Lemon or other oil

[Marcis]

Hallo! Does anybody know the right oil to clean, condition and resist dryness on rosewood necks? And which will be the best for ebony necks?

Thank you in advance for your answer

[SamBooka]

I dont own any ebony fingerboards but I remember reading an erelwine article saying ebony doesnt need to be oiled up like rosewood does..

Everyone has a favorite rosewood recipe.. I have used woodwind bore oil..
I usually dont go for the "miracle forumla" products but for the past 2 years I have been using Guitar Honey. Compared to bore oil it works just as well but feels better and smells better.

[Lawrie]

I've always used pure lemon oil on my rosewood boards.

[bluemood]

I using Dunlop 65 lemon oil on rosewood and ebony I live in Las Vegas very dry here.
I also have used a product called lizard spit also very good on both rosewood and ebony.

[Patrick2]

Originally Posted by bluemood

I using Dunlop 65 lemon oil on rosewood and ebony I live in Las Vegas very dry here.
I also have used a product called lizard spit also very good on both rosewood and ebony.

Tung oil. rub a small amount onto the fret board, wipe it off, then buff it, on a wheel if possible. It seals the wood without being a topical coating. Moisture won't get in . . . moisture won't get out. The neck stay stable without getting soggy, as it eventually will from excessive oil.

This as per Master Guitar Technician, Steve Hayes, of Steve's Studio, Colonia NJ. You can google him to check his credibility. He did this to my brand new Gibson L5 Wes Montgomery about 8 months ago. Beautiful!!!

[stevedenver]

lemon oil
bore oil (for clairnets_
fret doctor

i know each of these from decades of personal use-all fine-my preference is bore oil
get it at orchestral stores
-and, once in a while, for light colored, very dry and or very shrunken boards-the much heavier fret doctor

also
ebony needs to be oiled-it is more prone to cracking than rosewood and does need to be oiled-
less an issue, with all boards, with lots of use and transfer of moisture from the hands-

tung oil ....i differ with Patricks luthier-
tung oil should not be used-as noted it seals the board and hardens
and this is not what you want-just as it might 'seal in' moisture it also seals it out-
but it really doesnt seal it in--but it does make oil penetration much more difficult
-tung oil gives wood moisture resistance-not somehting you really need on a fingerboard
but it is not a vapr block-so moisture can still get out-but you have a more difficult time replacing it-
theres a reason why this is used to finish furntiure and not instruments (with lots of finger wear)

YMMV-google it and make you own decision

but tung oil is a permanent thing
and this is the main reason i do not like it -its upside is a lasting 'wet wood look'-so the board will have a lovely lustre and deeper color-but i think the open pores and ability to absorb moisture and oil is important to the wood

-once its on-its essentially like a mineral based paint-

it is clear, and with time it will yellow
and will not wear evenly with useage,
you will, over time, get the same look as a worn maple fender board
ie places with finish and without

and once its on-it is more difficult for oil to penetrate the board -

and simply-oil should be used apringly or you can over oil the wood
this is not a problem in Colorado-but i could see this eslewhere-
like many things-more isnt always better

i oil about 2x per year-light coat of bore oil-left on the wood about 5-10 minutes -
thoroughly wipe off the excess-keep it away from glued areas

[PTChristopher]

In my opinion, wood, oil and water vapor all pretty much act with no regard for our opinions, regardless of experience in the field.

But what the heck:

>>> clean, condition and resist dryness

Those sound like three different things to me. Or two anyway, since I have no idea what "condition" means most of the time - except that three daughters can kill a septic system with hair "conditioner".

I have had to handle some of the most truly horribly filthy guitars. Forget the bird flu, swine flu, or microbes from an asteroid. Life on earth will be wiped out by the creeping ooooze from a Gibson SG fingerboard.

So I am a big fan of cleaning. Denatured alcohol, naptha, and mineral spirits all do pretty well. I also use 70% isopropyl alcohol, although its water content might alarm some.

Sure, lemon oil, or mineral oil, or light machine oil might loosen some sorts of crud, but I like to separate the tasks and use what works best for me.

As for "resist dryness", note that most opinions freely toggle between both resisting dryness and resisting moisture as being both accomplished at the same time by the same wonder goo. And this is actually sort of true.

On my own guitars I use absolutely nothing. Keep 'em fairly clean, play music.

No need to soak in oil, no need to make them look dark, no need to "feed the wood" (whatever that means), no need to created an organic layer of tung or linseed oil (which can indeed dry and wear like a sort of poor quality paint).

It is true (regardless of our beliefs) that loading up wood with some sort of oil will reduce the amount of moisture that comes and goes with changes in ambient conditions. This can make your FB somewhat more stable.

So in my opinion, lemon oil is OK in that it does not easily form a layer of dead skin, clothing lint, food grease, and microbes. It seems to look nice and smell OK.

Tung and Linseed oil can form a very attractive layer on the wood, and if they are polymerized, they will eventually harden enough to not gather crud from the world at large. They do really require some maintenance, and using them often really can make a big mess if you do not clean them completely off now and then.

Light machine oil works about the same as lemon oil, but maybe the name sounds less natural, so it can strike some as being non-specifically bad for your guitar.

I have never seen a fingerboard actually come unglued from so much oil soaking in. I suppose it is possible, but it is also possible that the same fingerboard came off for some coincidental reason.

All in my opinion. Grease 'em up if you like it that way - I guess. But using absolutely as little as you can (or maybe a little less than that), while still meeting your goal, strikes me as a good idea.

Chris

[PTChristopher]

Oh, and,...

Oil in the fret slots or oil that gets into any cracks in the fingerboard make it a real pain to do some types of repairs.

It is very easy to fix cracks in both ebony and rosewood boards unless they are filled with oil or oily goo.

And some luthiers routinely use glue for frets, and oily slots can make this work rather poorly.

[life_with_a_song]

The Natchez Solution. Been using it for twelve years. Basically lemon oil and beeswax.