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I have just been making my first guitar over the last few days from scratch and I have just gotten to the point of needing a finish for it. I was wondering if anyone had experience in oiling a whole guitar body instead of varnish. Pros and cons. Any advice?

Edit: it is a solid body slide guitar

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    may be a better fit @ woodworking.stackexchange.com
    – Yorik
    Commented Nov 2, 2017 at 14:14
  • @Yorik I disagree, unless there are luthiers there. The finish affects the sound, something that I do not think a cabinet maker needs to worry about.
    – Wayne Conrad
    Commented Nov 2, 2017 at 17:30
  • What type of guitar? I can see the finish affecting the sound for acoustic ones, but probably not for a solid body electric. For drums, the claim is harder finishes, like polyurethane, brighten the sound ever so slightly. I'm finishing my first kit with tung oil and decided to move to polymerized tung oil to get a glossier, more protective finish. Straight tung oil really doesn't make much of a protective coat at all and looks a bit dull. It'll help with sweat, but not much else. Polymerized tung oil behaves a lot more like wiping varnish...
    – Zalman Stern
    Commented Nov 2, 2017 at 20:41
  • Is there more maintenance on an oiled finish? That would be a deal breaker for me.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Commented Nov 2, 2017 at 21:52
  • @WayneConrad lol the original Martin was from the cabinet makers guild of his country, but I see what you mean, because my father is a cabinet maker and he mostly knows guitar stuff because of me. Tho it is helpful having someone good with tools... I might as at woodworking SE as well to see if anyone there has experience.
    – user30646
    Commented Nov 2, 2017 at 22:35

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It's not unheard of, it's done a lot. It wont effect your tone much, if at all.

Con:

  • You're going to be re-oiling it from time to time.

Pro:

  • I find an oiled neck to not be grippy like some of those new Fender necks and therefore I can move faster up and down the neck.

Everything else is personal, like just preferring the look of oiled wood over varnished.

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