Tru Oil on maple

[Matt Madden]

Hi all:

I bought an unfinished maple, strat style neck. I am finishing it with tru-oil. The back of the neck looks pretty good, but the front and back of the headstock look a little streaky. I have been applying it with the grain using a clean cotton cloth. I have about 7 coats on it now.

Any ideas on removing the streaks on the flat areas? Will they buff out?

I used tru oil on a walnut body before and did not have this issue.

Also, is there a buffing compound you would recommend?

Thanks.

Matt

[Michael Lewis]

Some maple has growth rings that are impervious to stain, or you may not have prepared the surface well enough. How did you sand the surface? What grits did you use?

[Matt Madden]

Thanks. I sanded it with 220 to 320 to 400. I thought about going to 600, but didn't. It's my first time finishing a neck so I won't be surprised if I'm a little off on some things.

[Matt Madden]

I guess I should add I wiped with mineral spirits between grits.

[Warren May]

Walnut responds really well to almost any oil finish. I'm not an expert at all but it might be because it already has some oils whereas maple doesn't have the same kind of resins. Maple is also more closed grain which makes it a little different to finish. So, you can't compare finishing maple to walnut, that's just my opinion. Again, I'm no expert.

That said, I've gotten good and bad finishes on maple with oils. At first, I was trying to rush the oil finishes and applying too much per coat, letting it dry and getting gummy build up on parts of it and streaks on others. I had it in my mind that oil would be faster and easier than spray on finishes but that's not entirely true. Lacquers, polys and other finishes are mostly on the surface and maple does really well with those since it doesn't require much to seal the grain. Maple looks good with oils but I've found it's hard to be patient with it. It takes a lot of thin coats, in my opinion, because the oils don't soak in the same way they do on mahogany, walnut and other more open grain woods. I put a coat on and keep wiping it off the surface as it dries. It looks like you aren't accomplishing anything but it is building slowly with each coat.

From where you are now, it sounds like you might want to buff it back down with some wool. Can't hurt the finish. Get a fresh bottle of Tru-oil and wipe on a couple more light coats but let it sit between each coat. On most oils, I let it sit for at least a day between coats and have had better luck than when I try to rush it. I find the final few coats applied with the palm of my hand works pretty well but remember to wipe the excess off as it dries.

[Mark Swanson]

And I'd say lay off the mineral spirits. That will soak into the wood, and you want the finish to do that and the spirits may be causing problems there. Just wipe it off with a clean soft rag in between sanding grits.

[Matt Madden]

Thanks. I have been going for light coats, and doing one first thing in the morning and one at night. I will try buffing it down, then a few more light coats.

The back of the neck looks good, just the flat spots on the front and back of the headstock are streaky.

[Waddy Thomson]

My luck with Tru-Oil was pretty good, and I used non-woven abrasive pads in fine between coats to buff down the surface and flatten things up. If humidity is under control, it's pretty easy to get 3 coats a day on. Don't think I'd do more than that.

[Warren May]

Good advice from Mark and Waddy. Mineral spirits might be interfering. Sometimes, I wipe the surface between coats with a damp rag which raises the grain a little, depending on the wood and finish and I use Naptha sometimes but usually just blow the parts off with dry air and wipe it with a clean dry rag. I'm finishing one now for the challenge and, since it's really wet right now here in Mississippi, I get about 2 coats a day. I like Waddy's idea for flattening between coats and you should get a quicker build that way. I usually follow oil finishes with a coat or two of wax but some people don't like to use wax. I find it gives it a nice feel and interesting sheen, usually.

[Rodger Knox]

I use TruOil almost exclusivly, and here's my observations.
Warming the oil up to about 100°F makes it a little thinner, and it goes on a little smoother. I rub the oil on by hand, no fabric of any kind, rubbing it "into" the wood until it starts to get tacky. Knowing when to quit is really key, not long enough and the oil doesn't level out, too long and it gets too sticky.
Two coats a day usually, just as you are doing. After I get 4 or 5 coats, I'll let it dry for 24-48 hours and level sand with 400 grit. You don't need to go too far with level sanding initially, just knock down the high spots. Keep repeating this process, 4 or 5 coats & level. As you get more thickness, you can go a little further with the leveling.
When you can level all the shine off without sanding through, you're about done. I put on one or two more coats, the last one needs to go on perfectly.
I don't level sand again, but I'll buff it out after a month or so using an automotive buffer and rottenstone.
I usually end up with at least 20 coats, sometimes as many as 40, and it usually takes at least two months to final buffing.

[Michael Lewis]

My apology for not getting back to this sooner. For applying stain you should sand to about 220 grit to slightly rough up the surface so it will take the stain more evenly. By sanding to the finer grits you are polishing the harder parts of the wood, which will then resist absorbing stain or dye.