Rosewood board conditioning

kramer.geetar

kramer.geetar

New member
What’s a good product to use for maintaining rosewood fingerboards? I haven’t had a rosewood board for a long time, and I see for example from Jim Dunlop a Deep Conditioner and then your standard lemon oil. I know PRS offers a bottle of fretboard conditioner.
It’s for my new Silver Sky. It doesn’t need anything yet but in the future. I know you can’t go wrong with lemon oil, just wondering if there are better options out there.
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

I use Formbys or Pledge Lemon Oil
you can get the pricey purpose branded stuff
that amounts to exactly the same oil in the bottle
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

I’ve used the Dunlop product and been happy. Boogie Bill has the deluxe version, I forgot the name.
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

Check this out. It looks a bit oldfashioned, but the stuff is great. The inventor is a retired engineer, who worked with cooling oils in his professional life. As a hobbist fifer he saved a lot of vintage fifes with his oils.

https://beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

hamerfan said:
Check this out. It looks a bit oldfashioned, but the stuff is great. The inventor is a retired engineer, who worked with cooling oils in his professional life. As a hobbist fifer he saved a lot of vintage fifes with his oils.

https://beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm
Click to expand...
Fret doctor is the shtzel. Been using it 15 years. Outstanding product./

Most so called "lemon oils" and their variants contain mineral oil which is part water and is very bad for fretboards & will dry & crack them.

You should not have to use fretdoctor maybe twice a year on any single guitar.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fret-Docto...633642?hash=item1ce74c7bea:g:rFgAAOSwImRYFNfe
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

JMP/HBE said:
Fret doctor is the shtzel. Been using it 15 years. Outstanding product./

Most so called "lemon oils" and their variants contain mineral oil which is part water and is very bad for fretboards & will dry & crack them.

You should not have to use fretdoctor maybe twice a year on any single guitar.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fret-Docto...633642?hash=item1ce74c7bea:g:rFgAAOSwImRYFNfe
Click to expand...

This especially formulated, all natural blend of expensive non-toxic exotic oils, antioxidants, and stabilizers, controls the dimensional stability and water balance of fine wood instruments.
Click to expand...

from the website
https://beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

Marketing is fake news
Fret doctor uses Water as an ingredient too

Cmon Man

don't fall for the Hype
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

ehdwuld said:
from the website
https://beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

Marketing is fake news
Fret doctor uses Water as an ingredient too

Cmon Man

don't fall for the Hype
Click to expand...


Im being honest & have no personal gain here.

Anyone that uses "furniture polish" on a musical instrument or anything besides furniture is mis-informed at best.

Fret doc uses plant based oils that nourish wood and keep it hydrated.

Did you even read the link ?
 
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Re: Rosewood board conditioning

Oils that don't contain silicone or wax should be fine (these things build up, get pushed around, dirty, and gummy), but realize that it's for cosmetic reasons only. You don't need to oil rosewood to protect it from anything; rosewood is naturally oily. Just keep your guitar out of extremely arid conditions, and keep it clean.

If I wanted it darker, I'd slightly dye it rather than oil it, because I don't like the feel of an oiled board. Buffing/polishing the rosewood without any fretboard conditioning product can look and feel nice, though.
 
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Re: Rosewood board conditioning

Arizona is fairly dry most of the time. I've used Dunlop fretboard conditioner for years with no problems.
And for the rare finished maple board, Endust.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

JMP/HBE said:
Im being honest & have no personal gain here.

Anyone that uses "furniture polish" on a musical instrument or anything besides furniture is mis-informed at best.

Fret doc uses plant based oils that nourish wood and keep it hydrated.

Did you even read the link ?
Click to expand...

Yes I read the marketing copy
The words nourish and hydrate are also used to sell creams to women

Listen to yourself

All oils are plant based even petroleum is

Dood
Cmon you're quoting ad copy

The stuff in furniture polish is exactly the same stuff
Just not marketed to superstitious guitar players

It used the same plant based mineral oils as anyone else's


I give up you believe whatever Hoodoo you want
You win
You're the smartest internet guy I know
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

I like the Ernie Ball fingerboard wipes for cleaning. It smells good, too.
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

I use that Kysers Dr Stringfellows Lem-Oil stuff. Seems to work great!

Smells good!

I don't give a crap what's in it either!

Ha ha
 
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Re: Rosewood board conditioning

ehdwuld said:
Yes I read the marketing copy
The words nourish and hydrate are also used to sell creams to women

Listen to yourself

All oils are plant based even petroleum is

Dood
Cmon you're quoting ad copy

The stuff in furniture polish is exactly the same stuff
Just not marketed to superstitious guitar players

It used the same plant based mineral oils as anyone else's


I give up you believe whatever Hoodoo you want
You win
You're the smartest internet guy I know
Click to expand...
070612102287.jpg


This is the way to go.

Works on tires too.

... and yes im the smartest guy you will ever know.
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

I used Formby's for decades without any problems. Switched to Fret Dr about ten years ago. Not because the Formby's wasn't doing well for me; I just wanted to avoid the mineral oil.

As mentioned above - it's seldom, if ever, that rosewood really needs oil.

Most of my rosewood boards get bore oil every other year or thereabouts, and Feed N Wax at maybe six year intervals.

My Brazilian boards are oilier/waxier and they get bore oil about once every five years.
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

Back in the early 80's I had a country player bring in his Tele, the frets were falling out. He was wiping the rosewood fretboard down with motor oil. The thing reeked, as all the oil was going rancid. I could pull out the remaining frets with my fingernails, and there was oil pooled down in the slots. The fretboard had gotten punky, and I ended up cleaning it all off with a putty knife. The maple neck was stained with oil, so I started bathing it in lacquer thinner several times a day. After a week I didn't see any more oil on the paper towels I would set it on. I ordered a new fretted fingerboard from Fender (I was an authorized tech) and glued it back on before refinishing the neck and slipping on a decal. Last time I saw the guy he was still playing it.
 
Re: Rosewood board conditioning

Lately I've been using Guitar Honey

I like F-One but it leaves a finish on the board so I got away from it unless the board is really beat
 
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