How to fix dry looking Pau Ferro?

[ADHD librarian]

I know this is a Zombie thread,
but figure it's a good place to ask...

Has anyone tried Montypresso Relic Wax? Seems it has been invented much too late for OP, but may be good for those looking for a solution in the future?

 

[maturanesa]

Lemon oil, and time. Pau ferro gets darker with time

 

[ADHD librarian]

Lemon oil, and time. Pau ferro gets darker with time

Do you think your bass looks too light?
Lemon oil, Pau ferro and time
Remembering my bass was once new
Now it is an old bass of mine

Take it to play in a bar full of smoke
Lemon oil, Pau ferro and time
Covered in sweat and spilled Jack and Coke
Then she'll be an old bass of mine

 

[boxerrider]

I've used Odie's oil/wax, and it turned out looking much like the Relic Wax did. I'm curious to see how it does long term.

 

[Bevan777]

I know this is a Zombie thread,
but figure it's a good place to ask...

Has anyone tried Montypresso Relic Wax? Seems it has been invented much too late for OP, but may be good for those looking for a solution in the future?

I’ve used this stuff, it’s good but not such a big difference as in the pic above, here’s a pic of a PF neck I used it on (the right on) vs a PF stock neck with no treatment.

 

[McSalterson]

Most of the Fender Pau Ferro fretboards I've gotten were not only dry, but also a bit rough. My remedy has been to tape over the fret wires so you don't have to repolish them, and then use a 1500 grit stewmac pad to polish the wood. I usually do odd then even frets in tow passes to make taping easy.

Once the wood is smooth, any good fretboard oil (I like F-One) soaks into the wood well, and darkens it a bit.

View attachment 5432518

Fender doesn't always do the best job when it comes to finishing their fretboards. I did a quick micro-mesh job on my Pau Ferro Jazz bass and it turned out pretty good. Feels much smoother. I recently bought one of the limited edition Ebony Player Series P basses. They come with an ebony fretboard, but it was extremely dry and rough even after using lemon oil a few times. I spent more time on this one using a new set of micro-mesh pads and a couple coats of tung oil. It came out great. Looks so much better and is extremely smooth... how you expect ebony to feel. I need to go back and finish my PF fretboard, but after a little work, it's already much better than how it came from the factory.

Ebony before and after