Hey folks. I’ve been building an electric guitar and I’m now finishing it. I’ve used Mowhawk’s (formerly Behlen) Modified Tung Oil. It dries much faster than pure Tung Oil.
I’ve applied four coats and I’m happy with the sheen/gloss. A guitar is not like a table top…so there won’t be water on the guitar. But it will get knocked from time to time.
Is there a reason why I should apply some other finish in top of the Tung Oil? Like a urethane or something? I’d love your views.
And if another finish makes sense, what do you suggest? (Perhaps Mowhawk’s Rockhard Urethane?)
Thanks!
Replies
Well, if you've already done four coats, its kind of hard to go back. Unless I am mistaken, that "tung oil finish" is a blend of tung oil and an alkyd varnish so its not pure tung oil (which is not a very protective finish by itself). If it were me, I'd stick with a regular poly, or lacquer if you want a non-yellowing finish. Not a tabletop, but, subject to scratches, sweat, thrown beer bottles, and moving-around dings.
Thanks for your reply. I did find this on the Mowhawk website:
Mohawk Tung Oil (Modified) is a proprietary blend of non-break tung oil and propolymerized alkyd resin in a solvent system. Recognized as fast drying, hard, resistant to water, acid, alkali and mildew.
I’m hoping that this will be hard enough that I won’t need to add another finish on top. I’m not playing in bars or jumping around on stage.
If you're happy with how it looks, as-is, leave it alone. It looks great. If you find it gets damaged too easily, you can always do something down the road.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled