DIY Fullrange Speakers: Tru-Oil Topcoat

I applied a few coats of Danish Oil and the veneer looks ok.  But I'm used to a finish on my guitar necks that really pops the grain.

So I turn to my standby, Tru-Oil.  It's really a varnish...and it's easy to apply and control the amount of gloss you wind up with.  In my case, I usually want more gloss, so I tend to apply more coats.  But after 3 or 4 coats, you have a nice satin finish, if that's your preference.

In this case, I applied about 12 coats.  My schedule is generally, apply a coat, let it dry a couple hours.  Apply another coat.  Lightly go over it with 0000 steel wool.  Repeat until you begin to get the coverage and sheen you want.  Some folks use their finger(s) to apply it; I use a cloth and wear vinyl gloves.  Tru-Oil gets really sticky, and I find it a nuisance to get it off my skin. 

I'm going to rub it out with rottenstone, so I'm letting it dry about a week.  As of this writing, I have one more day to go.

Side note:  be careful with Tru-Oil on your workbench.  I left the lid off my bottle and accidentally knocked it over three times(!) and wound up losing about 2/3 of the bottle.  Argh.  Lesson learned: keep the lid on.