tru-oil finish - ?

[jt1]

Originally Posted by Bluemonk

John, which of Ken's archtops do you have on loan? Congratulations. As you say, they are extraordinary.

His fourth! I'll record a video or 2 on it in the next couple of days and post links.

[terken]

I used TruOil over a ZPoxy pore fill on several necks a long while back. They all got fuzzy after a few months and you could smooth them but the fuzz would come back until the neck was sanded back to bare wood.

Consensus was the amines in the Z-Poxy were the culprit. I refinished the necks with Tru-Oil alone after sanding to 600G and all was well.

This may be unique to Z-Poxy. Sounds like some of you have used it over epoxy with no problems.

[GillanderGuitars]

Originally Posted by terken

I used TruOil over a ZPoxy pore fill on several necks a long while back. They all got fuzzy after a few months and you could smooth them but the fuzz would come back until the neck was sanded back to bare wood.

Consensus was the amines in the Z-Poxy were the culprit. I refinished the necks with Tru-Oil alone after sanding to 600G and all was well.

This may be unique to Z-Poxy. Sounds like some of you have used it over epoxy with no problems.

That's really interesting. I've used both West Systems 105, and Zpoxy Finishing Resin as the base without any issues. I wonder if there was something else going on. Maybe age of the products, no idea.

[terken]

It was probably 15 years ago but I recall others on a luthiers forum having the same issue with Z-Poxy fill on necks finished with TruOil.

[GillanderGuitars]

Originally Posted by terken

It was probably 15 years ago but I recall others on a luthiers forum having the same issue with Z-Poxy fill on necks finished with TruOil.

Good to know. Maybe a formula change? I wonder if anyone figured it out. I know there is also an issue if you don’t wipe down the epoxy surface with a damp cloth prior to starting to apply the truoil. After the epoxy cures, there is a water soluble film that can cause issues if not removed.

[terken]

That could be it. Thanks!

I found this thread from back in 2010 about ZPoxy and “amine blush”. That was around the time I noticed it.

http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?t=2303

Maybe the wipe down did the trick. Good to know. TruOil is a great neck finish.

[srick]

GluBoost Filland Finish worked very well for me under tru-oil(as opposed to epoxy). It’s a slightly flexible CA material that can be tinted and of course, accelerated.

[nikpearson]

Tru-Oil can look lovely if well applied but that takes a level of skill, especially on the soundboard where softwoods have a tendency to look uneven. It’s also not as durable as the more common factory finishes.

I see parallels with French-polished shellac. It’s challenging to get a good finish, but the end result can look lovely. Again shellac isn’t so durable but I suspect much of this is down to how thin the final finish is. And thinness is a significant factor in keeping an instrument responsive. Lastly, both oil and shellac require no specialist equipment or extraction, making application a much more pleasant task.

Both of these finishes are relatively easy to repair.

The fuzzy Z-Poxy And Tru-Oil combination is interesting, I’ve in,y used Z-Poxy once as a pore filler under shellac. It looked good until a few months down the line the finish developed tiny bubbles that were rough to the feel, requiring sanding right back and re-polishing.

If you like the instrument, don’t let the finish put you off.

[jt1]

Originally Posted by Bluemonk

John, which of Ken's archtops do you have on loan? Congratulations. As you say, they are extraordinary.

Here it is, warts and all. My attempt to demonstrate the wonders of Ken's 4th (4th!!) guitar that he completed in 1977:

[steelvibe]

I finished a Martin D Jr using the product. It turned out quite nice and no discernible effect on tone. I did thin each coat, about 15 total.

[GillanderGuitars]

Originally Posted by jt1

Here it is, warts and all. My attempt to demonstrate the wonders of Ken's 4th (4th!!) guitar that he completed in 1977:

Sounding good, John! Nice to see it in action.