Joe, the problems I was having with Tru-oil was it dries too slow and it doesn't level itself. I solved both of the issues by thinning the Tru-oil 15%-20% with mineral spirits and baking the finish in my bow oven at 90-100 degrees. Also, I use DuPont Sontara lint free towels to filter and apply the finish. You can get the towels from aviation supply stores, they're not cheap but they sure work good. I filter the oil through a towel into a clean plastic cup before each coat, whatever I dont use gets poured back into the bottle.
To start I apply enough filler coats to fill the grain, with light steel wool buffing between coats. Before the final coat I wet sand with 600 grit.
And that's all there is to it. Using the oven lowers the humidity so the finish dries faster. Thinning the finish allows it to level out, and filtering the oil removes the dirt and chunks before they end up on the bow.
Topic: First attempt at a snake. New and improved with finished photos (Read 897 times)
