vaseline on maple

Re: vaseline on maple

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.

Yep, an old luthier showed me that one years ago-
When I get a guitar with dried out rosewood, I just use a few drops on my fingers, work it into the wood, let it set for a few minutes, and then wipe with a dry cloth. let it sit , and wipe it down again before you re-string.
 
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?

Especially since this doesn't save any money, only a trip out to buy the correct product.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

Just do what Neal Schon swore by in the last interview I read about him. Salami grease.... Just keep your dog or other pets away from your guitar after treating it.
 
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.

True, I think the idea is that the naptha cleans the board and thins the mineral oil allowing it better penetration, then the naptha quickly evaporates leaving the mineral oil behind.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

True, I think the idea is that the naptha cleans the board and thins the mineral oil allowing it better penetration, then the naptha quickly evaporates leaving the mineral oil behind.

could be, could be

I'll stick with me rosewood oil, tho
 
Re: vaseline on maple

^ that rosewood oil sounds sexy. Where might i acquire some with which i might anoint my green SG?
 
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.

Same here. As long as you keep your instrument humidified, I don't think that any oil is necessary. The thought that you have to regularly replenish the wood's oil to keep it from drying out is kind of silly to me. To keep something from drying, you just add water (not directly of course).

Heck violinists and cellists have ebony fingerboards which are usually unfinished and I don't hear of them oiling on a regular basis.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

I truly never knew you needed to DO anything to fretboards . . . all I have ever done is play them. Well unless you count getting spit, slobber, or beer on them.

My guitars are either strapped on my back, or in their cases. Never left out to any type of elements. I do rub them down with an old sock whenever I change strings just to get the slight yuckies off of them.

Should I treat them with something or just say screw it and not worry about it ever again?
 
Re: vaseline on maple

I truly never knew you needed to DO anything to fretboards . . . all I have ever done is play them. Well unless you count getting spit, slobber, or beer on them.

My guitars are either strapped on my back, or in their cases. Never left out to any type of elements. I do rub them down with an old sock whenever I change strings just to get the slight yuckies off of them.

Should I treat them with something or just say screw it and not worry about it ever again?

Lemon oil once a year is alright. Things can go wrong with trying to do too much while knowing too little.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

I can’t remember what we used before. I can tell you what we use now.

First, you may never get all of the staining out of the fingerboard, but you can try to minimize the problem. Acetone would be what I would try first. You can buy it at the hardware store. Don’t douse the fingerboard. Start by soaking a cotton cloth first and then wiping the fingerboard down. If you get the fingerboard fairly damp it will not harm it. Acetone evaporates so fast it will not raise the grain. Go at it a few times and then steel wool the fingerboard with 0000 steel wool.

We now use a concoction we make here. I buy Lemon essence, which is pure pressed lemon oil. Google “Essential oils” and find some. You can get a pint for about $16. You won’t need that much. We then heat the lemon oil on a hot plate and melt in Bee’s wax. We use a 2” square cube of bee’s wax for every pint of oil. The wax will take a while to melt, but will melt completely into the oil. Let it cool over a few of hours and it will start to thicken. Once it thickens up use it to finish the neck. The oil will get into the wood and condition it, but in doing so it carries the wax down into the wood fibers. The wax prevents the wood from drying out, and skins over on the top surface to prevent debris from working into the wood. Polish it up with a cotton cloth when you have enough worked in and it should be very smooth and very fast feeling.
From Terry Atkins
yngwie308
 
Re: vaseline on maple

I've used Extra virgin olive oil on rosewood with remarkable success. same theory as the rosewood oil i guess... it's pure, there's no additives or distillates or other crap.

Maple I've never needed to apply cleaners to, because my maple fretboard is lacquered. the most i do is take a soft bristle toothbrush to the frets to get finger gunk from the corners, and then i rub the board down with a soft old rag.
 
Re: vaseline on maple

Just do what Neal Schon swore by in the last interview I read about him. Salami grease....


White Hungarian or Pepperoni?

This guitar business is so complex.



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

Guitar Player did not provide that detail, but if you email Neal directly who knows? You may catch him in a good mood to give up that info... All I could say is yuck... Lint Seed Oil smells bad enough... Throw some salami grease on top of that ..... bleck:)

White Hungarian or Pepperoni?

This guitar business is so complex.



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

Guitar Player did not provide that detail, but if you email Neal directly who knows? You may catch him in a good mood to give up that info... All I could say is yuck... Lint Seed Oil smells bad enough... Throw some salami grease on top of that ..... bleck:)

LOL...I hear ya. The more disturbing notion is, how does one discover this trick of the trade vis-à-vis manufactured meat products? Was Neal rubbing his salami along the neck one day when he noticed the improvement? Or worse, did Mrs Schon provide him with a snack plate of meats and cheeses and Neal didn't wash his hands before returning to the fretboard? Either way, it's bad.



Cheers....................................... wahwah
 
Back
Top