caring for a rosewood fretboard?

[rspst14 Tone Cat Find all posts View Profile Close rspst14]

Hey guys, I finally closed the deal on a Hamer Studio, so this should be arriving soon:



this will be my first guitar with a rosewood fretboard, as my Wolfgang has an oil finished maple board. I'm used to using lemon oil on the Wolfgang's neck every 6-8 weeks, does rosewood need to be oiled as well? Any other tips for taking care of a rosewood fretboard? Thanks.

Ryan

[Norman_T Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close Norman_T]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

Ryan,

Well done I think you'll like it when it arrives. As for using lemon oil on the fretboard yes that should be fine and ideally should be done at least twice a year with change of strings Some people use gun oil but as you have already go lemon oil that's fine.

I am a little concerned as to why you are using lemon oil on your maple fretboard on your Wolfgang ? You should not really be using this as it is a finished (maple) board and as such would not need this, in fact you might be doing more harm to it.

Norman

[Curly Moe's Bluesman Find all posts View Profile Close Curly]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

Ryan,
when I got my '99 Studio, there was a fair amount of gunk built up around the frets

I used Dunlop formula 65 to remove the gunk, then treated the fretboard with a little lemon oil (use sparingly). I also polished the body with Gerlitz Number One carnauba guitar wax, the nicest polish I've found. Not easy to find, but a very nice product. Some of the MacGuire's stuff is probably similar.

those treatments made the guitar much nicer to play

[bloodswords Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close bloodswords]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

if you live in an equatorial climate (like i do), your rosewood fretboard would get very dry pretty fast. lemon oil is an available solution for fretboard moisturising but it depends on the climate you're in. i have resorted to a wood conditioner to address this problem. IMO it has a less drying effect on the fretboard.

[JOLLY Super Simonologist Find all posts View Profile Close JOLLY]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

I am a little concerned as to why you are using lemon oil on your maple fretboard on your Wolfgang ? You should not really be using this as it is a finished (maple) board and as such would not need this, in fact you might be doing more harm to it.

I was wondering the same as well. That had me a little puzzled.

[bloodswords Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close bloodswords]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

what is then the proper fluid to apply to a maple fretboard, if there is a need to?

IMO maple are closed grained wood which do not need this kinda attention...

[Bludave Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close Bludave]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

Clean the fingerboard with a very fine steel wool. I use 00000. This will remove any build up around the frets, and it will not harm the rosewood. I oil the fingerboard with Lemon oil after every other string change.

[rspst14 Tone Cat Find all posts View Profile Close rspst14]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

Ryan,

Well done I think you'll like it when it arrives. As for using lemon oil on the fretboard yes that should be fine and ideally should be done at least twice a year with change of strings Some people use gun oil but as you have already go lemon oil that's fine.

I am a little concerned as to why you are using lemon oil on your maple fretboard on your Wolfgang ? You should not really be using this as it is a finished (maple) board and as such would not need this, in fact you might be doing more harm to it.

Norman

The Wolfgang's neck is not a finished neck, the way a Strat with a maple neck is. When I said "oil-finished," I meant that the neck is given a coat of oil and left without a hard finish. Peavey recommends regular lemon oil treatment for the neck and fretboard.

Ryan

[Norman_T Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close Norman_T]

Re: caring for a rosewood fretboard?

The Wolfgang's neck is not a finished neck, the way a Strat with a maple neck is. When I said "oil-finished," I meant that the neck is given a coat of oil and left without a hard finish. Peavey recommends regular lemon oil treatment for the neck and fretboard.

Ryan

That's okay and explains a lot, I thought it was a maple board. If Peavey recommends doing it then fine. Sorry my bad