# tung oil vs stain and lacquer



## Jayson (Jan 20, 2017)

Good day to all,
I enjoy working on guitars as far as staining and finishing goes. However I have basic tools (read none at all past a hand held electric sander). Usually, I'll stain with 3-4 coats of ink, as I find it goes better than wood stain, and do the finishing using a store-bought lacquer which I'll spray on in many coats with fine sanding every 2-3 coats (8 hours between coats). The finished product is pretty decent, but nothing comparable to factory finish.

Crux of the question: I've been reading about tung oil and am wondering
A: how do you go about staining / finishing a guitar with it also what kind of finished product can I expect and
B: opinions on which is the better method and
C: any other tips on methods of finishing a guitar without expensive equipment.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

FYI you can use Tung oil on top of stain/ink (it may yellow the colour some vs laquer which will yellow later with age). It will be a much thinner finish with less gloss potential than buffed laquer (you can get it pretty glossy though - it's a matter of many many coats and buffing in between with 0000 steel wool), but I prefer it for the feel. I would not use oil on a 1 pc maple neck (not enough moisture protection and maple likes to warp) but I have used it on 1pc maho and 3pc opposing grain maple with no issues years later (10ish).

Tung oil is also cheaper and less labour. It won't check with age. Easier to touchup and repair. Laquer is the Cadillac though.


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

You're already using the best method, except proper oil or water based stain along with NGR colours to tint the clear lacquer would probably improve your work.

If you're using clear lacquer in rattle cans be aware that the finish you're looking for requires about 6 cans, that stuff is very thin so there are perhaps less than an ounce of solids per can.

Head to Princess Auto for a cheap compressor and a couple cheap HVLP guns, Sherwin Williams or Richelieu for material to spray, good luck.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

I just gave my son my tung-finished Carvin which has been played constantly by both of us since 1991. It is a neck-thru design, all koa body and neck. Some of the laminations have cracked but its still solid.

The Fury guitars that were made for me took more than three months to paint. Allowing a month of curing between base coats, colour coats and clear coats. Buffed twice with a week between. The builder refuses to go the oil finish route, because he says that it won't protect the wood. 

I have to agree, given the Carvin's (albeit slight) cracking.


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## Jayson (Jan 20, 2017)

Alright, thanks for the information. I like working with the lacquer, but with spray cans, it's very long process (at least two weeks for one can). I'll look see if I have family or friends that have the spray gun mentioned as I don't do the stuff often enough to justify buying one myself. (I don't even have the compressor to start with!). But still, it does seem like the fastest way to go. 

Right now I'm saving up to buy an ES build from SOLO guitars. I had done a GTS Music LP build the same way mentioned above, but the neck didn't sit right in it's joint so I ended up with a good looking yet non playable guitar. Valuable lessons learned, still.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I find tung oil really makes the grain pop. I just did one coat on an alder strat and it looks amazing ( at least to me it does)
This is my strat with 1 coat of pure unpolymerized tung oil. 









Here is a little experiment I did. This is also a piece of alder. The left patch is boiled linseed oil aka BLO, The middle is garnet shellac and the right is super blonde shellac. 2 coats each. I think the tung oil brings out the grain better than all the other methods i have tried.









For polishing I recomend the micromesh pads, they start at 1500 grit and stop at 12000 grit. Here's my telecaster all done by hand, micromesh pads, and a terry cloth towel and meguiars to finish it off. Top is walnut, back is mahogany


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## Jayson (Jan 20, 2017)

That tele does look beautiful and the grain really pops out! I have a lot of projects in mind, one involves an Alder body strat with some tung oil, another with an SG body and some HB sized p90's I've got from Dragonfire guitars. (Or an Es build, too depending on $$$).

But I am liking that Tung finish


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

I actually had amazing results with Danish oil ! I redid one of my old Vantage 900 artist. I applied 17 french polish coats on it with some wet sanding between coats. I built up the coat and it looks better than factory made.

Here are some pictures:

original

on wood


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

and finished.


I installed the logos after th 9th or 10 th coat...

The worst part is the wait between coats but well worth the results !

Make certain you have a clean area to let dry...


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## Lord-Humongous (Jun 5, 2014)

@Frenchy99 you either are single, or have the best wife ever! If I had guitars hanging in the shower, my wife would _______.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Good job frenchy99. Very nice!


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Lord-Humongous said:


> @Frenchy99 you either are single, or have the best wife ever! If I had guitars hanging in the shower, my wife would _______.


Make certain you either live alone or have 2 or more bathrooms !!! 

My wife is the best !


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

KapnKrunch said:


> Good job frenchy99. Very nice!


Thanks !!!

I did quite a few instrument in the past before I started renovations at home...  Cant wait to start my old life again and play with my toys...


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## Jayson (Jan 20, 2017)

@Frenchy99 I had seen a Vantage for sale off Kijiji in the greater Montreal area just like that one. I believe it was 600$. Anyway, it looks much better after you've worked it! Thanks for the tip about the Danish oil! I will most certainly make a guitar using oil (decision on which to be used will be made at a later date). Thanks for the pics !!


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Jayson said:


> Thanks for the tip about the Danish oil!


I get all my Danish oil from Lee Valleys in Montreal... great place to get all you tools and wood for guitar building.

As for the Vantage Artist. They are very nice instruments and quite sexy !

Here's another shower porn scene !!!


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## metrick (Jun 16, 2015)

knight_yyz said:


> I find tung oil really makes the grain pop. I just did one coat on an alder strat and it looks amazing ( at least to me it does)
> This is my strat with 1 coat of pure unpolymerized tung oil.
> 
> 
> ...


Nice job

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

I don't know if you guys have tried it, but shellac in spray bomb is about 3 times thicker than lacquer and completely compatible.

So if you seal with shellac until the grain is filled - 4 to 5 coats, then top coat with clear lacquer you''ll find you can get quite a good finish build with half the elbow grease, of course with clear finishes you have to be able to work with the amber shade of the shellac.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

So I took the strat that has the tung oil first coat and applied alternate layers of Garnet shellac #2 cut, and super blonde #1 cut. Light sanding in between. Then topped with one layer so far of tru oil. To be continued in my build thread


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## Jayson (Jan 20, 2017)

Jimmy_D said:


> I don't know if you guys have tried it, but shellac in spray bomb is about 3 times thicker than lacquer and completely compatible.
> 
> So if you seal with shellac until the grain is filled - 4 to 5 coats, then top coat with clear lacquer you''ll find you can get quite a good finish build with half the elbow grease, of course with clear finishes you have to be able to work with the amber shade of the shellac.


So If I'm looking to do a Royal Yellow ink dye with Shellac finish, that would work out? Should I put the ink a shade lighter than what I would usually want to compensate for the amber colouring of the shellac?


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

I'd just do a test piece to see what the finished product would look like then adjust if necessary, BTW make sure you sand the shellac flat before the first coat of lacquer goes on.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

you can get super blonde shellac flakes it hardly changes the color at all. Especially in a wash coat dilution of something like a one pound cut. I have to say, the tru oil on top of the shellac is a freaking breeze compared to bare wood, no grain filling. Fairly glossy with out trying. A few coats of 1 pound on the end grain will help keep it from going darker than the rest of the guitar. I've made that mistake twice. @nd time was better than the first, but next guitar I make will get wash coats of super blonde shellac to fill the grain.

Use mineral spirits if you have to sand the shellac, it gums up sandpaper something nasty when its dry


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

Shellac goes on much thicker than truoil and way thicker than lacquer, not to mention it's quite compatible with both, using it to build your film thickness is a very old cabinetmakers trick. 

Sanding the shellac dead flat (wet sanding as noted by yyz above) with spirits or naptha is mandatory, otherwise you won't have the lacquer or oil film thickness to flatten things out without sanding down into the shellac, only use enough shellac to fill the grain.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

1 pound cut shellac is almost pure alcohol, thin as hell and dries fast as hell.


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