Tung Oil - Rosewood Fretboard

dakpluto · #1 08-11-2008, 08:56 AM

Simple question...tung oil on a rosewood fretboard, good idea, bad idea, or I'm a complete moron that should die in a fire for even thinking of doing it?

If not a bad idea...what kind of prep work should I do other than a decent sanding?

Bassamatic · #2 08-11-2008, 09:03 AM

I have no problem with it, and it keeps my fingerboards from drying out. It's one of the first things I do when I acquire another bass - clean and oil the fingerboard.

However, remember - use only OIL and not the OIL FINISH that dries hard. I had to hunt a bit to get the real oil from Formsby's.

dakpluto · #3 08-11-2008, 09:18 AM

good to know, thanks for the warning

RyreInc · #4 08-12-2008, 08:14 PM

I put a few layers of the tung oil finish on mine, then sanded off the exposed part. I figure it would soak in and help protect (and harden?) the wood, and maybe fill in any voids.

T2W · #5 08-13-2008, 05:36 AM

I used Lemon Oil in the past but I find it darkens the wood a little too much to my liking, last time I oiled up a board, I used Tung Oil, it doesnt 'muddy' up the wood as much. I went straight for the Oil/Varnish, Ive never heard of Oil only like Gio suggests. HTH, Peace.

erikbojerik · #6 08-13-2008, 06:50 AM

Tung Oil is really a finish with oil in it, so it will not just soak it...it will build some thickness. It is also not super-hard, so you will notice some wear in the finish pretty quickly. Same for Tru Oil, danish oil, etc.

If you're just looking to keep the board from drying out, lemon oil is your friend here. I use Formbys.