Jay Scott Guitar

Private guitar and bass lessons, jam camps, guitar building and repairs in West Chester, PA

Guitar Building: More Oranger Still!

During the last two days, the weather hasn’t worked for applying Tru-Oil outdoors, but at least the lighting is the same in each of these pictures. It’s easy to see that the famous “grain pop” that we expect with this finish is already happening. This spruce body is so absorbent and the grain is so crazy that the surface luster is, so far, very inconsistent.

After these two coats, I sanded very lightly with 600 grit to knock down the little bumps that always build up (dust? lint? who knows?), and got the wood surface feeling nice and smooth again. I’ll apply a third coat tomorrow, and expect to see the surface start to come together.

I’ve gotten a lot of comments and questions about this project, and thanks to everyone for that! This guitar is meant to fall into the “barncaster” category, so I know the overall look and feel will be a little rougher than on my other guitars. That’s what I want: it suits this piece of wood, and refers a bit to the Gretsch Roundup model which helped inspired this one. To me, Telecasters have always had that sort of edge, visually and sonically, or at the least the ones I like best have. They don’t look right to me when they’re too perfect.

So, readers, a question: do you see any color change, so far, with the Tru-Oil? Let me know! It’s fun to have you guys involved.