I recently purchased an as new bass with an unfinished maple finger board. It had a few finger smudges on it already, and since I had seen so many MM basses with terribly dirt stained maple finger boards, I set out on a quest to find how I could best prevent mine from accumulating stains (Aside from good hygiene; i.e. washing your hands prior to playing).
After performing many TB word searches and googles on the web, the best method seemed to be on the Ernie Ball web site (makes sense I suppose).
They recommended using Birchwood Casey Tung-Oil (gun stock finish) and Birchwood Casey Wax. The directions are on the oil and wax and I've got to say that it not only adds some protection put it also
really brings to life the birds eye maple on my finger board!
Here's the main portion of the info from the Ernie Ball site:
An infrequent dose of gunstock oil will help to keep the neck maintained; we recommend and use Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil, but any good quality gunstock oil will work. Clean neck first. Use a small amount of Tru-oil, leave it on for 5 minutes, then wipe it off with a paper towel. Then apply Birchwood-Casey Gunstock Wax. Be sure to douse the paper towel with water before disposing of it! Read the wax and oil manufacturer's instructions regarding disposal of these used paper towels. Birchwood-Casey products are available at most sporting goods or gun stores, or direct. Their web address is http://www.birchwoodcasey.com. Rosewood fingerboards should not be treated with gunstock oil; instead they should be treated with a high grade of lemon oil.
Anyway, I thought that I'd make it easier for the next person to find the info.
