Chris the Gent Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I was wondering how often I should be using lemon oil on my fret board? Any suggestions? -Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoop Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Forget it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Don't overdo it. Once or twice a year should be more than enough. Don't soak your fretboard. I use 2 or 3 drops for an entire fretboard, using my finger to rub it on. Take care to avoid the frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strumbone Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 My recommendation is to remove old strings, put protective tape over all pickups...and any other magnets in the vicinity, then polish the frets and fingerboard lightly with 0000 steel wool, being careful around bindings, etc. You'll know when you get most of the crud off. Wipe off with clean rag, then apply oil lightly. Now, I use fretboard oil from stewmac, so the viscosity may be different from lemon oil, but essentially, after a cold frosty beer and a smoke, wipe off any excess that hasn't been absorbed, then buff with clean rag. Remove protective tape, install fresh strings, and you're done! =d> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmitron Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 No to be use with maple fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 This really only needs doing every leap year or so after you have achieved a properly conditioned fretboard. As has been stated, rosewood only, no maple and god forbid ebony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figstrum Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Has anybody used those Ernie Ball Fretboard conditioner wipes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Another good example of why this forum is so often completely useless. One question yields umpteen different answers, leaving the asker with more confusion than he started with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmitron Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I disagree. I'm in since 3days, and I've already learned a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Never tried the wipes. The finger ease stuff leaves a residue on the fretboard which I hate, thus I stick to the tried and true method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardog Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Another good example of why this forum is so often completely useless. One question yields umpteen different answers' date=' leaving the asker with more confusion than he started with.[/quote'] Ron,, what is the correct answer to the orginal question. Then please expanded on why one should oil a rosewood board only. Please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Maple doesn't need it, nor does ebony. Most maple fingerboards (on fenders anyway) are lacquered, and ebony is such a hard and dense wood, it won't soak in, but sit inside the pores, gathering funk and looking cruddy. It just won't help those woods, only rosewood needs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Ron' date=', what is the correct answer to the orginal question.[/quote']Through independent research and common sense, I've come up with an answer that makes sense to me, but I won't expound it for the same reasons I cited above. Mine is just another opinion, and I'd rather be responsible only for the health of my guitars, not somebody else's. I won't give advice about trussrod adjustments for the same reason. I encourage newbies to do independent research in addition to the (mis)information to be had on forums. My signature says it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Sorry Ron' date=' your answer make no sense to me, I think forums are a place to share opinions and get your / my own opinion after hearing different opinions shouldn't the "newbies" learn from the "gurus" ( I see myself still a newbie[biggrin'] )Peter I specifically stay away from subjects that could screw up someone's guitar in a very serious manner. A newbie's choice of other subjective things like strings, pickups, bridges, etc. don't have the same potential for disaster. In any case, some of the people who appear to be, or think they are "gurus", don't know their *** from a hole in the ground, and may be more dangerous than the uninformed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strumbone Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 This really only needs doing every leap year or so after you have achieved a properly conditioned fretboard. As has been stated' date=' rosewood only, no maple and god forbid ebony.[/quote'] Oops, I forgot about the finished maple, but any unfinished fingerboard (raw wood), including ebony, should be occasionally oiled. I've oiled the ebony fingerboard on my HD-28, as per Martin's recommendations, twice a year. Yes it's more dense than rosewood, but it does absorb some of the oil that I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris the Gent Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 Sorry I asked....... - Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Sorry I asked.......- Chris. Pay no attention to the riff-raff. There is good advice in this thread and its the same multi-opinion info you will get from doing research on the internet. Sometimes its just more fun to ask your peers ;) Everyone has slightly different methods and opinions. Just take the average and do what suits your needs. Oiling a fretboard isn't a life or death situation for your guiar, and even relative noobs can have a valid opinion on this subect. The three major points to take from this thread are 1.) Only oil your fretboard a couple times a year. The changes in seasons seem to be a smart choice for 'when' to do it. 2.) Regardless of which oil you decide upon, too much oil is always bad. Just a few drops will do the job. Dont apply the oil directly to the fretboard. Put it on a cloth first. 3.) There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers. Dont be sorry for this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Robinthehood...you don't want to set any precedent making a sensible post ;-) Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Robinthehood...you don't want to set any precedent making a sensible post ;-) Cheers Definition of "sensible" in this context: What the reader wants to see. Robin's post was an excellent distillation' date=' though I doubt that it was based solely on the information in this thread. I thought that it was sensible to recommend that members do [i']additional[/i] research to augment the widely varying information presented here, such as the very strong admonishment against using oil on ebony. To the contrary, I learned that proper care (including oiling) of ebony fingerboards may be more critical because it is more brittle and less stable than rosewood (but I'm not gonna state this as fact). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Oops' date=' I forgot about the finished maple, but any unfinished fingerboard (raw wood), including ebony, should be occasionally oiled. I've oiled the ebony fingerboard on my HD-28, as per Martin's recommendations, twice a year. Yes it's more dense than rosewood, but it does absorb some of the oil that I use.[/quote'] Yo Strum! Have you not had problems with it "weeping" doing that on ebony? I was always trained that ebony does not really require conditioning except in the most extreme of cases, i.e. really low grades or decades of neglect. And the wood is so dense, that the oil just sits in the pores occasionally seeping out. Also sens it is so dense, more of the oil winds up in the fret slot than in the wood, which can lead to sprung frets. I have an old Morris Martin D-45 clone with an ebony fretboard and I have never once put anything on it. I've had the guitar for the last 20 years or so, can't promise it was never treated before that, but the fretboard looks and feels fantastic! Of course I actually play my guitars so they are getting a little of my own special sauce as I wood shed. I have found rosewood to be the only popular fretboard wood that needs special attention other than wiping clean from time to time. Rosewood will dry out even if the guitar is kept at a happy 50% humidity, but I think ebony is much more durable than people give it credit for. When I refret a rosewood or maple neck, I am almost guaranteed to chip it in a few places, especially if it's dry. I can count the number of times I have taken a chip out of an ebony board on one hand though, dry or not. Will you HURT ebony by oiling it? Probably not, unless you soak it in the **** for days, weeks, years. You are likely to encounter an oily feeling board later down the road, and that bugs the crap out of me. ( I have in the past been distracted while oiling my AJ-45SE, and left the oil on WAY too long, needless to say, IT was weeping for weeks afterward!) But I don't really think it is necessary to keep it in good shape like rosewood is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strumbone Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 No sir, never had a problem with the weeping, but then again, I wipe off the excess after ~ 10 minutes, and buff with clean cloth. As you brought out, the finished maple fingerboards don't need anything as they are already sealed. However, for unfinished (raw wood), unsealed fingerboards, a little oil won't hurt a thing IMHO. I think the wood will absorb what it needs in a few minutes, and if the excess is removed, there is nothing to leach back out. Also, as you stated, this is not something that needs to be done that often. I change strings much more often than I use the steel wool and oil. Then again, with your luthier experience, you know more than I do about necks, frets, woods, etc., so I will defer to you in these matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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