This is the last time I've used LEMON OIL on a guitar

[cosmic gumbo]

I used cod liver oil once, and on a hot August night, a pack of feral cats attacked me on stage and started licking the neck of my guitar.

[Kneelie]

Some like linseed oil, it is a drying oil, it soaks into the pores, hardens, and will leave a finish although not a strong one. It compares more to a wax in durability as opposed to a lacquer. Linseed oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Olive oil has a relatively long shelf life, but food oils will oxygenate and go rancid, some faster than others. There are methods of oil stabilization using antioxidants.

Lemon oil is rarely if ever really lemon oil. Often, it is mineral oil with lemon scent.

Bore oil seems to be a good option.

I would use caution putting water on unfinished woods. I have sanded maple and it got just a few rain drops on it. Where the rain drops landed the grain was raised ruining the sanding job. It looked like a Dalmatian.

Good wood care ideas can also be found from searching for care for other wood instruments. I have seen many odd suggestions many with little backing or supporting facts across many guitar forums, and while I know why some ideas do not work, I do not know what is the best practice.

These sites give some good info:
Bore Oil for the Fife and Fret Doctor
Oiling the bore of clarinets and other wooden-bodied woodwinds

I hope this helps.

[EinarG]

I work as a guitar tech, and if I setting up a guitar with a really dry fingerboard I use lemon oil. I usually cover the fingerboard with a layer of lemon oil rubbing it in with a sponge, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. You can see the oil being absorbed by the fingerboard. I wipe it off with a cloth and let it sit for 30 minutes. If the fingerboard has started to "sweat" lemon oil, it has had enough, if not I might put on a second layer (not as much as the first), let it sit for two minutes then wipe it dry. This way you let the fingerboard tell you when it has had enough, and you'll see when the guitar is finished "sweating", so you can wipe the excess off. That way you won't have any problems with necks feeling bad afterwords.

And, another thing. Lemon oil can be really irritating on the skin, so I recommend using a sponge or a piece of cloth when rubbing it in. And don't get any in your eyes!

[PTChristopher]

Hi Kneelie,

Interesting links.

On the second one, it is unfortunate that he begins with a statement that I hope was meant to be interpretive or inspirational. Unfortunately it is not particularly true.

>>> Section One: The Theory.

>>> Wood is a living material.

Wood is no more alive than is a box of corn flakes. Actually, depending on how you want to define things, wood is less alive than a box of corn flakes.

Anyway, thanks for the interesting links.

Chris

[EinarG]

But, I should also state that I live in Norway, and the air is so dry here that fingerboards get cracks in them if we don't keep the water percentage in the air up.

[Patrick2]

But, I should also state that I live in Norway, and the air is so dry here that fingerboards get cracks in them if we don't keep the water percentage in the air up.

I understand what you're saying. But, when a finger board dehydrates, it's losing both essential oils and water content. If you start out by only letting a dry fret board "drink it's fill" of lemon oil . . then it's ability to absorb moisture will be inhibited due to the oil repelling the moisture. I would say it's best to expose the guitar (fret board) to an area with a 60% or higher relative humidity level for at least a couple of days. Allow the wood to re-hydrate appropriately with the moisture in the air. Then, apply a very high grade of lemon oil with little or no alchol or other distillates . . . but, apply it in much lower amounts than you indicated. I would also wipe it on . . then immediately (I would definitely not let it sit there for a couple of minutes) wipe it off with a dry cloth. Doing so will help to prevent dehydration (of moisture content aka water) in the dry climate you are faced with. Your method is simply saturating the wood with oil . . and not even the "bois de rose" it's losing. Eventually, the wood becomes "spongy". Not to the point where the human eye can tell . . . . but, the notes will know!

[Soco]

This is basically what Bill Collings is saying, he recommends using very little oil. He knows a thing or two about guitars and woods.

[gary mitchell]

I Use A Product For Funiture Its Cheap Works Great, I've Used It One $100.oo Guitars T0 $3000.00 Guitars Works Great For Me. I Have Always Got Top Dollar For My Guitars.it Comes In A Spray Can And One Can Last A Long Time Little Over A Buck A Can. Has A Little Lemon In It, But Doe's Not Leave A Oily Residue Its Call Kleen Guard.

[drobniuch]

Hi again so there a little bit confusion about this thread because..
1. There is Lemon Oil and Lemon Oil..
I was talking about the so called "lemon oil" (fretboard conditioner) for guitar products (like the Gibson and Dunloop) and they are not really Lemon Oil but Minerall Oil with wax and some lemon add.
2. As i was going through some opinions
TRUE lemon oil cleans strings and in fact i think Dunloop 65 string cleaner is based on Lemon Oil
3. The Gibsons and Dunloops etc. are bad for strings
4. TRUE Lemon Oil can clean the fretboard but dry it out really fast
5. The Minereal Oils seals the fretboard and there are opinions that it's bad.
6. The Minereal Oils makes wood less streetching during temperature changes
7. What is sticki about the Gibsons and Dunloops is basecly the wax part

as for my guitar problemm I finnaly on a good way.. the Dunloop 01 (based on alcohol) helped to remove the wax part, it has relly shifft the oil, the fretboard after using it startet to be much darker and some oil becouse there was no wax came back but it was not so sticki at all. The Dunloop 01 has little dry out the wood but I was applying it not on fretboard but on a cloath in small portions.. a tootch brush also helped.. The Gibson is less stick then the Dunloop (I always used Gibson and I not so much overdosed the Dunloop but it was too sticki for me)

so now on witch lemon oil were you guys reffering

P.S. sry for my eng

[drobniuch]

OK I post because someone will be in the same situation... I used Dunlop Lemon Oil on my new guitar and the Fret board became sticky and the strings started to sound bad and collecting dirt and getting dark, a fret buzz also appear.

Solution..
I went to a guitar Luther and he removed a tinny layer of fret board and it was just it..
He also told that he don't know why people use lemon oil it's shit, and he showed me the FastFret and told that's the biggest shit he knows..
He also recommend to simply wipe down the fret board with a cloth soaked with a little pure alcohol (97%) and then apply some baby oil.. He did it on my FB and now it's relly nice and the strings are OK..

My statement:
Don't use "lemon oil" on FB it's bad.. and if someone tell you to use something on FB first apply it on a credit card and check if it not sticky, if it don't smell bad, if it not acid and if it not bad for strings... and really the guitar main thing is to sound good and too play easy and not look- so f***k the oils.. I also think that the FB crack is only a 1% guitar problem so better not bother

[Patrick2]

I love the accent!!

What I would recommend, is when you are going to change your strings .. try to set up a work bench near you vehicle. Then, after you remove the strings . . . take the dip stick from your vehicle's engine block and run your fingers down it to take some of it's engine oil onto your fingers. Then, in tiny circular motions . . rub the engine oil into your ebony fret board. If you need more oil, just put the dip stick back into it place to get more oil on it . . . remove the dip stick and repeat the process. Do not do this if you use Mobil 1 which has graphite in it. Oh . . yeah, I forgot rosewood. For rosewood boards . . . use this same method . . . . but, use the transmission oil dip stick. Make sure the tranny is at operating temperature .. or you may not get an accurate reading.

Now . . . maybe we can stick a fork in this topic.?.?

[taxman]

I have a telecaster with an ebony (yes, Fender original) fretboard. The fret ends were sticking out and I wanted to try oiling the board to bring it back.
I called CF Martin and Taylor about how to treat the ebony finger board. Neither recommended lemon oil, as it is too acidic. I can't remember which company advised raw linseed oil. Boiled linseed oil is what you find at hardware stores. I got a two ounce bottle of raw linseed oil at an artist's supply store. Wipe it on and wipe it off. Once a year is too often.
It didn't help with the fret issue. I had the frets dressed.

[SamBooka]

>>> It didn't help with the fret issue. I had the frets dressed.

I would hope that anyone who had read through the thread would be able to predict that it would have no bearing on the fret issue.

I would say odds are better than 50/50 leaving in in the case for a few days with a humidifier would have helped (maybe not cured.. but helped).

At any rate I have seen this so much on fenders (and on my ES165 with a bound FB) that it is... err.. I believe more seasoned tech refer to it as a no-biggie.

[zambiland]

OK, I'm coming late to this thread, but Alembic, who make many costly instruments with ebony boards, recommend using pure lemon oil once a year. Being that my wife is a perfume designer and aromatherapist, I use aromatherapy grade lemon oil on my Alembic and other instruments. It doesn't take much, it cleans the boards and it does not make the strings sticky. If anyone wants some of this, get in touch. My wife has agreed to provide a discount for my musician friends. It's not super cheap, but I've been using the same bottle for many years now.

[dewmann]

I have worked for 3-Fender dealers and more - have set up hundreds of guitars. Lemon oil will not clean your strings it will clog them up and make them dead as a doornail. Just try it and see. Lemon oil is safe on any guitar as long as you don't overdo it. Even if you do, let it sit for more hours and keep wiping the fretboard off until it is all gone. If you put the strings on before it is all off there and any of it gets on the strings it will destroy the tone. LEMON OIL DESTROYS THE SOUND AND VIBRATIONAL QUALITY OF GUITAR STRINGS PERIOD. The person who started this discussion was probably dealing with the issue of lemon oil sweating back out of the fretboard because the person working on the guitar used too much, didn't get it all off, and it destroyed the tone as well as discolored the strings which he mistakenly thought was rust - "rosty".

[dewmann]

Don't get any on the guitar strings and no tone issues will occur - certainly not rust because oil and rust do not mix and no oil will cause or promote rust - quite the opposite. If lemon oil gets on strings it will destroy the tone of those strings. Any luthier or guitar tech that has worked with lemon oil knows this.

[PB+J]

I don't know why people are so fussy and obsessive about this. Oil on your fretboard is purely cosmetic. It doesn't stop the wood from drying out or any of that stuff.

Personally, I would not put anything on a fretboard that doesn't cure. Boiled linseed oil is great--it looks great and it cures, meaning it doesn't stay sticky. I cannot harm your fret board in any way. it just makes it look darker, and it cures pretty quickly and you don't get a sticky oil finish that attracts dirt and gums things up

[ptchristopher3]

Hi PB&J,

In my opinion, players make an awful mess wiping things on their FB's. Trying to remove frets while scraping off the staggering crud on an FB is a remarkable experience, and a testament to the amazing immune system.

A curing finish forming fillets on each side of the frets, capturing dead skin, and the other emerging life forms often all over FBs, and doing absolutely nothing of value is what drives my opinion.

But so long as one is happy and ready to pay your luthier to deal with the mess, wipe on anything you like.

In my oft-off-center opinion.

Chris

[Doctor Jeff]

I have used Gibson's FB oil, which is as best as I can tell is lemon oil, for many years when I change strings. Lemon oil by the way is not made from lemons, it is a petroleum-based product that smells citrusy. It apparently cleans gently (solvent action) as well as conditions the wood.

Per the Gibson website:

"If you notice that your fretboard has dried out or developed hairline cracks, you may finish this process with Gibson’s Luthier’s Choice Fretboard Conditioner. Alternately, you can rub one or two drops of oil (mineral, almond or linseed oil) into the fretboard to condition it. Make sure to wipe off excess oil with a soft, dry rag."

Being a woodworker, I don't think one can say oil has no benefit on a wood surface that is exposed to heat and low humidity. It's not a permanent fix, and for guitar FB's you don't want anything that cures, i.e., polymerizes, too hard, like Danish oil. You don't want to overdo it either.

Junk is going to build up from your fingers regardless of whether you add oil to the fretboard. If you've ever cleaned your fingernails, all that stuff is ending up on your frets.

I've used Gibson oil for many years with no noticeable effect on the strings, heck for the most part the string doesn't even touch the fretboard. As I posted elsewhere, I recently noticed some oxidation after very little use with some TI nickel strings, which I've not noticed at all with chrome strings, but frankly I think it has more to do with finger sweat and oil than something on the fretboard.

Just my .02.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I oil a fretboard about once a year, a few drops into the cloth and then rubbing it on. Never had any problems arise from it. I've also owned guitars for fifteen years that never saw any oil (both with rosie FBs) ... again, no problems.

I'm not sure there's much of a difference if used sparingly.

I wouldn't overdo it (spattering and soaking, or more often than once per year) for worry of lifting inlays or messing with the frets' seatings. But a little every so often seems to be fine in my experience.

[vinlander]

+1 on Gorgomyte, cutting a small 1.5 square inch do a full fretboard, once a year is more than enough.
Keeping your guitar in good relative humidity is the key for a non dry out fretboard, not soaking it in oil like some wannabees teach on youtube...

[Doctor Jeff]

Just a couple more wood-oriented thoughts. Linseed oil does polymerize (harden) but it does so relatively slowly. Boiled linseed oil has "quickeners" to make it harden faster, so I wouldn't recommend it.

When you add oil to a wood piece you more or less flood the surface, let it stand a short while, then wipe off before it gets gunky. If the entire wood surface doesn't look wet, you will have unevenness of finish. With fretboards I don't let it stand more than 5", and its never been sticky in my experience.

Re' whether wood is dead or not, technically it's not growing and taking up nutrients via the phloem, but it does absorb/lose moisture, and it does swell/shrink with changes in humidity. As to whether oiling the very top surface does anything farther below, does using lotion on dry skin (which after all is "dead" cells on top of the living cells) do anything? Of course--prevents cracking and prevents further moisture loss among other things.

I read somewhere that violinists have oiled their fretboards for hundreds of years, but I'm unable to confirm that online. There seems to be as much disagreement among violinists and cellists about this issue as among guitarist. Interestingly a lot of violinists use guitar FB oil for their violins...

[Matt Cushman]

I have never tried the Gorgomite but it sounds like a good product. It sounds similar to my low cost home made version. I use a drop of luthiers choice fretboard conditioner on a small patch of fine crocus cloth. The crocus cloth polishes ebony very quickly, but it does lose it's effectiveness after it gets clogged with grime.

[Thumpalumpacus]

lol, Gorgomyte is a cloth impregnated with ... wait for it ... lemon oil.

Or is that snake oil?

Most of those special fretboard cleaners have one thing in common: mineral oil. Lemon oil without the citrusy scent. Stuff that costs six bucks for 2 oz at a music store costs six bucks for 16 oz at Ace Hardware.

[Doctor Jeff]

lol, Gorgomyte is a cloth impregnated with ... wait for it ... lemon oil.

At least it's not vegemite...

Fast Fret is definitely unscented mineral oil. I replenish the applicators periodically with medicinal grade mineral oil from Walgreen's.