lacquer vs oil for guitar finishing

[peteloaf]

i'm building a nice elctric guitar in walnut at the mo, it's quite light and well figured and i want to keep it FAIRLY light ( a little tonlly darker than now even with the darkening that occurs from putting clear stain on taken into account) i'm wondering. do i grain fill sand and oil, and have a nice-feeling finish i can re-do with ease or should i go for a nitrocellulose or a poly lacquer and shine the bitch up? it's sorta halway between a lp and a prs tremonti shape.

[Bruce Bennett]

personally I'm a big fan of Oiled finishes.

[AMZ-FX]

I second the oiled finish recommendation... I have an LP that has a walnut body and the oiled finish looks good on it.

regards, Jack

[ThomasD]

Walnut and oil are made for each other. Be sure to use a grain fill that is compatible with an oil finish. Alternately you could skip a separate filling operation and use an oil based product that will also build and fill the grain - e.g. Tru-Oil. Another option would be to omit the grain fill entirely and go with a light tung oil finish, this leaves a satin, very natural look to the wood. Some like it, some don't, I think it's great as long as you don't have a glossy finish elsewhere on the guitar (like the headstock.)

[code_blue]

Don't mess it up!

[mumford]

Originally posted by ThomasD
Alternately you could skip a separate filling operation and use an oil based product that will also build and fill the grain - e.g. Tru-Oil.

Also, you can build up Tru-Oil to the point you have a very shiny, lacquer-looking finish. It is very easy to use, but you need to do a ton of coats and they take a long time to dry. But great results if you spend the time.

[peteloaf]

cool. so general consensus is oil then? i'd heard about tru-oil in a guitar makin book, is it a generic name for a product or a specific manufacturer's name for something? (where/who etc)

[mumford]

I believe it's a type of oil. Go to a sporting goods store, they sell it for gun stocks.

[Dropped_2_C]

tung oil finish:thu:

[RoboPimp]

Originally posted by Bruce Bennett
personally I'm a big fan of Oiled finishes.

+1

[guitarcapo]

I recommend this:

Order some shellac flakes online. You want orange shellac. Don't worry whether it's dewaxed or not.

Dissolve the flakes in alchohol from the hardware store. I typically fill the jar half full and then pour in alchohol to the top.

Get an old t-shirt and wipe the stuff onto your guitar. If the finish starts sticking to the cloth, use walnut oil as a lubricant.


After you've built up a bit of finish, go over the guitar with 0000 steel wool to make the finish a uniform satin.

Buff from here with rubbing compound and a buffing wheel if you want gloss.


http://members.aol.com/guitarcapo/tele2.jpg http://members.aol.com/guitarcapo/tele3.jpg

[speed_12]

Well....i literally just posted a reply on another thread about whether to do a French Polish/Oil or poly varnish finish on my Tele project....the picture above has just made me decide on an oil/shellac finish....that looks awesome!!!

[bowlingshirt]

Originally posted by ThomasD
Another option would be to omit the grain fill entirely and go with a light tung oil finish, this leaves a satin, very natural look to the wood.

I did this on a project last summer and was pleased with the result; both for looks and ease of use.

An oil finish may not protect a guitar as well as a lacquer finish, but a guitar with an oil finish is easy to repair if you do get a ding on it. Also, IMHO, and oil finish lets the natural characteristics of the wood sound through, as opposed to lacquer or paint.