Best oil to use for oil finished basses?

[Lo end PUNCH]

I was wondering which oil is best for my oil finish basses and whats the cleanest?, best brand?, Kind?, I'm using lemon oil right now. Whats best for ebony fingerboards? Thanks in advance.

[Lo end PUNCH]

No one??? Warwick users? Elrick?

[Lonnybass]

Originally Posted by Lo end PUNCH

I was wondering which oil is best for my oil finish basses and whats the cleanest?, best brand?, Kind?, I'm using lemon oil right now. Whats best for ebony fingerboards? Thanks in advance.

Lemon oil actually has some drying agents in it - I'd suggest a good wood cleaning product (I've heard Roger Sadowsky just uses Fantastik!) and perhaps hit it with a little bit of protective wax on top.

Lonnybass

[rok51]

I use tung oil. Messy and certainly not as easy to use as lemon oil. It is sticky to the touch initially, when dry...and it requires buffing with 0000 steel wool (I use synthetic). That said, it is highly protective from a variety of liquids and it lasts a l-o-n-g time.

Kim

[Bofee]

I like TruOil. It's a gunstock finish that is easy to use, non-toxic, durable and dries in a couple of hours.

[Lonnybass]

Wait a second, we're going off point here - are you trying to simply clean your instrument, or put some sort of topcoat over it? Two completely different things that require different approaches.

Lonnybass

[Ric5]

I start with pure tung oil and then add mineral spirits ... the more mineral spirits you add the more varnish like it becomes

[ibanezcollector]

misread..

[Lonnybass]

Originally Posted by Lonnybass

Wait a second, we're going off point here - are you trying to simply clean your instrument, or put some sort of topcoat over it? Two completely different things that require different approaches.

Lonnybass

Again - PLEASE do not do anything to your bass that is listed here until you explain exactly what it is you are trying to do. You've gotten advice from some to do stuff to your instrument that will put a new COAT over the top of the wood. You've also gotten a few tips on CLEANING the surface of your instrument. In your post, you mentioned an ebony fingerboard - but if you put Tru-Oil on it as some have recommended, it's going to do something to the surface that is a LOT different than using lemon oil.

I'm afraid some of the advice in this thread has lost sight of what you are actually trying to do here. I don't mean to come across as difficult, but it makes me nervous to see recommendations given that could completely take you the wrong way based on what you want to do. Cleaning and polishing your bass and putting a new finish over the top are two very different things - please don't confuse the two!!!

Lonnybass

Lonnybass

[buzzbass]

Mobil One 10w40

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by Lonnybass

Lemon oil actually has some drying agents in it - I'd suggest a good wood cleaning product (I've heard Roger Sadowsky just uses Fantastik!) and perhaps hit it with a little bit of protective wax on top.

Lonnybass

There is a lot of wrong information here. A quality and true lemon oil like Formby's doesn't have any drying agents or detergents in it, and works peferctly fine for gentle and occasional oiling of basses with oil finishes. Just use a light coat, and wipe off the excess. This info was given to me directly from Michael Tobias himself. There are many furniture cleaners that say they have "lemon oil" in it, but also have detergents in it as well that can dry out the wood. This is were the "lemon oil is bad, m'kay?" myth comes from.

I also doubt that Roger Sadowsky uses Fantastik on anything other than the painted and glossed finished parts of his basses. Using a chemical cleaner like that on wood is bad, m'kay?

[spade2you]

What exactly is the OP looking for?

If you're looking to oil finish a neck, I've been using pure tung oil without any drying agents. I've experimented with gunstock oil and lemon oil, but find that good tung oil seems to last longer between refinishing.

[Lo end PUNCH]

Originally Posted by Tony G

There is a lot of wrong information here. A quality and true lemon oil like Formby's doesn't have any drying agents or detergents in it, and works peferctly fine for gentle and occasional oiling of basses with oil finishes. Just use a light coat, and wipe off the excess. This info was given to me directly from Michael Tobias himself. There are many furniture cleaners that say they have "lemon oil" in it, but also have detergents in it as well that can dry out the wood. This is were the "lemon oil is bad, m'kay?" myth comes from.

I also doubt that Roger Sadowsky uses Fantastik on anything other than the painted and glossed finished parts of his basses. Using a chemical cleaner like that on wood is bad, m'kay?

Thanks! Sorry for not being more specific in the OP. But this answers the questions I had in my head.

Not looking for a gloss or clear finish, just a nice oil to apply to keep it from drying out over time, and not have any build-up,

[spade2you]

Originally Posted by Lo end PUNCH

Not looking for a gloss or clear finish, just a nice oil to apply to keep it from drying out over time, and not have any build-up,

Hate to break it to ya, but build-up is a fact of life. You play it and it eventually gets really dirty. Then ya sand it down and re-oil it.

If you're looking for something a shade more convenient, a nice satin finish can often have the feel of a freshly oiled neck. Instead of sanding and refinishing, I just use a little polish and a coat of wax.

I love how a tung oiled neck feels, but after having 4 necks and 1 body to oil, satin finish seems to be a very convenient alternative to a straight up gloss finish.

[TrevorOfDoom]

Originally Posted by buzzbass

Mobil One 10w40

naw, man. Quaker State FTW!!

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by spade2you

Hate to break it to ya, but build-up is a fact of life. You play it and it eventually gets really dirty. Then ya sand it down and re-oil it.

If you're looking for something a shade more convenient, a nice satin finish can often have the feel of a freshly oiled neck. Instead of sanding and refinishing, I just use a little polish and a coat of wax.

I love how a tung oiled neck feels, but after having 4 necks and 1 body to oil, satin finish seems to be a very convenient alternative to a straight up gloss finish.

I have a Carvin LB75f that was finished in tung oil that I bought new in 1998. I've done nothing but wipe the bass down with a light coat of Formby's lemon oil every other string change since I've owned it, and the wood looks great! I never had to sand anything down and reapply the tung oil.

[buzzbass]

Originally Posted by TrevorOfDoom

naw, man. Quaker State FTW!!

Bah, no way. They sponsor Jeff Gordon

[Rudyboy98]

I have never oiled my bass...I do try to keep it clean though. What do you recommend for Ash bodies?

BTW, isn't 20 w 50 better?

:O

[guyfergy]

I use orange oil on my Tobias classic and it works great. Guess that might be the same as using lemmon oil. Bass still looks brand new!!

[raytsmith]

Originally Posted by Lo end PUNCH

Thanks! Sorry for not being more specific in the OP. But this answers the questions I had in my head.

Not looking for a gloss or clear finish, just a nice oil to apply to keep it from drying out over time, and not have any build-up,

Furniture grade wax may be what you are after, it will clean and refresh the surface without adding a surface film. If it gives you too much shine, simply remove it with a bit of mineral spirits. Johnsons floor wax cleans well and leaves a relatively dull sheen, and a harder furniture wax with higher carnuba content such as Black Bison will buff up to a nice bit of shine.

If you have some scratches or scuffed areas, lemon oil might help, but I would normally use a bit of Watco Danish oil. It doesn't leave a film on top of the wood like tung oil or TruOil will, and you can pretty much wax over top of it and start playing immediately after.