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applying olive oil

P

Platypus_Of_420

Dec 27, 2005
553
1
35
Spokane, Washington
#1
hey, i'm thinking about putting some olive oil on my squier affinty p bass' neck and fingerboard, the search forum didnt really tell anything. would it be best for the neck or the fingerboard? and how much should i put on the neck/fingerboard? i've never applied oils to a neck before and some help would be greatly appreciated.

for reference, the fingerboard is rosewood
 
#2
Platypus_Of_420 said:
hey, i'm thinking about putting some olive oil on my squier affinty p bass' neck and fingerboard, the search forum didnt really tell anything. would it be best for the neck or the fingerboard? and how much should i put on the neck/fingerboard? i've never applied oils to a neck before and some help would be greatly appreciated.

for reference, the fingerboard is rosewood
Click to expand...
im not sure about the oil, but im digging the mitch hedberg quote in the signature :D

hedberg was the ****... too bad he died in my state... :crying:
 
#6
Olive oil is fine. A guitar buddy of mine swears by it and all of his Les Pauls are $1200.00 and above. Use it sparingly as you should any oil. One drop per fret for the first 12 and one drop every other fret for 13 to 20-24.
 
#8
SGT. Pepper said:
Olive oil is fine. A guitar buddy of mine swears by it and all of his Les Pauls are $1200.00 and above. Use it sparingly as you should any oil. One drop per fret for the first 12 and one drop every other fret for 13 to 20-24.
Click to expand...

I'll bet there are many oils that could be used successfully, but not sure if I would experiment with them on my basses.
"Use it Sparingly" is very good advice. With any oil (especially used on fretboard) using just the right amount is important. JUST a touch too much and your fretboard will be weeping oil onto your strings like crazy. And it doesn't matter how well you originally wipe it off, it still weeps.

If you try it, let us know how it works out...

Mag...
 
#10
As mentioned above, olive oil will turn in certain weather conditions (or eventually even if kept indoors). It is also a heavy oil and is not absorbed by the wood as readily as a lighter oil.

I have always used lemon oil as a fretboard treatment. There are also commercially available formulations for keeping your board from drying out too much.

I'd stay away from the heavy oils, myownself.
 
#12
I take a good, cotton "face" cloth (tight weave, very soft) and hold it on top of the open lemon oil bottle, tip the bottle to wet the cloth clogging the top, and then dab the first few frets before rubbing parallel to the fret. if it seems like you have too much on the cloth, just rub the excess over the next few frets before evening it out.

A dab'll do ya, much better do do very little over time than to drown it all at once. keep your guitars in good humidity above 50%, (i keep it %60-65, cold dry area with gas heat). you do not want to rot the wood, just keep it protected.
 
#13
nappingcracker said:
I take a good, cotton "face" cloth (tight weave, very soft) and hold it on top of the open lemon oil bottle, tip the bottle to wet the cloth clogging the top, and then dab the first few frets before rubbing parallel to the fret. if it seems like you have too much on the cloth, just rub the excess over the next few frets before evening it out.

A dab'll do ya, much better do do very little over time than to drown it all at once. keep your guitars in good humidity above 50%, (i keep it %60-65, cold dry area with gas heat). you do not want to rot the wood, just keep it protected.
Click to expand...

well, i keep my bass and all my music gear downstairs. and its not cold to me but other people say its cold. but i know its heated. do you think that'd be good? the house is heated around 70 degrees basically all the time. i couldnt say how well it heats downstairs though. do you think that'd be good for its climate?
 
#15
The key here is to not soak your fretboard. I only do mine a couple times a year to clean of the schmutz and make sure it doesn't get too dry.

I use the lemon oil right out of the bottle, and do use just a drop per fret at the low end and a bit less in the 'dusty' part of the neck. I use my *gasp* finger to spread the oil evenly on the wood and then let it sit for a while (like half an hour or so). I wipe it off with a papertowel, and then let it sit for a bit longer and then re-wipe. Once it looks like all the excess has bled out of the wood and it's dark and dry I restring. No stress.
 

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