Lemon Oil

61pollmann · #1 10-16-2009, 11:28 AM

I almost bought a bottle of Old English Lemon Oil for furniture to use on my fingerboard. I read the label, and it seems to be lemon oil mixed in with other oils, no % indicated. Is this the type of lemon oil used on fingerboards, or is there a more pure version available to luthiers? Any help in this matter would be appreciated.

George

LM Bass · #2 10-16-2009, 02:52 PM

Lemon oil is a bad idea, as it dries out the wood.
I use rubbing alcohol to clean fingerboards, then apply synthetic oil I get from Luthier's Mercantile.

Cody Sisk · #3 10-16-2009, 03:31 PM

Extra Virgin Olive Oil works great, is commonly available, and is cheap. Just avoid the flavored variety unless you like your bass smelling like a breadstick..

Mineral oil is good too.

Gearhead43 · #4 10-16-2009, 03:40 PM

JtheJazzMan · #5 10-16-2009, 07:00 PM

Wow, I religiously keep oil OFF the bass. First its on the FB, then on your strings, then on your bow. Feels gross too. Ive never oiled a FB.

Gary Lynch · #6 10-17-2009, 09:21 AM

Oils made from animal products and food type products will/can cause bacteria to develop. Most so called oils are not pure.

My luthier prefers, and so do I, mineral oil. It's pure, cheap, and works extremely well. You can buy it at drug stores and it is also marketed by the name Butcher Block Oil but cost a lot more when marketed that way.

salcott · #7 10-17-2009, 11:05 AM

I wipe my fingerboard with a towel after each use. Once a year, I give the board a light rub with 0000 steel wool, followed by a few drops of boiled linseed oil, which I rub in with the heel of my hand til it heats up. Vegetable oils, olive oil in particular, will turn rancid and smell bad. In general, if you keep the board clean, there's not much else to do.

Paul Warburton · #8 10-17-2009, 11:16 AM

Uncletoad · #9 10-17-2009, 11:19 AM

Lemon oil bad. Linseed oil good. Moreover less oil more playing. Really just leave it alone. Wipe it down once in awhile.

Cody Sisk · #10 10-17-2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

Lemon oil bad. Linseed oil good. Moreover less oil more playing. Really just leave it alone. Wipe it down once in awhile.

+1 Skin oil is great! Your fingerboard will be well-oiled if you practice enough!

I've seen the discussions about vegetable oils turning rancid and I have to say that extra virgin olive oil has to be an exception. I use it on my Shinai (bamboo swords) for Kendo practice. I've had a couple of these shinai for 6+ years liberally oiled with olive oil (and sweat from me!) and have never had a problem with rancid or smelly swords. But arguing the point is futile, can't go wrong with a cheap bottle of mineral oil.

Gary Lynch · #11 10-18-2009, 08:16 AM

There is or was a long thread somewhere regarding linseed oils on fret/fingerbaords. Boiled versus non boiled and all the additives. Some can stay too oily and other have ingredients that dry out or keep smelling forever. It almost turned into a mega thread.

Rosewood oil was another favorite mentioned. Pure oils were hard to find if I recall.

hdiddy · #12 10-19-2009, 12:09 AM

If you really need oil, theres an easy to find, renewable resource that's right in front of your nose. Literally. Yes, the oil off the skin of your nose. No purchase neccessary! It's right there ready when you need it.

MR PC · #13 10-19-2009, 02:02 AM

Which hand do you use?

MR PC · #14 10-19-2009, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LM Bass

Lemon oil is a bad idea, as it dries out the wood.
I use rubbing alcohol to clean fingerboards, then apply synthetic oil I get from Luthier's Mercantile.

+1

Dermal lubricants aside,

the best FB oil I've found for my own uses is the FB oil from Luthiers Mercantile. Very nice product, not messy to use, a little goes a very long way.

I just try to keep the board clean by wiping it after I'm through playing.

Jake of Bass · #15 10-19-2009, 03:30 PM

What's so bad about lemon oil?

I bought from a music store a product called Lemoil, it's made specifically for fret/finger boards, and have been using it the past year or so without any negative results from what I can tell.

Harling · #16 10-19-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdiddy

If you really need oil, theres an easy to find, renewable resource that's right in front of your nose. Literally. Yes, the oil off the skin of your nose. No purchase neccessary! It's right there ready when you need it.

Extremely fine oil. My great uncle taught me to put the oil for the corner of the nose and cheek on his old split cane fishing rod joints when using them. Worked for him for 70+ years of fishing.

Jake of Bass · #17 10-19-2009, 08:21 PM

That nose oil is also good for lubricating your plucking fingers on the fly. Just a quick wipe down mid song and away you go. I've used this many times when I've been playing really hard and can feel the beginnings of blisters forming (out of practice too...) and it helps prevent them getting really bad.

Uncletoad · #18 10-19-2009, 08:45 PM

Most commercially available Lemon Oils have to much other junk in them that allow them to deposit gunk on the fingerboard that never really goes away, retains dirt and crud instead of being clean. It ends up sticky and hangs you up when you play. Moreover boiled linseed oil has been used for that purpose for a long long time.

That doesn't mean that some specific thing you find isn't going to work and be fine. I don't know. I don't use all that junk because boiled linseed oil works and I don't need anything else.

None of that matters.

I will now shout which I rarely do.

STOP OILING THE BOARD AND PLAY THE BASS.

Much more damage has been done with oils and solvents and polishes and all sorts of "cleaning" than has been done by someone who just plays and wipes down when they are done.

If your fingerboard is drying out so much it needs oil then perhaps you should worry more about what's happening to that top than the fingerboard.

Past 11 · #19 10-19-2009, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake of Bass

What's so bad about lemon oil?

I bought from a music store a product called Lemoil, it's made specifically for fret/finger boards, and have been using it the past year or so without any negative results from what I can tell.

Same here. For over 20 yrs I've never had a problem with lemon oil and it has never dried out the wood. Maybe it's the type of lemon oil I use...dunno, but I keep finding a lot of conflicting information on this topic. Everything from "if you don't oil your fretboard, your instrument is slowly being destroyed" ...to "don't do it at all".

Marc Piane · #20 10-19-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

STOP OILING THE BOARD AND PLAY THE BASS.

+1. For that matter I've been feeling that way about strings, amps, humidifiers, and much of the gearhead **** we talk about 'round here.

I think I used mineral oil (my oil of choice) once on my Shen 'cause I did a gig in a cigar bar and the fingerboard was caked with all kinds of gunk. Plus you can drink mineral oil if you are ever a little stopped up.

Oh and I had to bathe my B bass' fingerboard in rubbing alcohol the other day 'cause a student I have had a blister that popped during his lesson.