Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

[Rich_S]

I'm sitting here at my desk, supposedly finishing the specifiaction that's three weeks late already. Across the room I see the family "Kids' Guitar, an Ibanez GIO. Its rosewood fingerboard is more gray than brown. This gets me thinking, I should oil that puppy. Also, sooner of later my son's '60s-style Squier CV P-Bass is going to need the same treatment.

I'm to be forgiven for this gap in my guitar-maintenance knowledge; all three of my Teles have maple necks. The last time I owned a guitar with a rosewood fingerboard was about 1995. We didn't sit around chatting on the intarwebz about such things as finger-board-oiling back then, we just played the damm guitars.

Anyway, from what I understand, lemon oil is the commonly-used substance. Where does one get such stuff? Is it a common grocery-store-cleaning-supplies-aisle item? Or, does it have to specially imported from some third-world citrus-producing country like Florida?

Lemme know; I'll get some and pretty-up the GIO, then teach the kid how to properly care for his bass. Who knows, I might even get a rosewood-boarded replacement neck for my blue MIM, instead of having it refretted. I bet rosewood on the Agave Blue Tele would look sweet.

 

[bluesbend]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

I use Dunlop lemon oil. You can get it at just about any guitar shop.


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[cakire82]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

Lemon oil it is. You can get them from pretty much all music stores.
I use the Ernie Ball fretboard conditioner wipes so I don't have to find a rag lying around

 

[RealtyViking]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

Lifetime supply for $7: Old English Lemon Oil

 

[Pierre]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

Several ways here. Keep in mind lemon oil is a conditioner, not a cleaner.

Deep, deep cleaning:

Naphta (lighter fluid) for loosening the dirt. Then 0000 steel wool across all the fingerboard. Finally, clean the board, polish the frets (mask the fingerboard and use the 0000 steel wool). When the frets are clean you can then lemon oil the board.

Light cleaning:
I usually simply use the lemon oil; a light coat to loosen the dirt, then a lot of elbow grease after wiping the excess. If I just it necessary I'll condition it properly.

I heard Olive oil is great on rosewood as well. It wouldn't surprise me, Olive oil is good for everything (skin, guitars, I wouldn't be surprised if it cured cancer and could act like a man pill too).

Anyway bottom line:

Naphta's great for cleaning
0000 steel wool is even better for heavy duty
Lemon/gunstock/olive oil are more for conditioning though they do help loosen the dirt a little.

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

I have heard much good about Fret Doctor, especially on rosewood. I personally like the concept as well.

 

[Archer_of_Fish]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

I use the dunlop stuff. I live in a very dry climate and have (mostly) rosewood fretboards.....I do the boards once or MAYBE twice a year and have barely made a dent in the bottle.

Great stuff.

 

[whatshisname]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

Lifetime supply for $7: Old English Lemon Oil

That's what I use. Just put a light coating on the fretboard, let it sit for a few minutes, and wipe it off with a rag.

Even for heavier cleaning it's all I use. Maybe just a bit more elbow grease, if needed. An old toothbrush can come in handy for deep seated dirt, and to get against the frets.

If you really want to get into it, Pierre's got it covered.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

A little secret one of the shop owners around here clued me into. They do a lot of work on school band instruments, including violins, cellos, etc.....He handed me this little bottle of stuff called boar oil. Apparently it's mostly used on classical stringed instruments, but it works wonders on Ebony and Rosewood and has absolutely no build up with using it. You have to be careful with lemon oil and use it sparingly. Over time, the acidic content in it can break down the wood around the fret slots.

Another trick is to use your spit to clean a fretboard. Sounds gross I know, but human saliva actually contains enzymes in it that naturally break down the gunk that gets stuck in the wood pores. I was watching a guy set up a 60's LP(SG) and about flipped when he started spitting on the fretboard. Weirdest dam thing I ever saw, but it worked amazingly well. Naptha works as well, but spit is free.

Other than that, Pierre has got it covered.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

Fret Doctor is basically bore oil, which is really the only thing you want to put on wood.

"Lemon oil" is just lemon scented mineral oil, and mineral oil does not penetrate wood.

A good cleaning with naphtha followed by a little bore once a year is plenty.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

lemon oil is
naphtha and mineral oil mixed together
the naphtha cleans and evaporates
the mineral oil soaks in and moisturizes

and yea got some dollar store stuff in a big bottle years ago
I think the Brand is Holloway House
Formby's and Old English makes the same stuff

you can pay more if it makes you feel better

like some folks prefer name brand salt
but it is what it is

 

[KoreanGuitarMan]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

A little secret one of the shop owners around here clued me into. They do a lot of work on school band instruments, including violins, cellos, etc.....He handed me this little bottle of stuff called boar oil. Apparently it's mostly used on classical stringed instruments, but it works wonders on Ebony and Rosewood and has absolutely no build up with using it. You have to be careful with lemon oil and use it sparingly. Over time, the acidic content in it can break down the wood around the fret slots.

Fret Doctor is basically bore oil, which is really the only thing you want to put on wood.

"Lemon oil" is just lemon scented mineral oil, and mineral oil does not penetrate wood.

A good cleaning with naphtha followed by a little bore once a year is plenty.

The vast majority of bore oils are made from mineral oil, same as lemon oil.

Fret Doctor isn't. Basically, it is the product Bore Doctor in a larger bottle. So yes, it is A bore oil but it's not conventional bore oil. That link btw explains why mineral oil based products are bad for wood instruments. The gist is that it penetrates poorly leaving most of the wood dry and clogs the pores preventing natural moisture transfer.

I would be more worried about the solvents in lemon oil than the acidity of any "lemon" component when it comes to fret glue.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

First, clean the board with a couple drops of dish soap in lukewarm water, and a toothbrush..then;

This stuff- the fretboard gust drinks it in

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

You should NEVER, EVER clean a wood fingerboard of any kind with any type of soap or any type of brush...again, NEVER, EVER!

Also, just FWIW, I wouldn't use that liquid gold garbage either...

2 questions...where do you get this stuff from and why do you always feel the need to spread such terrible and wrong info???

It's guys like you that I fear when buying used guitars...lord only knows what has been done to it before I buy it!

 

[JeffB]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

You should NEVER, EVER clean a wood fingerboard of any kind with any type of soap or any type of brush...again, NEVER, EVER!

Also, just FWIW, I wouldn't use that liquid gold garbage either...

2 questions...where do you get this stuff from and why do you always feel the need to spread such terrible and wrong info???

It's guys like you that I fear when buying used guitars...lord only knows what has been done to it before I buy it!

Varsol & a wire grill brush works great! :bigthumb:

Nice thing about having worn/relic'ed guitars- I don't need to worry about this crap or buy anything anymore. In fact, I go out of my way not to take care of the finish. The fretboard is getting nasty & black on the Tele. I Just polish the frets as needed.

String residue + Jeff residue= tone!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

Worn/relic or not I almost never do anything to the fingerboards on my guitars....during the winter when it gets it's driest I might hit 'em with a little fingerboard oil but past that actually using the guitars has always been enough...

 

[JeffB]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

.during the winter when it gets it's driest I might hit 'em with a little fingerboard oil but past that actually using the guitars has always been enough...

True, but you need to take into consideration the climate- down South= much less "maintenance" as the changes are not so drastic. Up here in Yankeeland which can get bone numbing cold and dry, or bone numbing cold and humid can really mess with a guitar- totally dry out a rosewood (or worse, ebony) board. Not to mention affect your setups non-stop, especially a Gibson style construction guitar.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

True, but you need to take into consideration the climate- down South= much less "maintenance" as the changes are not so drastic. Up here in Yankeeland which can get bone numbing cold and dry, or bone numbing cold and humid can really mess with a guitar- totally dry out a rosewood (or worse, ebony) board. Not to mention affect your setups non-stop, especially a Gibson style construction guitar.

True!

It also helps that I keep my guitar room at a fairly consistant temp and humidity thanks to central HVAC plus a free standing dehumidifier...

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

I never understood why people would want to use god only knows what on a guitar, when the best product readily available.

Just order a bottle of Fret Doctor and be done. Why risk screwing something up.

Soap and water, on wood!?

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Oiling Rosewood for Dummies.

....and water, on wood!?

Like it never rained on the tree? :bling: