Fretboard Oil

[montana]

How do you use fretboard oil?

[Tim2723]

Sparingly. Seriously. Once or twice a year apply a tiny drop and wipe off the excess. Do it when you're replacing all the strings so you can get a good cleaning done at the same time. You don't need much; some folks say you don't need it at all.

[Jim]

Dampen rag with oil, rub on, wipe off excess.

[Jim Hilburn]

All you need is baby oil or mineral oil. Don't use anything like Watco.

[Paul Hostetter]

Less is more.

[Brent Hutto]

I've never had a fretboard that needed oil.

I put water on a cloth, wipe the fretboard, then wipe it with a dry cloth. It always ends up looking better than it did before I cleaned it. This does not tempt me to put anything oily back on it. Yuck.

[Gerry Cassidy]

Living in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, Az. area) the average annual humidity is 6%. When I used to hydrate my instruments in their cases I had to oil rosewood boards once, or twice a year. Ebony stayed pretty stable and all I had to do was keep those boards clean with warm (tepid) water and a soft cloth.

When I oiled a rosewood board I would clean it with the same warm water/soft cloth as above, then applied a sparing amount of linseed oil to the board. Let it sit for 4-5 minutes them wipe thoroughly. I use q-tips to get the excess material from the fret welts on each fret.

[Big Joe]

Water is not a good choice. Fretboards do dry out and need oil from time to time. There are several fingerboard conditioners that are sold that work very well. I like either Gibson Fingerboard Conditioner or Hemp Oil Fingerboard Conditioner. Apply a light coat, rub it in gently, then dry the fingerboard. Try not getting it on the rest of the instrument. That should be more than sufficient.

[Bob Scrutchfield]

I use baby oil too. Only a tiny bit of oil and only a couple of times a year. I read somewhere that oiling a fretboard too often or applying too much is not good.

[resophil]

It's mentioned above to use baby oil or mineral oil. This is really bad advice, since neither of these will polymerize when exposed to the oxygen in the air. Plant-based organic oils WILL polymerize to varying degrees when exposed to oxygen, but petroleum-based mineral or other oils will not! It will stay in an oily state until it's abraded off by your fingers. The stuff that is right next to the frets will just sit there absorbing crud. Would you put 10W-30 on your mandolin?

However, if you want the surface of your fretboard to be oily and attract dust and grime, dead skin, and who-knows-what-else, go right ahead and use mineral oil...

Your fretboard doesn't need oil. Some folks think that if their fretboard dries out, they should put oil on it. Well, if the fretboard "dried", what did it lose? Water or oil?

[Mike Bunting]

I live in dry Alberta and have owned mandolins forever it seems. I have never oiled a fingerboard and have never seen a problem. I do keep them in a humidified environment however.

[Alex Orr]

Water is not a good choice. Fretboards do dry out and need oil from time to time. There are several fingerboard conditioners that are sold that work very well. I like either Gibson Fingerboard Conditioner or Hemp Oil Fingerboard Conditioner. Apply a light coat, rub it in gently, then dry the fingerboard. Try not getting it on the rest of the instrument. That should be more than sufficient.
Big Joe, do you have any opinions on Roche-Thomas Premium Fingerboard oil? That's what I've used in the past on my guitars, however, now that I think about it, I have no idea what's in the stuff.

[John Kasley]

If the objective is to clean the fingerboard, I follow Frank Ford's advice (http://www.frets.com/fretspages/Musician/GenMaint/Cleaning/cleaning02.html).

[Brent Hutto]

I guess the oil makes it nice and shiny-new looking. Kind of like the guy who posted a while back about how much he loved his new mandolin and wanted to wax it with car wax every week to keep it shiny.

[Big Joe]

Alex... I am not familiar with that. I've not used it. However, whatever you do use do so lightly.

[MnRoss]

I've always used Boiled Linseed Oil and have for over 40 years on fret boards. Very sparingly, let sit for a few minutes and wipe off with clean cloth. I do it about once a year when I work on my frets.

[mandroid]

Contact with my oily fingers seems enough. :whistling:

[Fran]

I've always used Boiled Linseed Oil and have for over 40 years on fret boards. Very sparingly, let sit for a few minutes and wipe off with clean cloth. I do it about once a year when I work on my frets.
A good choice! It forms a protective film on the wood. I wouldn't use baby oil, as most are mineral and it's better to use a vegetable oil on wood.

[Jim Hilburn]

Having been called out about using mineral oil, I investigated other sites online. In many of the guitar sites a product called Fret Doctor is often recommended. Some say Fret Doctor is actually just bore oil which is what is used on woodwinds. I looked up bore oil and it's basically mineral oil.
Others say lemon oil but most of what is sold as lemon oil is mineral oil with a trace of real lemon oil.
I didn't find anyone recommending polymerizing oils which is what Watco is (I think). I used to use it but that seemed to make the board sticky.
When I buff an instrument I wipe the surface with mineral oil as a buffing lubricant and since I'm holding it by the neck the board gets a good coat by the time I'm done and I'm pleased with the way it looks and feels afterwards.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Most fingerboards are either Ebony or Rosewood - both hardwoods. I use Teak oil,an oil derived from another natural hardwood Teak.Wipe it on sparingly,leave it to penetrate (hardly) for a couple of minutes & then wipe it off thoroughly. I've known a few Violinists & one Cellist who used Almond oil - oil derived from Almonds - another natural plant product. Personally,i wouldn't use any other type of oil except oils derived from natural plant resources,i'm with MnRoss on that,
Ivan;)

[Jill McAuley]

Just checked out that Frank Ford link that someone posted above and he recommends lemon oil or mineral oil and advises staying away from vegetable based oils.

Cheers,
Jill

[CES]

So now I'm confused enough that I'll just go back to my policy of never oiling or cleaning anything ;)

[Gerry Cassidy]

Well golly, I guess ya' gotta do what's gonna work for you(?).

Let's all say a prayer for the instruments of those who choose the wrong method... ;) :)

[resophil]

The trouble is that most food-grade oils (grapeseed, olive, canola, corn, lemon, linseed etc.) in their raw state, polymerize so slowly that they are almost useless as wood "finishes". Linseed oil, in it's raw state, is edible and is used regularly as a cathartic and laxative for cattle with impacted digestive systems. What most people call "lemon oil" is a petroleum derivative with a little bit of lemon smellum added. No lemon oil at all. I've seen real lemon oil only once in my life, and it was in an eye-dropper bottle at the health-food store, and was prohibitively expensive. The proprietor of the store said it was quite acidic and wouldn't be something that he would put on an instrument finish, or on any kind of wood finish!

Boiled linseed oil is oil that has been heated and combined with a metallic drier in order to make it polymerize faster. It is, however, toxic, and no longer food-grade! Do not ingest it!

Drier compounds are available at the paint store and can be added to any oil-based finish to harden the film coat. Look for "Japan drier". Metallic driers can make an oil film so hard as to be brittle, the same way that MEKP hardeners can make a vinyl or polyester resin get hard enough for some of those applications like surfboards.

Any oil will make a fretboard nice and shiny and therefore, attractive in the short term. Nothing wrong with that! But there's an entire industry devoted to telling you that you need to buy their product and use it judiciously on your instrument. Some people take this to an extreme and oil the bejabers out of their fretboard, which does nothing but get it all gunked up, like the one in Frank Ford's picture.

I'd prefer an oil which is applied very sparingly, wiped off and the remainder of it will eventually get hard in the surface of the wood, not sit there in an oily state. I don't really care how many guitar sites tell me that their product is an absolute must-have for my instruments!

(For the lemon oil fanatics in the crowd, try taking a piece of lemon peel and squeezing hard the zest/rind side into a candle flame. You'll see a shower of nice little sparks from the flame. What do you think is burning in there?)

[Jim Hilburn]

I should let this drop, but I just want to add for anyone who now has the impression that if you use mineral oil on your fingerboard there will be a puddle of gunk that builds up, I say that isn't at all what happens. we're talking about a wet spot on a papertowel lightly applied and any excess wiped away and using your fingernail in the towel along the fret edges. You end up with a matte look and an enhanced grain. Most of the oil is absorped by the wood.

[Bernie Daniel]

I use Stew-Mac ColorTone Fretboard Finishing Oil a couple of times a year on all my instruments -- it is especially effective at keeping rosewood looking nice and fresh. I rub it on then off with a cloth so I refresh, clean and seal the wood in one operation. Here in part is what they say about their product (and obviously I own no stock in the company).

From my perspective they are spot on in their claims for the oil.

"Pure linseed and mineral oils have been traditional fingerboard preservatives, but they don't dry completely hard, often leaving a sticky playing surface. ColorTone Fretboard Finishing Oil combines the nourishing benefit of traditional linseed with special dryers. 24 hours after application the wood is sealed and protected. The fretboard looks great and feels smooth, never sticky."

[Ivan Kelsall]

I'd certainly stay away from Linseed oil regarding use on fingerboards,as Bernie says above,they become very sticky.The oil itself is quite thick & doesn't penetrate wood very well,but stays on the surface. I doubt very much if any oil will penetrate an Ebony or Rosewood fingerboard unless it was immersed in it for a long time,the grain is far too dense. The idea of using oil on the fingerboard is to 'refresh it',& to give it a clean,non-stick feel, as well as 'colouring in' the sweaty fingermarks,not to soak into the wood as in the case of a wood 'preservative',
Ivan