should i oil my fingerboard?

[user263648]

i dont know the 1st think about doing this and i have had my bass for 10 years and never oiled the fingerborad (ebony) so i am wondering if i should do this. i would use boiled linseed oil for the job.

i dont even know if this is something i need to do or not. any guidance would be great.

 

[theduke1]

I don't know about Ebony, but Rosewood once per year with lemon oil Maple fret board never

 

[4001]

DONT use linseed oil.

Lemon oil.
Formby's is my product of choice.
Apply it with material like old cut up T-shirts.
Cover the board evenly, wipe off the excess and using a pice of cloth and your fingernail, scrape along the frets to clean out the gunk and lint built up against the fret sides.
If the board is dirty, you can use some naptha poured onto a cloth to clean it before you oil it.

 

[bluesdogblues]

I don't know about Ebony, but Rosewood once per year with lemon oil Maple fret board never

Really?.. I never oiled my Rosewood either. What is lemon oil?

(OP: sorry to hijack ...)

 

[tjclem]

Lemon oil is easy enough to find at wally world or any hardware store seems to work well...t

 

[tlaubs]

I really like Howards feed and wax on my unfinished boards, just make sure to buff well

 

[THORRR]

How does the surface of the wood look?
Do you have particularly oily or sweaty hands?
How often do you wipe off or clean the fingerboard?
When (if) you do, do you use any chemicals to do it?

All these things enter into the equation, the most important being the condition of the wood surface at present.

Keeping a fingerboard clean is important and easy maintenance by simply wiping down with a towel after each time you play. It goes a long way to preserving the condition of the wood.

Ebony is pretty dense and a naturally oily wood so it doesn't need lots of oiling usually. Linseed oil is great but can get gummy depending on the situation, how often you play, and whether your hands sweat. Lemon oil is used a lot and is my personal preference. Lemon Pledge has served me well for decades on my rosewood boards.

My understanding is that ebony, though, doesn't require much oiling. Regular cleaning with a soft cloth should be fine.

 

[mstott25]

DONT use linseed oil.

Lemon oil.
Formby's is my product of choice.
...

I'm not sure why you're advising him not to use linseed oil, I would defer to the man in this situation

This

IMHO, I do not like lemon oil. Lemon oil is regular mineral oil that has chemical drying agents, scent and color added. Although it works fine in the beginning, the drying agents eventually dry out the board more than no oil at all. Better to use straight mineral oil.

I have always liked boiled linseed oil. However, even the smallest can will dry out before you can use even a fraction of it and the rags you use to apply it can cause spontaneous combustion.

So we are now using Planet Waves Hydrate. It works well and comes in a small bottle. We sell it on our webstore.

Oiling a board twice a year should be fine.

Roger

Roger Sadowsky advises you stay away from lemon oil! is what Roger uses, I think it's a safe bet.

 

[john grey]

True lemon oil would also be acidic; to what greater or lesser extent, it's purity would determine. I would be cautious about using acidic materials on a fine wood that has contact with metal (frets) and other finishes(binding and neck lacquer). I doubt it would ruin it but it may dry eventually and widen the grain or eventually affect the surrounding elements. The idea is to fill the porous grain with a neutral oil.

But realistically the questions posed by THORRR are of greater importance. If it doesn't need it; don't do it. There ARE very dry rosewood samples however. Ebony tends to be less so.
Oiling wood will yield greater density and to a limited extent, alter tone (as a generality).
If you have ebony (not a synthetic or a very dark sample of another wood), the level of density is very high to begin with so oiling wouldn't change much except to make it look new. A very dry sample of rosewood can be a good candidate for oil as it would seal it from sweat (or whatever).
If the fret-board is quite dirty, oil is a very good way to remove all that crud without resorting to solvents.....

 

[4001]

I'm not sure why you're advising him not to use linseed oil, I would defer to the man in this situation

I Worked for Washburn and Hamer.
All I ever used was lemon oil.

I currently do setup and repair and I only use lemon oil.

Different strokes for different folks I guess, but working on guitars since 1982, it's always been lemon oil.

 

[mstott25]

I Worked for Washburn and Hamer.
All I ever used was lemon oil.

I currently do setup and repair and I only use lemon oil.

Different strokes for different folks I guess, but working on guitars since 1982, it's always been lemon oil.

I think most of the guys I know use lemon oil, I've never heard anybody say anything against it except for Roger Sadowsky and I tend to listen to him.

BUT I was more curious why you advised him not to use the linseed oil. No big deal, just wondering if you had a bad experience with it. Roger mentioned the rags you use linseed oil on can cause spontaneous combustion, I suppose that might ruin somebody's day/evening.

 

[202dy]

I think most of the guys I know use lemon oil, I've never heard anybody say anything against it except for Roger Sadowsky and I tend to listen to him.

BUT I was more curious why you advised him not to use the linseed oil. No big deal, just wondering if you had a bad experience with it. Roger mentioned the rags you use linseed oil on can cause spontaneous combustion, I suppose that might ruin somebody's day/evening.

Raw linseed oil will not polymerize (harden). Boiled linseed oil does. Boiled linseed oil works just fine. It is not gummy. The only downside is that it takes a bit longer to polymerize than some other oils.

Lemon oil-the furniture polish sold at Wal*Mart-is just mineral oil with some lemon scent. Lemon oil-the real stuff made from lemon skins-is pretty hard to come by. Neither is particularly effective as a finish.

Finish? Yep. That is what is really being discussed. Boiled linseed, tung, Danish, and other oils are wood finishes. They lie (mostly) on the surface and harden to form a barrier between the wood and the environment.

Oily rags: All rags soaked in finishing oils are susceptible to spontaneous combustion. After using a rag, lay it flat on a fireproof surface and allow to dry completely. Then dispose. Alternatively, soak in water overnight and do the same. The deluxe method is to have a fireproof can for disposal. Standard procedure in many shops, it is overkill for the casual user.

 

[user263648]

How does the surface of the wood look?
Do you have particularly oily or sweaty hands?
How often do you wipe off or clean the fingerboard?
When (if) you do, do you use any chemicals to do it?

All these things enter into the equation, the most important being the condition of the wood surface at present.

Keeping a fingerboard clean is important and easy maintenance by simply wiping down with a towel after each time you play. It goes a long way to preserving the condition of the wood.

Ebony is pretty dense and a naturally oily wood so it doesn't need lots of oiling usually. Linseed oil is great but can get gummy depending on the situation, how often you play, and whether your hands sweat. Lemon oil is used a lot and is my personal preference. Lemon Pledge has served me well for decades on my rosewood boards.

My understanding is that ebony, though, doesn't require much oiling. Regular cleaning with a soft cloth should be fine.

to answer the questions;

the wood looks great as it did 10 years ago.

i do not sweat when i play and my hands are not oily.

i have never wiped off the finger board, not even 1 time.

the only thing i have ever put on the board is fast fret.


it seems that people are 50/50 on the use of lemon oil. i hear it is bad and others swear by it.

 

[john grey]

I was interested in your comment of polymerization of linseed oil as I have used both raw and boiled. I just walked back to a place where I had some oils and sure enough I had been using boiled linseed oil. I had to smile as I get finicky with wood finishes: I had thought I was using raw. However they both appear to get gummy if not worked into the wood within a period of time (say - less than half hour). Tung oil gets to be a real mess if you let it sit for a protracted period (in my experience).

I had once worked with a piano repair guy and he was quite skilled. We had some lemon oil (it was real lemon oil) & he told me not to apply it where there was chance of metallic contact due to the acidic nature of the oil (this was not commercial "Wally-world" oil but expensive citrus-oil). It had moderate to thin viscosity and smelled fantastic. It was typically used on delicate veneers, a little went a long way.

@ maskedman72:
If the fret-board looks good I really can't see a reason to oil it. Frankly, I would work on it if it was really dirty, very dry, etc. I'm of the "if it works don't fix it" school. Too many fine items have been messed up by "trying to make it perfect"....

 

[Ortus]

Why is it bad to use raw linseed oil? Is the point for it to harden and create a finish, or to keep the board from drying out?

Raw linseed oil will not polymerize (harden). Boiled linseed oil does. Boiled linseed oil works just fine. It is not gummy. The only downside is that it takes a bit longer to polymerize than some other oils.

Lemon oil-the furniture polish sold at Wal*Mart-is just mineral oil with some lemon scent. Lemon oil-the real stuff made from lemon skins-is pretty hard to come by. Neither is particularly effective as a finish.

Finish? Yep. That is what is really being discussed. Boiled linseed, tung, Danish, and other oils are wood finishes. They lie (mostly) on the surface and harden to form a barrier between the wood and the environment.

Oily rags: All rags soaked in finishing oils are susceptible to spontaneous combustion. After using a rag, lay it flat on a fireproof surface and allow to dry completely. Then dispose. Alternatively, soak in water overnight and do the same. The deluxe method is to have a fireproof can for disposal. Standard procedure in many shops, it is overkill for the casual user.

 

[user263648]

ok i have come to the conclusion that i dont need to oil it so now let me ask this question, how do i clean my fingerboard and with what?

 

[scotch]

I used lemon oil for many, many years until I was advised to use boiled linseed. The improvement was immediately apparent! Lemon oil just simply doesn't last as long- it never really polymerizes enough to protect the wood for more than a short period. It does smell better, though!

Lately, I've been mixing a little bit of lemon into my boiled linseed- just enough to make it smell a little better. The mix is still at least 75% linseed.

 

[202dy]

Why is it bad to use raw linseed oil? Is the point for it to harden and create a finish, or to keep the board from drying out?

When wood is cured (dried, aged, etc) it comes to a stable point with the environment. This state is referred to as equilibrium moisture content (EMC). It is typically 6%. It varies a few percentage points depending on location (Everglades vs. Mojave desert) and time of year. Most instruments that are well kept never really dry out. However, they fluctuate. Using an oil finish can slow the process. It also tends to darken the wood, highlighting the grain. Like putting any finish on any wood it looks better.

Raw linseed oil does not dry. It remains in a liquid or gel state. It becomes sticky. It attracts and holds onto dirt. It gets on clothing, cases, bags, and anything else it comes into contact with including you.

 

[4001]

I think most of the guys I know use lemon oil, I've never heard anybody say anything against it except for Roger Sadowsky and I tend to listen to him.

BUT I was more curious why you advised him not to use the linseed oil. No big deal, just wondering if you had a bad experience with it. Roger mentioned the rags you use linseed oil on can cause spontaneous combustion, I suppose that might ruin somebody's day/evening.

The linseed oil gets gummy.
I think it can make it more difficult to clean after years of use.

 

[202dy]

The linseed oil gets gummy.
I think it can make it more difficult to clean after years of use.

Raw linseed oil will gel and become gummy.

Boiled linseed oil will polymerize and harden. This material does not suffer from the same defect as raw linseed oil when used as a finish. It has been used effectively as a wood finish for at least a century and has not exhibited any problems.