Official Luthiers Forum!

Dumb question that I cannot find a reasonable answer to on the web:
Why put oil (lemon or other) on a fretboard?

Typical web results:
To replenish "lost" oil (on Rosewood and Ebony)
To "protect" the wood
To clean the wood
To make it look shiny
To sell our amazing product

I'm using Mesquite for boards now and I'm wondering about any cons of applying oil.
Dan

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Have a read here http://theguitaraddict.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/lemon-oil-apply-or-avoid.html

Bob

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http://www.bobmatthewsguitars.co.uk

My personal thoughts......

Fretboards take a beating from metal strings, finger nails, sweat, dirt ( most guys don't change strings enough), etc.

Most are left as bare wood with no protective finish at all. Although lots of manufacturers are now applying some type of thin epoxy type finish (then there's Fender...). Without a protective finish the wood is left to fend for itself in these conditions. Much as a cutting board relies on the grease from the meat to keep it "sweet" a fretboard needs something to keep it from just wearing away and disintegrating under the use and abuse. Some folks like to use Linseed oil which actually does form a protective layer of sorts, after all it can be used alone as a finish. I like lemon oil because it not only keeps the wood "sweet" but it has cleaning properties as well to get all that gritty crud off the board. A little sweat and beer and that gritty crud becomes a almost a lapping compound and wears away at the wood, frets and strings.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

In Martin's FAQ they specifically recommend NOT putting lemon oil on fretboards - they say it can react with nitrocellulose lacquer if you get it on the rest of the guitar (maybe Brian can confirm that?). Doesn't seem to be a problem with other finishes. I personally don't use it - have always felt it was kind of like putting Armorall on you car tires - just makes them look shiny, but lots of folks do use it or something similar.

i thought some reasons are: to keep the wood from drying out, which among other things keeps the wood dimensionally stable and thus the frets and fret ends remain seated nicely; and to give the wood a line of defense against absorption of sweat, beer, grime, etc, which eventually breaks down the wood.
i have always been too lazy to do it but after an eye-opening refret that tore up one of my rosewood fretboards(20+ years with no oiling and almost no cleaning) i decided it might be a good idea to apply it once a year or so...

I use walnut oil on all my fretboards. It's a drying oil, so you can build up some thickness, but it drys slowly and takes many coats. I usually do 6 or 8 coats, it give a nice soft gloss to ebony. I think it would look great on mesquite.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I have not had a problem with lemon oil reactivating nitro. But I only wipe on enough to do the job and buff off the excess with a clean rag in a minute or two.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

The lemon oil you get at the guitar store is typically mineral oil dissolved in petroleum distillate, with lemon scent added. It could be more accurately described as "Lemon-Scented Oil". None of those ingredients should hurt a nitro finish, especially if you don't let it sit on there. Besides you're putting it on the fretboard not the body.

I never use boiled linseed oil, it gunks up on the fretboard and smells rancid shortly after applying it.

I oil fretboards to clean gunk off of them and to remove tape residue afer fret dresses, the petroleum distillate does a good job of that, and the oil keeps it from looking super dried out afterwards.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Right on. I will oil the board.
Thanks for the info. I don't trust much of what I find on the web, and I appreciate advice from the OLF pros.
Dan

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I use Formby's lemon oil. Yeah it has a some petroleum distillates in it but that doesn't bother me. I mainly use it as a cleaner and use a very small amount on the fingerboard. After using it to help clean the gunk I wipe off any excess. You don't want to over do it. It only takes a little and it adds a nice look to the fingerboard afterwards...Mike

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Another day, another dollar.

Mom and Pop hardware stores, if you can still find one, carry Howard Feed-n-wax and it's the best stuff I have ever used and used by many in the trade.

It's a preservative, it protects, it pops figure and darkens very well, and it will not damage finish, the board, etc. I've personally used it now on thousands of guitars and other instruments with always great results. Take about 3 minutes to do, easy-peezy!

Highly recommended!

Forgot to mention - for grimy boards that are not Fender maple style boards use OOOO steel wool to clean the frets and the board first. OOOO is pretty tame but strong enough to get finger jam (yuck.... ) off and if you finish up in the grain direction it removes any scratches that it may impart by going along side the frets.

Then treat with Howard Feed-n-wax.

For maple board use Naphtha to clean but no Howards.

i've melted ski wax into rosewood boards before using an iron, and also regular paraffin wax sold in small bricks for canning. scrape off the excess when it cools with the edge of a credit card, hit it with a nylon brush, then buff. pretty finish, and water resistant for awhile. the ski wax seems harder/better. i'll have to try the Howards stuff.
i keep packages of throwaway bamboo skewers around and i find myself using them for everything....scraping gunk around frets is one

Hesh the home Depot near me carry's Howard Feed-n-wax. I have to grab a bottle.

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Another day, another dollar.

Really? That's great news and means since they are a chain that my HD may have it too. It's not easy stuff to find so thanks for the lead Michael!

I am reminded of an old Telecaster brought to me back in the early 80's. The owner used MOTOR OIL on the fingerboard quite regularly, and the guitar reeked of rancid Trop-Artic. He brought it in for a fret level, and the rosewood was so spongy I could pull the frets out with my fingernails. There was enough oil in the bottom of the fret slots to lube every door hinge in the music store.

The oil hadn't started soaking into the maple - which is still a wonder to me. The owner left it with me while I bathed the fingerboard in lacquer thinner for a week, and letting it rest upside down on a stack of newspaper to suck up the old oil.

I eventually de-oiled the fingerboard, glued in the old frets with hide glue, and then performed a fret level. When the guy picked up his Tele, I told him to NEVER use motor oil again or I would break his fingers.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Cool. My HD has it in stock.
Thanks,
Dan

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