Body finishes

4xv

I  am currently building my first scratch build with a two piece ash body with a spalted curly maple drop top although the body looks good if oiled it soon becomes dull and dry looking, my question is what is the best lacquer/varnish to use on the body to bring out the natural look of the wood?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9slgdpdzggowhd/IMG_20170109_120935.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/df3pjfc35c4mfga/IMG_20170102_214011.jpg?dl=0



Thanks in advance Rich

WezV

what oil are you using?  how are you applying it?

generally an oil finish is the best thing  to bring out the natural grain

paulnb57

TruOil or Crimson Guitars finishing oil both produce a sheen that stays....

4xv

I used some food safe oil which I use on things that I produce on my wood lathe and usually gives a nice finish, tried a small amount and the body looked great, two hours later it just looked dry and untreated . Horses for courses I suppose , thanks for the info Rich

WezV

lots of talk about oil finishes in this thread
http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/235/oil-finishes-little-tutorial-for-my-wet-sanded-oil-finish-technique

4xv

Thanks that's most useful guys.

Kalimna

Food safe oil (Chestnut finishes?) is really only clear mineral oil. The reason it goes dull looking is because it doesnt 'dry' as such, just sinks in. It will never give even a hint of shinyness. Ive used it a lot on chopping/cheese boards.
Now, truoil etc will harden as they dry, but you may find them incompatible with the mineral oil. I dont know for sure because ive not tried it myself. Whatever you do, i would absolutely recommend trialling on a bit of scrap ash - i.e. apply food safe, let sink in for a few days, *then* try a proper finishing oil. You may make the situation worse otherwise.
Your guitar looks lovely btw.

Adam

4xv

Thanks ,only tried a small area just to get an  idea of colour etc and there has been much shaping and scraping since then so hopefully won't cause too much pain!