Assorted vegetable fats and rosewood fingerboards

[Byzcat]

I'm just wondering about this.

I use Shea butter as a skin cream, and almond oil on my face. I wipe off my hands before I pick up my bass, but sometimes they're still a little greasy.

Now, I've heard of people doing some pretty strange things to bass strings, like greasing them down with butter to get rid of that "new string" sound, or Jaco famously eating fried chicken and playing without washing his hands first, and you just know some of that grease is ending up on fretboards. So I'm figuring, a little Shea butter or almond oil isn't going to hurt my bass, right?

I've also seen on another thread in this forum discussing the pros and cons of using gunstock oil on a maple fingerboard.

I'm going to be giving the fingerboard a rubdown with lemon oil, hopefully soon (OK, how long does it take for a music store to get strings in anyway?). I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to rub some Shea butter in as well. It does wonders for my dry skin, and it's not as gross as chicken fat.

I'm also wondering about the back of the neck. Not sure what the finish is, but I'm guessing a thin coat of polyurethane- thin enough that you can feel the wood. If I play with greasy hands, could it possibly be bad for the finish?

[202dy]

The problem with most vegetable oils is that they can become rancid. Same goes for animal fats.

Not recommended.

[ashtray]

Lemon oil is usually good enough for me (it's not made from lemons...). You don't want your fingerboard getting rancid - then your fingers will smell badly after playing the bass!

[Byzcat]

Actually, Shea butter can keep for at least a year without going rancid- I know this because I just dug out a tub that I've had since the summer before last, and it's fine...

But, OK, no greasing down the fingerboard with vegetable oil. But probably don't have to worry if I get any on the neck from using it (or almond oil, which also keeps for a long time without going rancid) on my skin, no?

[T-MOST]

These are bass guitars. They are not made out of match sticks. Relaxe!

[Byzcat]

^

But my Ibby's a very sensitive girl. I worry about her.

[PJSShearer]

A luthier (who was famous at the time but I can't for the life of me remember who it was!!) wrote in the UK Magazine "International Musician and Recording World" that a dab of linseed oil on a soft cloth is the best treatment for an unfinished fingerboard.

[Smiley_One]

I've used linseed oil before and it worked very well.

[mongo2]

I put linseed oil and Tru-Oil on my fingerboards (but not both on the same board) and sometimes when I play I touch my face without cleaning my hands, will it hurt the finish on my face?