I use fret doctor maybe twice a year. It works but it’s expensive and I may switch to something else when I use up the bottle I have
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Caring for rosewood fingerboard.
- Thread starter Jinobass1
- Start date
Best! I used to only use lemon oil and recently switched to MN F-1 oil. That stuff is the bees knees! works so good.
Just to throw some science in here: Limonene is the extract taken from citrus oils, that not only gives things a lemony scent, but also has the ability to dissolve oils, which is why it’s used as a cleaning product. As a solvent, it can also attack and degrade polystyrene, fwiw.
Not all “lemon oils” are the same. Pure lemon oil (often sold as ‘essential oil’) is far too strong to use on unfinished wood, and these will remove moisture from rosewood.
Commercial ‘lemon oil products’ sold for guitar use contain little to no lemon oil at all, and are often just mineral oil with a bit of lemon scent and yellow coloring added!
What’s important to remember is that oils dissolve oils, so oily residue on the fingerboard can probably be removed with a drop or two of mineral oil and a little gentle scrubbing with an abrasive pad.
I would recommend rubbing in a small amount of beeswax after the mineral oil dries to seal in the moisture.
Not all “lemon oils” are the same. Pure lemon oil (often sold as ‘essential oil’) is far too strong to use on unfinished wood, and these will remove moisture from rosewood.
Commercial ‘lemon oil products’ sold for guitar use contain little to no lemon oil at all, and are often just mineral oil with a bit of lemon scent and yellow coloring added!
What’s important to remember is that oils dissolve oils, so oily residue on the fingerboard can probably be removed with a drop or two of mineral oil and a little gentle scrubbing with an abrasive pad.
I would recommend rubbing in a small amount of beeswax after the mineral oil dries to seal in the moisture.
It gets dry here at times, which isn't good for a lot of untreated woods.
If rosewood gets dry enough, it can shrink to where frets poke out on the ends, crack binding and give a rough-edges feel.
I use lemon oil at least once a year after cleaning the fret board. And not "lemon oil" furniture polish, but pure lemon oil.
If rosewood gets dry enough, it can shrink to where frets poke out on the ends, crack binding and give a rough-edges feel.
I use lemon oil at least once a year after cleaning the fret board. And not "lemon oil" furniture polish, but pure lemon oil.
With Dr Ducks, a little goes a long way. Try not to HOSE it down, easy does it.
D
I honestly don't understand why people overpay for all these snake oil products. Just get a bottle of baby oil or something similar and you've got fretboard oil for YEARS at a fraction of the cost.
Lemon oil should not be used anywhere near fretboards IMO as it will ruin them in the long run. The stuff guitar manufacturers call lemon oil is a different matter of course. Some of those products contain no lemon oil whatsoever (which although misleading is actually a good thing).
Get a bottle of baby oil and save your money for other stuff.
Lemon oil should not be used anywhere near fretboards IMO as it will ruin them in the long run. The stuff guitar manufacturers call lemon oil is a different matter of course. Some of those products contain no lemon oil whatsoever (which although misleading is actually a good thing).
Get a bottle of baby oil and save your money for other stuff.
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- Jan 1, 2014
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- Decendant from the Clovis culture. "Emitting that wonderful bass effect since 1970".
I only use oil from the cheeks of baby snow leopards. It's expensive and often hard to find find but worth it. YMMV.
Been on this bottle for a long time… Works fine for me.
F-1 or regular baby oil. The latter makes them smell good as a bonus. I also polish frets while I'm at it.
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It replaces the wood's natural oils which dry out and deplete over time. If you live in a humid area, those oils are naturally replaced by the moisture in the air. In dry areas or dry seasons, you can either run a humidifier or use lemon oil. I choose the latter - It absorbs into rosewood when left to sit up for about an hour. Any fret rough edges usually retreat back into the finger board within a day IME.
Another one here for mineral oil , I was using lemon oil, but then I watched a video where Fodera recommended mineral oil and it has been nothing but amazing. Doesn’t leave a greasy feel soaks in just enough.
Probably nothing outside of insuring it's stored in a room where the relative humidity is tightly controlled.
And that probably has more to do with the carved woods used in the cello's construction; Ebony is a more dense wood, not as prone to the effects of moisture as rosewood.
If you want to HYDRATE the wood, humidify the environment in the room.
Oil does NOT hydrate!
Oil does NOT hydrate!
