Acoustic Guitar Construction

With excellent prep, TO will give you anything from a sheen to high-gloss. I posted some pictures of other's work on the tru-oil thread to show what can be achieved in the way of high-gloss, but there are many levels of rich sheen that can be gotten without going to those lengths.
I'll be posting some pix of my student Tom's tru-oil finishing process as we go along.

Lots of good information in that thread Dave. I see the gun stock article recommends against using T/O on rosewood. I'm assuming the zinzer pore filler eliminates the issue with high oil content woods? I'm looking for a satin finish on my build. I'm a little leery about the slurry and my maple bindings. I will seal with shellac and tape it off as advised. I like the idea of a test piece. I have enough scrap to make a couple samples.

My first four I finished with tru oil and. I sealed pore filled with zinser seal coat. My first had wit back and sides with maple bindings like yours. I didn't tape off the bindings. They didn't stay bright white but instead developed a nice warm tone that I really came to like. See it here. http://www.acousticguitarconstructionfo ... =24&t=2299

I hope to put my last coat of Tru-oil on the top today. I did use the Zinzer sealer first. Worked very well. I did varnish the maple binding and that too worked well at keeping the rosewood from staining it. The first hurdle to jump was finding Tru-Oil in Calif. Not sold here and most won't ship it here either. A friend found it on Amazon and ordered it for me and it did ship. Two 8oz. bottles under $20. I have very little experience with wood finishes and never heard of Tru-Oil before. I'm a believer now. It's very easy to work with. No mask or fumes. The technique is forgiving and flaws easily corrected. A few drops goes a long way. It took a while to learn how far to take the between coat synthetic steel wool leveling. Nice to be able to do more than one coat a day. I was hoping for a satin finish but got a little more gloss than expected. It does look beautiful. I watched different videos and tried both the cotton ball and old t-shirt applicators. Both have their strong points. The neck has been done for several days and I'll probably bolt it on tomorrow. The nut and saddle are carved. As soon as I get the bridge glued on I'll ask John to help me post some more photos. Getting excited to hear what it sounds like.

Getting excited to hear what it sounds like.

Trust me that never gets old!