Fretboard Oil

[JD01]

Buying new strings and a few other nick-nacks from Anderton's/Thomann today (I always make up a shopping basket with both of them and then go with what's cheaper - Thomann's shipping has just gone up!).

I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I've never actually oiled a fretboard before.
Is there any preferred oil for ebony? Lemon oil seems to be recommended for rosewood, but less so for ebony. Someone has used almond oil on my Martin in the past (also ebony I believe) and it smells great.

Does this shit even matter?

[Greg_L]

I don't think it matters that much. You don't want to use cooking oils or motor oil, but any oil typically used for wood projects will be fine. Lemon/mineral oil, linseed, butcher block oil, whatever. And you don't need much. A small drop between each fret will do it. I use this stuff

I think it's more important to clean it well first so the oil has an easier time seeping in and doing it's job. Oiling a filthy fretboard doesn't really do too much good. When I was cleaning my Mosrite neck, it was really nasty, I used wood soap and an old toothbrush to scrub the crud away. That did wonders all by itself. Then I wiped it down with mineral spirits to get the soap film off of it and dry it off. Then I douched it in fretboard oil. Came out great. It was like a new neck.

[muttley]

All oiling a fretboard does is help limit shrinking and expansion of the wood by placing an oil barrier between it and the air/sweat etc... It does help and it also helps some timbers like Rosewood from deteriorating and crumbling over time but that is less of a problem and only some boards will suffer that. I would recommend using it as it is harmless.

The choice of oil is pretty simple too. Oils fall into two categories for this, drying and non drying and you want the latter. All lemon oil is is mineral oil with lemon scent added, use that. Mineral oil is the same stuff you rub on a baby and it is a non drying oil, pretty much all organic oils, olive, walnut, almond etc are drying oils, even those that are slow to dry, avoid them.

I have a litre of lemon oil bought probably 10 years ago I am not even half way down yet. It lasts and is cheap. Use it regularly and it will help stop frets lifting fret ends popping out, keep dirt from getting stuck too hard etc. As I say it wont do any harm.

[muttley]

..... I should add all fretboard oils are syntetic not all wood oils are. I know gerg wasnt trying to steer you wrong but Linseed and the like are organic and despite being popular as wood finishes they are drying oils (even the boied or refined). Good for wood finishing but not for fretboard conditioning.

Grab a bottle and keep it to hand, its cheap as chips. I can send you some if you like.. In fact I may start giving it away with my Pups as a sweetner. Thanks JD.

[Greg_L]

I don't know if it's true, but I've read a lot of crap about ebony not even needing oil because it's so hard and tight grained. Your own sweat and nasty bodily secretions are enough to keep the wood protected. I suppose that could maybe be true for some ebony boards. The ebony board on my LP Custom is super dense and very black, it almost seems like plastic or some kind of carbon fiber type material. Very smooth, very solid, very slick, very black. I know oiling that thing does almost next to nothing. I still do it, but I'm wiping most of it right back off. It's also 40+ years old though. I'm sure a more fresh piece of ebony with more open grain could benefit from some oil.

[JD01]

Cheers - I'll just get a bottle of lemon oil chucked in with my Thomann/Anderton's order this week.

Re: cleaning - any problem with me using a very slightly damp cloth? my guitar is pretty scummy - I've not done a really deep clean since I got it.

[Greg_L]

Cheers - I'll just get a bottle of lemon oil chucked in with my Thomann/Anderton's order this week.

Re: cleaning - any problem with me using a very slightly damp cloth? my guitar is pretty scummy - I've not done a really deep clean since I got it.

No problem. Don't take the guitar into the shower with you. Wiping it down with a damp cloth is nothing though.

I play a lot of gigs in sweaty, spitty, grimy, smoky, beer drenched, punk rock shitholes. I just wipe my guitars down afterwards with a microfiber cloth and give them a general cleaning with string changes. They all still look and feel pretty fresh. Guitars aren't that precious. A slightly damp cloth is no big deal.

[Greg_L]

Another thing....you mentioned fret dressing in the other thread. Keeping your fretboard clean will help keep your frets healthy too. Every little bit of grit and grime on your fretboard can act like an abrasive between your strings and frets. You can't stop a string from rubbing on a fret, but you can at least try to minimize the amount of extra crap thrown into that mix when you play.

[JD01]

Cheers - I'll just get a bottle of lemon oil chucked in with my Thomann/Anderton's order this week.

Re: cleaning - any problem with me using a very slightly damp cloth? my guitar is pretty scummy - I've not done a really deep clean since I got it.

No problem. Don't take the guitar into the shower with you. Wiping it down with a damp cloth is nothing though.

I play a lot of gigs in sweaty, spitty, grimy, smoky, beer drenched, punk rock shitholes. I just wipe my guitars down afterwards with a microfiber cloth and give them a general cleaning with string changes. They all still look and feel pretty fresh. Guitars aren't that precious. A slightly damp cloth is no big deal.

Yeah - I ordinarily wouldn't give a fuck. I just get a bit nervous with this guitar.

[Greg_L]

Yeah - I ordinarily wouldn't give a fuck. I just get a bit nervous with this guitar.

Sure, I know that guitar is special to you. I also know that it's probably better built using better materials and more durable than any other guitar you have. Mild general cleaning maintenance will do nothing to hurt that guitar.

[JD01]

Another thing....you mentioned fret dressing in the other thread. Keeping your fretboard clean will help keep your frets healthy too. Every little bit of grit and grime on your fretboard can act like an abrasive between your strings and frets. You can't stop a string from rubbing on a fret, but you can at least try to minimize the amount of extra crap thrown into that mix when you play.

Aside from a few packs of strings and a few other nick-nacks, I've just ordered lemon oil and some weird cloth from to apply it with from Thomann. I've also got one of them silver cloths that Mutt recommended from Amazon.

[JD01]

Yeah - I ordinarily wouldn't give a fuck. I just get a bit nervous with this guitar.

Sure, I know that guitar is special to you. I also know that it's probably better built using better materials and more durable than any other guitar you have. Mild general cleaning maintenance will do nothing to hurt that guitar.

Yeah, you're almost certainly right. Unless I do something really fucking stupid (like let a son gig with it in future) it should last me the rest of my life.

[Greg_L]

Aside from a few packs of strings and a few other nick-nacks, I've just ordered lemon oil and some weird cloth from to apply it with from Thomann. I've also got one of them silver cloths that Mutt recommended from Amazon.

That's good. I do think you actually need to clean the fretboard though. That pic you posted was pretty grimy. A damp cloth might not be enough to get the crud out. An actual cleaning is not necessary every time you change strings, but I think you are due for one. After that, general wipe downs and light oiling will be fine for another few years.

[JD01]

Yeah - I'll see how it goes one night later in the week and then maybe look at a deeper clean next string change.

[muttley]

I don't know if it's true, but I've read a lot of crap about ebony not even needing oil because it's so hard and tight grained. Your own sweat and nasty bodily secretions are enough to keep the wood protected. I suppose that could maybe be true for some ebony boards. The ebony board on my LP Custom is super dense and very black, it almost seems like plastic or some kind of carbon fiber type material. Very smooth, very solid, very slick, very black. I know oiling that thing does almost next to nothing. I still do it, but I'm wiping most of it right back off. It's also 40+ years old though. I'm sure a more fresh piece of ebony with more open grain could benefit from some oil.

Ebony is pretty stable in service as it Rosewood which is why they are the premium choice for fingerboards but ALL timbers will absorb and lose moisture to some degree. I have seen some ebony boards crack and shrink over the years that regular conditioning may have saved but not many. My main justification for recommending oiling is that it will never cause harm and we as buyers have no idea what condition or how well the timber was kept in before it was used. I store all my fingerboard blanks for at least 2 years once I receive them in a known environment. Some do twist and warp, maybe 5%. I break those down for bridges and inlay work or the like. A big manufacturer aint doing that. Decent ebony and Rosewood is getting harder to find.

[muttley]

Cheers - I'll just get a bottle of lemon oil chucked in with my Thomann/Anderton's order this week.

Re: cleaning - any problem with me using a very slightly damp cloth? my guitar is pretty scummy - I've not done a really deep clean since I got it.

No harm but I use meths and maybe Naphtha as it shifts the dirt quicker. If you do then definitely oil after as it will shift oil and grease pretty well.

[Greg_L]

My main justification for recommending oiling is that it will never cause harm

That's pretty much how I think of it. I don't know what is happening with wood, but I know that a clean and oiled fretboard sure doesn't hurt anything and it feels good under the fingers.

[muttley]

Another thing....you mentioned fret dressing in the other thread. Keeping your fretboard clean will help keep your frets healthy too. Every little bit of grit and grime on your fretboard can act like an abrasive between your strings and frets. You can't stop a string from rubbing on a fret, but you can at least try to minimize the amount of extra crap thrown into that mix when you play.

Aside from a few packs of strings and a few other nick-nacks, I've just ordered lemon oil and some weird cloth from to apply it with from Thomann. I've also got one of them silver cloths that Mutt recommended from Amazon.

Those cloths get better with age. Keep it in a sealed airtight plastic bag, you know, the zipper type... It will help keep it fresh, when it does wear get another and use them like wet and dry start with the new and then use the finer older cloth for that extra shine. Not essential but it works.

I use kitchen roll to apply lemon oil, no fancy cloth required. An old spectacle cloth is a fixture in my gig bag for cleaning strings and boards after a long playing session.

[muttley]

Aside from a few packs of strings and a few other nick-nacks, I've just ordered lemon oil and some weird cloth from to apply it with from Thomann. I've also got one of them silver cloths that Mutt recommended from Amazon.

That's good. I do think you actually need to clean the fretboard though. That pic you posted was pretty grimy. A damp cloth might not be enough to get the crud out. An actual cleaning is not necessary every time you change strings, but I think you are due for one. After that, general wipe downs and light oiling will be fine for another few years.

Correct, plus regularly conditioning the fingerboard when changing strings helps with future cleaning.

[JD01]

cleaning strings and boards after a long playing session.

LOL! I regularly play for more than 2 hours in a sitting and I've never done this.
Fuck, my Ibanez hasn't had a cleaning like this since I got it in 1997! Actually, I think, I'll slow it some love too when my cleaning stuff arrives.

Speaking of well made, that's made in Japan, and its pretty amazing really.