Can you use Tru Oil as a sanding sealer?

menamestom

Thinking of using true oil as a sanding sealer so I can assemble my partscaster and possibly nitro the colour at a later date (while I decide what colour and also get together the extra funds)

Is this a suitable sealer which would negate the requirement to nitro seal (and thus go direct to primer)?

Roland

Not as a sanding sealer. It takes a couple of weeks to harden, whereas sanding sealer is designed to dry quickly. Tru Oil, and similar products are designed to build up a surface coating, which will clog sand paper. @WezV ‘s Tru Oil sludge method uses wire wool, which avoids clogging.

As for a base for nitro, sorry, I’ve no experience.

rexter

If it's properly cured and applied well then it makes a good base for nitro once flatted back smooth and level. I've refinished a couple of DIY tru oil jobs with a full nitro finish for people and it gives a nice hard, level surface to paint over – which is what you want for any professional looking paint job. Timescale wise i'm guessing the ones I have done had the tru oil on them for a couple of years before I painted them, so definitely cured! Wouldn't know about the success of this process on a shorter timeline - like @Roland says, many other methods specifically for this purpose.

You could also use shellac.

gavin_axecaster

Just as an aside, Birchwood and Casey (Tru-Oil manufacturer) make a sealer specifically to use under Tru-Oil.
https://www.uttings.co.uk/p112456-birchwood-casey-gun-stock-sealer-and-filler-3oz-bcsf3/
I would go with a shellac sealer. Easy to apply and should be nitro compatible.
https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p94067?r=googleshopping&rr=marin&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg9-00-q-3AIVCLvtCh1C0Ql4EAQYASABEgJTyfD_BwE