stop oiling your fretboards

[Killed_by_Death]

 

I've been telling people for years that oiling your fretboard just makes it pretty, it does nothing to protect it or moisturize it.

 

[ezbass]

Makes it smell nice though if you use Lemon or Orange Oils, at least for a bit. 

[Killed_by_Death]

 

The industry has convinced many many players that oil protects & moisturizes.

Want a moisturized fretboard?, run a humidifier.

 

[KiOgon]

You shouldn't oil Maple anyway.

[FinnDave]

The picture with the first post shows a maple fretboard, which being lacquered would receive no benefit from oiling other than to make a mess.

I always use lemon oil to condition my (various) dark wood unvarnished fingerboards when I change strings and have not been aware of any negative consequences of doing so.

 

 

[Reggaebass]

All maple fingerboards I’ve had have been a gloss or satin finish, so they should  not be oiled, but a rosewood board  that’s not been looked after ,or has dried out ,I would oil 🙂

[warwickhunt]

Just now, KiOgon said:

You shouldn't oil Maple anyway.

^^^ This.  

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

There's nothing wrong with oiling an unlacquered rosewood (or pau ferro etc) board. Only a fool would attempt to oil the hard finish on a maple board.

[Killed_by_Death]

16 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

I always use lemon oil to condition my (various) dark wood unvarnished fingerboards when I change strings and have not been aware of any negative consequences of doing so.

If by 'condition' you meant to make it looks & smell nice, but it won't protect it from humidity changes.

 

1 minute ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

There's nothing wrong with oiling an unlacquered rosewood (or pau ferro etc) board.

Do it too often or apply too much & the luthier will be cursing you when it's time for new frets.

 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Eat too much and you'll get all sorts of health problems but that's not a reason to stop eating altogether.

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Fretboards don't NEED oiling, people need to eat.

 

[mybass]

I was advised many years ago by a double bass builder/repairer to use ‘bore oil’ for my maccasar ebony f/b, an oil I still use today. I may use it once or twice a year. I buy Yamaha Bore oil, dab some on a cloth and apply and wipe off any excess. 

Once on tour I asked the hired German guitar tech to simply wipe clean my bass with a dry cloth. He ignored both me and the guitarist and ‘cleaned’ our guitars every night with the new wonder called Lemon Oil. It saturated the boards, softened the graphite nut on the strat allowing the strings to literally melt into it, leaked over to the bridge s via the strings and this idiot was adamant that it was okay! I have to say that it’s been a good advertising campaign getting players to believe that Lemon oil is ‘the business’!

[TheGreek]

I've had to oil fretboards which have dried out and they have benefitted from being oiled. As suggested do it in moderation.

[ezbass]

It is to be remembered that lemon oil is a nice smelling cleaner.

[Mudpup]

2 hours ago, FinnDave said:

The picture with the first post shows a maple fretboard, which being lacquered would receive no benefit from oiling other than to make a mess.

I always use lemon oil to condition my (various) dark wood unvarnished fingerboards when I change strings and have not been aware of any negative consequences of doing so.

 

 

Its a Musicman so wont be lacquered like most other maple boards. They have some sort of thin matt protection on them i guess but they still get filthy.....

Edited May 19, 2021 by Mudpup

[Stub Mandrel]

I have to agree that the idea of 'moisturising' something by adding oil is absurd. It should be the number 1 misused word in English (although mainly for beauty products not fretboards).

Fret oil (or just plain mineral oil) makes 'em look nice though.

[JapanAxe]

We generally don't have much of a problem with drastic humidity changes here in the UK, and I don't think that's the reason that most of us do apply lemon oil. I probably apply it every year or two - fairly sparingly, and diligently wiping off the excess. I imagine if you applied it too often or in too great a quantity, it would soften the fretboard.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 14, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[FinnDave]

I have never heard of the application of oil to the fingerboard as 'moisturising' before. I've only heard that word applied to the expensive placebos my wife buys!

As I said, I wipe some lemon oil onto the fretboard (sparingly) when I change strings, so not very often. I do it primarily to clean the wood.

[Hellzero]

3 hours ago, Killed_by_Death said:

Do it too often or apply too much & the luthier will be cursing you when it's time for new frets.

Play fretless : problem solved !

[Killed_by_Death]

 

leveling the fingerboard on a overly oily board won't be fun either, still getting cursed

 

[Hellzero]

4 hours ago, Killed_by_Death said:

 

What I see on this photo is clearly some real bad work done by a self called luthier.

The previous frets have been removed without any care, resulting in very tiny smalls cracks in the wood along the frets slots and then refretted without taking care correctly of these usual very tiny small cracks.

So what we see here is just these non corrected defaults that have taken the filth and humidity.

Keep on oiling or even waxing your naked wood, and only naked woods.

And if your luthier is telling you the above mentioned bullsh*t, change for a qualified one.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Guess what I've just done to my JMJ mustang?

I use Dunlop 65 but other brands specifically for instruments are available. Never use pure lemon oil, or anything labeled 'lemon oil' which is intended to be used on furniture.

Two squirts on a piece of kitchen towel is enough for the whole fingerboard - and practially all of that is then wiped off. Once a year is more than enough - I probably do this to each of my basses/guitars/ukes less than once in every five years.

[bartelby]

ooh, opinion as fact threads are always fun...

[King Tut]

Didn’t think you were supposed to oil maple boards?