Can TruOil be used as a finish?

[Masonrygh]

I have a couple bottles of TruOil laying around that I use to finish guitars, does anyone have experience using TruOil for pipes?

Or will I kill my customers?

[Sasquatch]

It certainly can, just be aware that briar takes oil slightly differently than other woods, your level of penetration will probably be really low, but used sparingly, in a multi-coat process, yes, you'll get a nice glow.

[Masonrygh]

Thank you Sasquatch!

[sandahlpipe]

Beware the cure time on oil based finishes. Tru oil also has a strong smell.


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[KurtHuhn]

My opinion is that Tru-Oil is good for some projects, but not most. I've used it on rifle stocks, and hated it (Yes, I know that's what it was designed for, it's still not a good finish for rifle stocks in my opinion. Some people think shiny=good, I disagree.). I've used it on woodturning projects, and on some woods where it can really soak in during the (too fast) drying time, it is acceptable.

I personally would never use it on briar. The cure time is too fast to provide even penetration, it sits on the surface and is subject to chipping (like my arch-nemesis polyurethane), it wears just like any finish but can be a bear to freshen up when needed (unlike wax), and because it sits on the surface it can bubble and char on the rim of the bowl.

It's might be good for something that will sit and be admired, but not things that are used, handled, and knocked about.

[dogcatcher]

Tru-Oil is a combination of oil, thinner and polyurethane. I would experiment with some scrap to start with, first I would give the briar a coat of a mix 40% boiled linseed oil and 40% thinner and 20% poly, this will allow the oil and poly to soak in. Let that dry for 48 hours, then apply light coats of Tru-Oil. Instead of using the BLO, I would try making sun cure linseed oil out of flax oil. http://zacharykator.blogspot.com/2009/1 ... d-oil.html or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUyXm2I ... e=youtu.be
I personally prefer the video method.

[LatakiaLover]

What Kurt said.

There are too many good ways to finish a pipe to spend time looking for alternatives, imo.