after it dryes,and you can't get it out
I know buddy
What's the easiest way to fill the grain?
Looks nice!👍😎🎸🎶
Sooo smooth! :)
The finish with only the Tru Oil looked better to me than after doing all that he did. Why not just wax the true oil? I've watched several YT videos where a gunstock was finished with Tru Oil, and they came out beautiful without doing anything else to them.
Exactly what I was thinking too. All these videos they buff and sand and it doesn't look any different than when they first applied the tru oil. I've noticed it with my own projects too. All I do is apply a couple coats of tru oil and sand it a little bit to make it extra smooth and do a couple more.
I usually use 3m Finesse It to polish a Tru Oil finish.
+Carlos Matos for me steelwool is much more available, that's all.
That's cool man,there's more than one way to skin a cat :)
How many coats of tru oil did you apply before allowing it dry and cure?
Thank you enjoyed your video very much!
3 coats each day for a total of 12/14 coats. Give it a couple of days to fully cure.
On car finishes an orbital sander/polisher is highly preferable in order to prevent swirl marks. Is this not an issue with Tru Oil and wood?
Tru oil is not hard as car finishes, if you go crazy with a car buffer and buffing compound you'll surely dig through the oil. I learned the hard way.
I appreciate count dracula showing us this tutorial good to see the nicer side of the count he always gets such a bad rap
Am I the count Dracula?
Thanks! Would it work on a body finished with shellac instead if true oil?
Hi Roberto, to tell you the truth I never worked with shellac. You can always try on a piece of scrap.
Hello, i did not find 0000 Steelwool will 000 do the job , will the scratches go away after polishing?
Yes
can you nitro clear coat over true oil?
To tell you the truth my friend, I don't know. I don't use nitro, but if I was you I wouldn't risk it. Or ask in some other forums.
What about the front?
Same as the back, I didn't want to annoy people doing the same thing on the front.
I SUBSCRIBED
Looked better before, I would have just polish it like that
FLETCHER HAS A GREAT HAND FINISH VIDEO AS WELL THAT YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT.
+eddie julian I know about it, I roughly looked into it already.
I hope now that a year has passed, you no longer scream every response.
Is tru oil same as linseed oil?
Technically no, it's made out off linseed oil and some other stuff. It dries faster then linseed oil but it doesn't penetrate in the wood as much as linseed oil.
Is there a need for some kind of clear coat for protection after you do this. Poly or something?? Thanks for this vid!
Triple S the Tru-oil is the clear coat finish
I see the guitar smiling in the body cavity lol
Is that oil finished resistant from water or sweat?
Yes it should be. It seals the wood as long as you put enough coats and let it cure properly.
the only thing i don't understand about most of these oil finishing videos is using the wax as the final component.. even if I clay bar and wax and seal the fck out of my car (which i have been obsessively known to do) .. the wax is a very temporary layer of shine & smoothness. .. I know maybe one other guitar player that gives his gtrs a full Brazilian wax ;) every few years & doing a polish with swirl remover and fret job etc and he doesn't even build. I have a tru oil gtr I did about 10 yrs ago that got a lot of praise from local luthiers right after i finished it when I took it in for some wiring mayhem on my part that still looks cool but DEFINITELY has not held up as well as some of my store bought guitars... What is the proper upkeep ritual to hold on to that beautiful finish?
True oil is not hard as a lacquer finish, by time the finish needs maintenance. What I would do is to scuff the finish with some 0000 steel wool and applie couple of coats of oil, "to restore the finish"
How many coats?
Around 11 ish.....
Is It a Mahogany body?
Maico Botega yes Mahogany
Manicaro Custom Guitars It's really so beautifull! I have a corrent project, by the way, very near to your's but doesn't have the maple top... Just one peace of brasilian mahogany no joint's... And you gave's me a great Idea to finish It! Thank's man!
Well, I ran into a glitch with my project. I did the prep work, got it all dulled down and smooth, but it refused to shine back up again! Maybe the drill was not fast enough to polish it back up, I am not sure, but I had to take the layer off, and just redo the oil on it. I am wondering what may have gone wrong? It just stayed dull in finish. Sigh. Oh well. I think I will just have to polish the project by hand in wax without the steel wool etc.
+Vicki k Gibson dud you use the drill on the rubbing compound or the wax?
with the wax...I think I will have to try a different rubbing compound. I don't have what you used, so will see if another brand will work. I used a gentle one for removing swirls. Maybe I needed something stronger. Not sure! Will try McGuires...that is often suggested. I have also a pure Carnuba wax by California Gold by Mothers. Anyway, I have many layers of tru oil on it now...looks nice, but would have liked to have finished it off. I guess I can always start over if it does not work.LOL Thanks!
Try a medium cut 3m compund (its grey). Otherwise i dont think truoil would get to hard to buff. I gotta old headlight polishing kit i may try on my project. Its by mequires.
if you wipe off the excess oil before leaving the body to dry thoroughly you won't need to buff with polishing compound. You can go straight on with softened wax.
Never use a buffing wheel on Truoil. You'll burn right through it.
Best to buff tru oil with tru oil wax, by hand
10 minute video. 8 1/2 minutes of rubbing...
I have to show you not lecture you lol
You should spell Tru-oil correctly. This is not a tutorial regarding true, oil finishes.
My apologies, Grammarly wasn't installed at the time! lol
Nooooo not Turdle wax!!!
Yeeeees its Turdle wax!!!
Not helpful at all. You should be buffing the cured True Oil itself, not just the car wax you piled on top. Grain not properly... start again I reckon
The buffing was the first half of the video, the wax was just to finish with a good shine. Well if it's not helpful for you, I invite you to check something else.
@@ManicaroCustomGuitars then I misunderstood the title, I thought you would show buffing the oil here
It's a Tru oil finish that's already cured, it's just the final process to get a shiny surface.
Its bad.... I'm sorry.. u can see wood grain... unless that a style. Should be royale finish!! Wood should be sand down more with like 600 or better 800. Then apply minimum of 8 coats of tru oil, light sanding with steel wool every single coat. THEN u can do all this!! Polishing and buffing....What u did, did absolutely nothing besides smoothing the surface.
Of coarse I've polished the surface, that's the aim of the video. What you explained is a application of True-oil oil which in my opinion is completely different from polishing True-oil oil. I do have an other video on how to apply True-oil, if you care to watch it buddy
Has less to do with sanding that high and more to do with grain filling prior to putting on the oil. Grain fill and sanding gets the surface flat for finishing, not multiple coats of oil.
What about the front?
Hi, the front wasn't finished at the time of filming, it wasn't even stained at that time.