Tru oil, when is it dry?

[lespaulnmarshall]

Hi, I'm finishing a neck in tru oil.
It's been about 2 hours since I applied the first coat of oil and I carefully touched it, it feels pretty much dry. I heared people wait about 24 hours before applying the next coat. since it already frels dry, should I reapply the oil? Or should I really wait 24 hours?
Or do you think I could use some steel wool on it now already?
Thanks,
Maurice

 

[John Coloccia]

Wait. It needs time to cure and for any solvent to out gas. If you get too aggressive and impatient, you'll just make the process take longer until it's actually fully cured. I usually do a very light coat every day until I'm happy, usually just applied with a small square of cloth. Very very light coats is what I do, which I think is completely the opposite of what they recommend. I also don't generally sand between coats. That's just my own process, though.

 

[lespaulnmarshall]

Sounds good! Thanks!

 

[ajeffcote]

I do it a little differently. I put the first couple of coats on pretty heavy and let the wood drink it up. About the third coat it's starting to build up. Now if I want a gloss finish I go to the light coat way of thinking but I do maybe 3 a day.
I think TO really excels at a satin finish. When it starts to build I stop and let it dry for a couple of days. Then level any build_up with steel wool, scotchbrite or a fine grit sanding pad. After that I polish with a fine cut compound and it's done. And that gives the best feeling neck you can get with a finish. Start to finish about 3 days.

 

[Quarter]

With optimum conditions and light coats, you can recoat in a couple hours. I would not recommend any more than 3 coats a day and to be on the safe side, 2 is a better target. You don't need to sand or wool between every coat. I generally do any leveling in the morning before that days coats. Once I get a nice film built, I generally then let it cure for a week or so before any final polishing. Lots of good info in this old TGP thread here https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...-get-a-high-gloss-from-tru-oil-finish.711780/

Here is a recent Tru Oil project on some limba.

.

 

[Ronsonic]

More beautiful work, Tom. What did you use as a filler on that?

 

[Quarter]

Thanks! I used BC's own Sealer Filler on that one. I did a little light dye / shading strait to the wood, so I wanted something clear that did not need a lot of aggressive initial sanding. Its not a "perfect" filler. It takes multiple coats, has some shrink back, though is pretty stable after a week or so. For this project though, I felt was a good choice.

 

[John Coloccia]

How do you do the final polish/buffing. I've never had much luck getting high gloss. It seems too soft, but people do it.

 

[Quarter]

Part of the "trick" is to not have to do much, if any level sanding at the end. Because Tru Oil does not burn in, and goes on thin, I started thinking about the process as a level as you go exercise.

I build the body of the film by wiping it on and then lightly wet sand with some 1000 grit every 3 - 4 coats to knock the tops down. At some point, the shiny low spots disappear and then I switch to spraying the last couple coats. For the spray sessions, I thin the Tru Oil with a little mineral spirits, maybe 10% and spray one wet coat in the morning, let dry overnight, and then lightly wet sand the next morning with some 1500, spray the last coat and let cure for a week or more.

If I've done a good job of building a good and level film, I can just give it a hit and miss for any minor issues with some 2000 or micro mesh and go straight to polish with some Meguiars #9 and a Stewmac foam pad on a drill motor.

Here is a body about 20 min after the last sprayed coat. The little dash of mineral spirits helps it flow out nice.

.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Fantastic builds Tom P.! Love your detail and wood choices. Thanks for the inspiration.