Oil Finish

So recently, I decided to finish one of my guitar with a kind of finish known as hand rubbed oil finish. The method of finishing base back to centuries used by wood working carpenters from China. This method of finish not only leaves the guitar is a slick and nice natural finish but also suppose improves the tone (Since there aren't any poly or nitro to alter the vibration of the body). The best part about this finish is that it is very easy to do, and hard to screw it up. If done on the neck it also gives the player a baby butt smooth kind of feeling compared to the sticker lacquer feel. It also protects the wood from moisture while at the same time harder the layer that the oil penetrates leaving a protective layer against harm.

There are usually 2 kinds of oil that I will use for this project. One of them is Tru oil.


And the other is Tung Oil. I know it says Danish oil there on the bottle but it's made with Tung oil. As pure Tung oil is really thick (Think Honey), It's really hard to use it by itself as a rub on finish. Makers will usually thin it down with thinner or spirits which makes it easier to work with and of course, faster drying time.

The pictures below are pictures of the guitar body before oiling with Tru Oil.


After oiling about 4 layers of Tru-Oil, it will look like this!


Check out that deep lustrous look on that wood. I've also done a couple of necks which I have stripped off it's original lacquer and finish it with 4 layers of Tru-oil. I apologize as I no longer have the before pictures but however, the after pics should convince you to try it for yourself.





Once again, check out the deep and lustrous look oiling has created for the Maple and Bulbinga stripe on the neck. I highly encourage anyone out there who wishes to refinish their guitar necks but have no money to spent on the refinishing cost. This is a cost efficient method and the results are highly desirable.