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Neck finish questions

Hi,

I had a few questions on neck finishes. I am using both red oak for the neck and red oak for the fretboard. I was thinking of staining one of the two and leaving the other natural and then finishing with tung oil. I wondered if others have done that and how was the result. I prefer using oil rather than poly but not sure if that is a good choice or not. Thank you for any advice and photos if you have them.

Thanks,
Mike

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Permalink Reply by Daryl on January 31, 2015 at 2:06am

I have had to "re-do" a few. Some from mistakes, and some because I wasn't happy with the final looks. I also cook a lot of hotdogs on my fire pit! So its all a win-win for me. ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Mike on January 31, 2015 at 7:26am

Win-win :-)

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Permalink Reply by Mark C on January 31, 2015 at 3:02pm

I only use tung. I have gotten the best results that way. Poly always runs and doesn't give me good results. I have used it on bare oak and other woods, and on top of various woods use on cigar boxes. I have also put tung oil on top of stain. You have to apply the tung while and wipe it off pretty quickly in 5 to 10 minutes. If it gets tacky soak your rag with tung oil and wipe it down again getting all of the excess off. Let it dry for 12 to 24, both lightly with 0000 steel wool. Then wipe off the dust, then repeat the process. Three coats is good, four is better. Thin layers is the key. Don't apply to heavily and let it dry. It dries hard and some what shiny. If you like it less shiny, buff it lightly with the steel wool the last time. I don't always use it on the fretboard because you really have to wipe good around the frets or it builds up. A clear or natural stain on the fretboard alone has worked pretty well for me, Using tung on the neck, headstock and body has always given me good results. One word of caution, don't put tung oil on top of paint, like spray paint. That didn't work very well for me. I am certainly no expert, these are just tips from what I've experienced. Oh yes, and I also got good results rubbing it into the surface of the wood by hand as opposed to using a cloth however wipe down with a cloth dampened with tung. "Hand rubbed."

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Permalink Reply by Daryl on February 2, 2015 at 7:19am

2 easy ways for ME to cut frets are a small metal square and a coping saw. Square acts as miter guide. The other and by far my favorite is a scroll saw with the blade installed backwards so I lightly pull the fret board into the teeth. Easy, acurate, and quite flaw free.

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