Knightrider7 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Hi, I purchased a second hand Gibson Les Paul standard, I noticed a few weeks later that a few of the trapezoid inlays had started to pop out. On further examination of the guitar the fretboard was drenched in lemon oil, I managed to prise one of the most badly damaged inlays out of the fretboard to replace it ( I had no choice) and noticed that the glue holding the inlays was yellowed and the glue had parted company with the inlay. I blamed this damage on over use of lemon oil so there is no way I am ever going to use it on any of my guitars. Am I right ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 You didn't notice the drenched fretboard when you bought it? I know for a fact that oils and oil based stains can and will make the glues on exterior plywood (treated/marine plywood) let go, and the plies will separate causing more problems than if you had just left it alone. I have no reason to believe this would be different on any other uses of wood and glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Some suggest guitar owners overdo it with the oil in general. If I get a guitar and the board seems dry, I will wipe a little on, but I may never oil it again as long as I own it. I don't even think "lemon oil" is anything more than mineral oil with lemon scent. A couple years ago I found a bottle of Snow River Wood Oil. I have no idea what's in it but it's meant for cutting boards. It has no scent and doesn't seem to leave any residue. Maybe it's just mineral oil too, I don't know. But the "lemon oil" leaves some kind of grit and slime I can't quite explain, and this stuff does not. I've got a 1971 LP Deluxe that, seems like every spring, the neck would go wonky, not wanting to stay in tune, I'm not going to pretend to understand the science, but the guitar was miserable for a month or so. That began when I got it in 1997. About 3 years later I wiped a couple very thin coats of boiled linseed oil on the fretboard. Not enough to build up any gloss. It hasn't misbehaved since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 1 hour ago, ksdaddy said: I don't even think "lemon oil" is anything more than mineral oil with lemon scent. That's what it is. Once annually if the climate requires it. If you get a really dry one, you can oil it a few times after another and you'll notice it darken (if it's dry, you'll also notice how the wood drinks up the oil from the surface in no time). It's not the devil if used right. Also remember to apply, wipe off any TOO apparent excess, and LET SIT for about a half hour. There's no point in applying it and then wiping it straight off. Unless it's just for cleaning. To dissolve glue, knock on wood, you'd have to, I dunno, use actual oil from lemons? Some people actually do (and it never ends well for obvious reasons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 It only takes a very small amount of Lemon Oil or whatever Oil to lubricate a Fretboard.. No need to soak it on a Fretboard.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 @ksdaddy yeah was going to say… what lemon has “oil”… silly name but seems to work for the masses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Speaking of Oils, I have a weird question: Since olive oil is made from pressed olives, vegetable oil is made from pressed vegetables, and Linseed oil is made from pressed Linseeds, what is baby oil made from?????? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 12 minutes ago, Sheepdog1969 said: Speaking of Oils, I have a weird question: Since olive oil is made from pressed olives, vegetable oil is made from pressed vegetables, and Linseed oil is made from pressed Linseeds, what is baby oil made from?????? Mineral oil is made from petroleum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 32 minutes ago, badbluesplayer said: Mineral oil is made from petroleum. Thank goodness it isn't made from pressed babies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Babies are made from whisky. 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Just now, Murph said: Babies are made from whisky. LOL, whiskey, weed & loneliness ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 5 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said: Speaking of Oils, I have a weird question: Since olive oil is made from pressed olives, vegetable oil is made from pressed vegetables, and Linseed oil is made from pressed Linseeds, what is baby oil made from?????? Good thing I don't live in Brazil 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 KR, I’d try to get that Lemon oil off. It is petroleum based with an artificial lemon scent to mask the scent. Coconut Oil is a 100% natural product recommended by manufacturers of cutting boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 8 hours ago, fortyearspickn said: KR, I’d try to get that Lemon oil off. It is petroleum based with an artificial lemon scent to mask the scent. Coconut Oil is a 100% natural product recommended by manufacturers of cutting boards. He probably won't be preparing food on his fretboard. The lemon oil is fine, mine is Gibson brand. Coconut oil smells like coconuts. Which is stinky... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 1 hour ago, Murph said: He probably won't be preparing food on his fretboard. The lemon oil is fine, mine is Gibson brand. Coconut oil smells like coconuts. Which is stinky... Yep - I used Lemon Oil for decades with no problem. The key is to use it sparingly - not too much and not too often. I just figured pros who beat the h3!j out of natural wood cutting boards would be worth listening to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 moderation is the secret to all of life's little mysteries. like Whiskey for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I always use the Gibson oil as well. I oil the rosewood fretboards once, maybe twice a year. lightly. I never soak them ... lightly oil then immediately wipe them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 1 minute ago, Karloff said: I always use the Gibson oil as well. I oil the rosewood fretboards once, maybe twice a year. lightly. I never soak them ... lightly oil then immediately wipe them off. Same here, I think twice a year, is more than enough. I apply a drop to paper towel and work it in till it stops hydrating the wood, takes about three drops to do the whole fretboard. Really you don't need much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 54 minutes ago, kidblast said: Same here, I think twice a year, is more than enough. I apply a drop to paper towel and work it in till it stops hydrating the wood, takes about three drops to do the whole fretboard. Really you don't need much at all. yep, I use a cotton cloth, a few drops on the cloth & rub it over the fretboard. then wipe it dry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I use lemon oil. My method: Put a drop on my finger and tap each fret until my finger is dry. Another drop and I continue until I hit every fret. Then I rub it in, one fret at a time, with my finger until it gets warm. After I've done every fret, I wipe the board dry with a cloth. I oil the board only once every two years. BTW: I also do the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 2 hours ago, Karloff said: I always use the Gibson oil as well. I oil the rosewood fretboards once, maybe twice a year. lightly. I never soak them ... lightly oil then immediately wipe them off. Yeah I agree with this method. I was told you aren’t marinating your fretboard haha! A little goes a long way after a string change or something like this regarding when to apply lemon “oil”. I too use Gibson brand solutions to keep up on maintaining my guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Last forever, works great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 4 hours ago, brad1 said: Last forever, works great! Have tried this stuff sparingly on all my guitars and basses. Great stuff. Highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Back in my younger days, we'd never heard of oiling your fretboard, and if anyone had told us, we would probably have looked at them as though they were insane. The guitars didn't seem to take any harm from this. Speaking with Flamenco guitarists in Spain on the subject, they looked at me as though I was insane, but having said that most of their guitars have Ebony fretboards and Ebony is an incredibly oily timber anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 1 hour ago, IanHenry said: Back in my younger days, we'd never heard of oiling your fretboard, and if anyone had told us, we would probably have looked at them as though they were insane. The guitars didn't seem to take any harm from this. Speaking with Flamenco guitarists in Spain on the subject, they looked at me as though I was insane, but having said that most of their guitars have Ebony fretboards and Ebony is an incredibly oily timber anyway. yep, for decades I never even knew you should. its only in the last 10 years I've started to . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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