Finishes and clothing

[collinb]

I'm making a mahogany arm rest for my classical guitar.

I know the finishes on guitars don't affect clothing.

But I'm wondering -- does a dried oil finish affect clothing? Can I rest a sleeve on a dried oil finish, for hours at a time, without any problem? Any particular oils to avoid, or might it be safest to just go with a finish that matches the guitar finish?

 

 

[wtnhighlander]

Are you talking about "hard wax oil", curing oil (BLO or Tung), or oil-based poly?

I'm pretty certain that fully cured poly will not affect your clothing. The others may not either, once cured, but I think cure time is much longer.

[collinb]

On 8/29/2022 at 6:44 PM, wtnhighlander said:

Are you talking about "hard wax oil", curing oil (BLO or Tung), or oil-based poly?

I'm pretty certain that fully cured poly will not affect your clothing. The others may not either, once cured, but I think cure time is much longer.

I was thinking of tung oil.

Since good guitars use shellac I may also have to learn that finish in the near future.

[JohnG]

I used Tru-Oil on my ukulele and it doesn’t leave any residue or feel oily. 

Wouldn’t hurt to make a test piece with whatever you decide to try. 

[Mark J]

I think tung oil is one of those finishes that take weeks to fully cure.

[wtnhighlander]

For the armrest on a heavily-used instrument, I think a hard finish like shellac, lacquer, or poly, would be less likely to interact with perspiration on your skin or clothing. But seriously, there would likely have to be a very prolonged exposure for you to notice. Do you regularly practice in the sauna? 

[Chestnut]

17 hours ago, Mark J said:

I think tung oil is one of those finishes that take weeks to fully cure.

Fully cure and cure to handle are 2 different things. I've used tung oil that cured to not leave residue on cloth in 8 hours. Yes it took 2 weeks to get full cure but that's the same with most curing finishes including polyurethane.