vaseline on maple

baritone

baritone

Well-known member
I've been using petroleum jelly to maintain my rosewood fretboards. After doing a search here, it looks like that is not the favorable way to do it. However, it seems to be working pretty well so far.

Maple fretboards frequently have a high gloss finish on them, but my one maple fretboard guitar looks unfinished. Would it be safe to vaseline it up?
 
Re: vaseline on maple

why vaseline?

if its rosewood you dont realy need to put anything on it but if you want lemon oil is the way to go. For maple you can leave it bare wood if it reached that point or if you want a finish on it then youll either have to reapply w/e finish is on it already or sand it bare and apply a new finish.. i would recommend tru-oil for maple, its realy easy to apply and you can always add some more whenever you think its starting to wear off
 
Re: vaseline on maple

If it's rosewood you absolutely have to treat it regularly with lemon oil or something similar to keep the wood from drying out and shrinking, causing your frets to pop out and your inlays to fall out.

Granted that takes a while to happen but it happens. Lemon oil every time you change the strings at most...once a year or so at the very least.

Dunno why you've been using vaseline but i doubt you've caused a lotta damage...

As for maple? If it's raw and unfinished it has a higher risk of warping but Vaseline won't do anything to it but make it greasy.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

if you used vaseline it'll prevent oil from penetrating the wood, vaseline and oil don't mix so the repel each other... and you don't have to do the oil thing every time you change your strings.. hell i change my strings every 1-2 week that would probably be excess oiled up wood... most rosewood are plenty oily by themself and will last a lifetime without drying out altho it depends on what kind of weather you live in.. ive never had to oil my fretboard and its definetly not try, but its not a bad thing to oil it once or twice a year... helps keeps it clean too, however im pretty sure it is bad to do it way to often, too much oil could cause problems
 
Re: vaseline on maple

I like the oiled fretboard look. I grease up my boards about once every two months. I would think vaseline is a no-no.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

Linseed oil's the only thing going on my fretboards, be them rosewood or ebony. You can buy a litre for a few bucks, lasts a lifetime.

Every 6 months minimum for me.

Most maple boards are finished so no need for any oiling. If it's really unfinished (which may be a bit raw), I'd at least go with some oil just like any other unfinished board...
 
Re: vaseline on maple

There's conditioners specifically made for fretboards, that's what I use. No unwanted side effects. Got mine from StewMac.

If you're in a cold climate, furnaces reduce the humidity level to desert conditions in the winter. You'll need to treat your fretboards regularly. Here in Florida, we're 'dry' when the humidity drops below 50%, so it's not so much of an issue.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

I see no reason why vaseline would be bad on rosewood. Martin Guitars uses "3 in One" oil on their fretboards. Maple wouldn't make sense though since it's not bare wood.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

It kills me how people still insist on foregoing the tried and true instrument oils and do stuff like this. Would you wax your car with random chemicals from under your sink?
 
Re: vaseline on maple

I'd go with lemon or orange oil on the fretboard. Dunlop makes a fret board conditioner I hear is very good too.

P.S. A little Johnson's paste wax works good too. I have seen a few luthiers use that after they have worked on a guitar neck.
 
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Re: vaseline on maple

Empty Pockets said:
If it's rosewood you absolutely have to treat it regularly with lemon oil or something similar to keep the wood from drying out and shrinking, causing your frets to pop out and your inlays to fall out.

Granted that takes a while to happen but it happens.
Click to expand...

It must take more than 42 years, because I'm looking at my '68 Strat here and its frets and inlays seem to be stubbornly imbedded. The only thing I do regularly to the rosewood fretboard is play it.




Cheers....................................... wahwah
 
Re: vaseline on maple

wahwah said:
It must take more than 42 years, because I'm looking at my '68 Strat here and its frets and inlays seem to be stubbornly imbedded. The only thing I do regularly to the rosewood fretboard is play it.




Cheers....................................... wahwah
Click to expand...

and the sweat and oil from his fingertips conditions the fretboard. :fing2:
 
Re: vaseline on maple

wahwah said:
It must take more than 42 years, because I'm looking at my '68 Strat here and its frets and inlays seem to be stubbornly imbedded. The only thing I do regularly to the rosewood fretboard is play it.




Cheers....................................... wahwah
Click to expand...

That's all it takes, playing time. As long as the guitar is played regularly, the natural oil in your fingers will take care of it.

I have one guitar with a rosewood board that I don't play a lot and it lives in the case. Every once in a while I take it out, play it a little, changed the strings and oil the fretboard. But I oil it only because it doesn't get a lot of play time.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

GoDrex said:
I see no reason why vaseline would be bad on rosewood. Martin Guitars uses "3 in One" oil on their fretboards. Maple wouldn't make sense though since it's not bare wood.
Click to expand...

3 in 1 oil, Lemon Oil, and commercial fretboard conditioners are all mineral oil based. You can buy a bottle of food grade mineral oil at the pharmacy that will last you forever.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

Most lemon oil is naptha (read: lighter fluid) based. It will actually dry out your fretboard over time.

Don't believe me? Grab your bottle of lemon oil (even the kind sold as "instrument conditioner") and check out the ingredients.

I use Rosewood Oil. It's an aromatic oil that actually comes from a different species of wood than the rosewood used for instruments, but it works well, cleans & penetrates the grain, doesn't leave a mess, and smells nice. :) Linseed oil would work as well.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

If your conditions are so dry that frets and markers are popping out, wouldn't that mean that it is so dry that the wood has shrunk beyond the reach of oil? Just wondering, because I have also been a fan of letting the crap from my hands do the work. But I live in Canada, and I have never seen a case that made me say "that could have used some oil". My SG goes out of intonation twice a year due to the furnace, but the board is fine.
I am not saying that oil doesn't work, I just have never heard of it doing anyone any real good. Other than making the board feel nice.
 
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