Tru Oil on Swamp Ash - not much protection?!?

jellybelly

Hi guys

Am nearing the end of a pretty standard tele build - kept it all natural and finished both neck and body with 7-8 coats of tru oil. I thought I was all but finished (just the electronics to solder!) however while the neck is great, the body dents and scratches like a peach! I put it in a gig bag out of the way while some stuff was getting moved and the zip left an imprint, I've only 'worn' it once but it already has the start of a buckle rash! I left it for a good month to cure while I was out of the country so that isn't an issue, but is this just the way with tru oil on soft wood? I've got some poly that I thinned to finish my jazzmaster in my last build that is holding up well, I'm thinking a couple of coats of that, although I'm tempted to just use it for 6 months then strip the body and have another go at it! Have other people found similar issues? Is it just the nature of the beast?

On a side note, if you've never played an Allparts FAT neck, it's one of the best I've ever played, even with my shitty nut cutting skills!

WezV

Oil finishes won't ever offer much dent protection, and swamp ash can be very soft.

Leave it to age and it will be great.

Allparts FAT necks are pretty nice. Even ricer if you recarve the nut end into a subtle V

stimpsonslostson

I truoiled my Esquire build, that is Ash too- like you, I'm seeing signs of wear already. Fortunately I'm happy with this- I only applied 5 coats as I was looking for a "rustic" finish.