Some thoughts on finishing

[Dave Sayers]

I like any finish that looks good, but prefer a thin finish. As far as gloss polyurethane and Nitro go, I'll leave them alone.

Here's how I teach my grandmother to suck eggs, I expect, but this is how I make my finishing pads for use with Minwax gloss Tung oil and Tru oil. These work a treat and don't suck up excessive amounts of expensive finish. Even better you can still feel the 'drag' that some people describe as oil based finishes begin to dry on application. The inner foam can be reused when the outer coating is discarded after getting too sticky. I keep the one I am using in a small glass jar and it stays good to go for several days. An important point is to was the cotton cloth before using and DO NOT add softener.

These are no good for French Polish as this requires a reservoir of polish in the dabber.

[Lonnie B]

Now I feel cheap. I've finished lots of rifles and only four guitars using Tru-oil. I've always applied it with my finger tip. Until the last one I used cotton balls. Gotta say that the finger tip worked better as I was able to apply thinner coats. I've always used it straight out of the bottle. But Dave says he thins it with mineral oil. Is that the same stuff you take for constipation? I've been using it as honing oil as I'm not able to find any oil to sharpen things. Didn't know about thinning the oil. But then there's a plethora of things I don't know.

[Dave Bagwill]

I MEANT mineral spirits, sorry Lonnie! and only for the final coat.
Did I say mineral oil? Senior moment for sure.

[Lonnie B]

Actually Dave I think you said both. Now I have a question. I've heard of mineral spirits but have no knowledge of what it is. In my search for it I came upon mineral oil. Where do you get the mineral Spirits? As I've heard it used in conjunction with finishing with Tru-oil before.
As I've said I wanted to try a build finishing with FP. But does the Shellac scratch white? I've never had the misfortune of scratching any of my rifles or guitars finished with Tru-oil so I don't know it's reaction to scratching either.

[Dave Sayers]

Mineral spirits, otherwise known as turpentine substitute, the stuff you can clean brushes in. Real men use real turpentine to clean brushes, and they have to be real men or they'd faint at the cost.

[Dave Bagwill]

I get mineral spirits at the Ace hardware store, Home Depot or Lowes, even at wal-mart.

True that, as to the turps :-)

[Lonnie B]

Ok I've done some oil painting in my day. I've used regular Terp. As well as order less. Let me say right now that I much prefer the odorless. The regular stinks so bad you just know the whole room is fixing to explode. I've never had the room explode as far as I can remember. Is there a preference as to which one you use. Also you mentioned that you use it only on the last coat. Meaning you go full strength for the other coats? I really don't know why I'm asking these questions as I'm pretty positive I'll use FP on my next build. I guess if the FP doesn't work out.