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Can Tru Oil be polished?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted old_dood
  • Start date Start date

Deleted old_dood

have applied about 20 coats of thinned truoil to a laminated stock. It's quite shiny, which is the finish I was hoping for. I was thinking about some polishing compound after it cures a while. Anyone with experience doing this? I was mainly concerned how long to wait.
 
I have done the thinned Tru-oil on laminate also. Give the stock at least a week to dry thoroughly if in a high humidity area
two weeks wouldn't hurt. I've used Brownells 5F compound with good success. VERY high shine and excellent leveling of finish. Use a very small dab of the compound at 1st until you have a good idea of how much you are cutting through the very thin coats of the thinned finish. I've found a swirling action and flannel or cotton T-shirt work best........ Good luck!!
 
Yep, I use it a lot and you can polish it with anything from rubbing compound, if you want it to look softer or flatter to simichrome if you want it like glass. As others have suggested, let it dry good for a week. Brownell's sells a thick, kind of hard felt pad that is like 2" X 4", you can get down in some corners {like along a shadow line cheek piece} with that thing. They don't last forever, but they are cheap enough.
 
I use tripoli and then white diamond (if not on really dark stocks), then Ren-wax
 
This is what I have used with excellent results. Didn't know about it until a few years ago. I've used it on various wood items including stocks. Tru-Oil I used many years ago and it seemed (as I recall) took forever to dry. (weeks). However at that time I lived in a humid area. If I were sure it was dry I would not hesitate to use this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012S1XBO/?tag=accuratescom-20
 
Lesloan said:
Is there any difference between Renaissance wax and Johnson's paste wax? I have a big can of Johnson's but no Renaissance or I'd compare the ingredients lists.
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Yes. Different composition. About the only thing I use paste wax on are tools, cast iron, etc.

Here's some info-- https://www.shellac.net/RenWax.html

Not quite as hard as carnuba, but buffs out easier and doesn't show fingerprints. I use it on 99% of my woodworking projects.
 
M-61 said:
.......Tru-Oil I used many years ago and it seemed (as I recall) took forever to dry. (weeks). However at that time I lived in a humid area........
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I have had issues with Tru-Oil drying slow as well...I called Birchwood Casey and asked about it and the guy said that if you have it a while and remove the foil top the "japan drier" leaves it. He said that I could get some and add it back and it should work fine. I tried it and it worked. Japan drier is cheap and most paint stores or even hardware stores carry it. The other thing he suggested is to not remove the foil seal in its entirety but rather to poke only as big a hole in it as needed to get out the amount of Tru-Oil that you need.
 
Not to put a hairball in your punch bowl. I have used True oil for many years. some will agree and some will disagree with what I am getting ready to say. I apply Trues oil and let it dry for several days, then remove it with 0000 steel wool. clean it up with tacky cloth. Then reapply the trues oil and let it dry again for several days. I repeat the process for 8-10 times. This allows the trues oil to fill the natural pores of the wool and it to harden up. after about 6 times the voids in the wood are filled and the finish is mating finish to finish. The final product will look like your seeing the wood through glass. Some folks like a satin finish and a light rub down with the steel wool will achieve that finish. my suggestion is don't plan on being in a hurry for the best quality finish. nothing beats a hand rubbed oil finish. Another great thing is your can steel wool a True Oil finish twenty years from now, an with 1 or 2 new coats completely restore the finish.
 
Agree 100% with rustystud. Most guys are used to a finish that drys in hours not days. Takes we weeks to get a stock finished. Only takes a few minutes to put a coat one but several days drying time is needed in my opinion. Lots of good advice on guitar making forums about tru oil
 
thanks for all the great advise. I'm going to wait two weeks and do the Ren Wax.
 
centershot said:
Did not know about the Japan drier. I assume all of this buffing is done by hand?
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From the FWIW Dept. ......... Permalyn from laurel Mt. forge sold by Brownell's is a polyurethane that contains driers. Used @ 50/50 with mineral spirits I can either apply with cloth or Air brush and only 30 min. drying time between coats below 70* F. If you're wiping this finish on you must work FAST as the finish will "gel" quite quickly just like tru-oil only less "open" time. ....... Personally I'm tempted to try one of the new automotive clears but costs are staggering for these products that only seem to be available in gallons. ..................... Can anyone provide info for "pot life" & drying times for the automotive clears and can they be applied with Air Brush?? ( mine has 1 gal. air tank & adjustable up to 60 PSI) ............. Thanks to old_dood for starting this thread :)
 
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I just finished a guitar body using about 20 coats of Tru-oil on ash, enough to fill the grain. The Tru-oil finish was done over a tobacco burst die finish. I smoothed the Tru-oil out between coats using a Sungold abrasives hand sanding block for hook and loop discs (it's made from dense foam so conforms to uneven surfaces), using 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit discs (mostly 600 grit until the last few coats), and then final polish with Meguiars Swirl X. I can't say enough good things about Swirl X. It's magical.

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