Is Oiling the Fretboard Once per Month too Often?

Randy1 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:27 pm

I use lemon oil twice a year. Im not sure if more often would do any damage.

bluesguitar65 · **Joined:** Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:56 am **Posts:** 1277

May I ask why there is even an need to oil the fingerboard if you play the guitar often enough. Wouldn't the oil from your fingers sufficient enough to keep the rosewood from drying? I have some early 70s strats that have rosewood fingerboard and they have no signs of drying up, there are worn marks, but no dry wood at all.

mthorn00 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 27, 2009 4:04 pm

I think that fretboard oil and other such products were developed to sell stuff to guitarists. I use "Old Spice" aftershave to clean my fretboard once a year and that's it.

Product manufacturers know that we will buy stuff if they tell us we need it (whether we actually do need it or not).

Martian · **Posted:** Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:52 pm

bluesguitar65 wrote:

May I ask why there is even an need to oil the fingerboard if you play the guitar often enough. Wouldn't the oil from your fingers sufficient enough to keep the rosewood from drying? I have some early 70s strats that have rosewood fingerboard and they have no signs of drying up, there are worn marks, but no dry wood at all.

Provided the guitar is not put through any adverse or extreme climatic conditions and that is regularly played and cared for, I am in TOTAL agreement with your statement regarding rosewood fingerboards!

Ceri · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 6:25 am

mthorn00 wrote:

I only oil/clean my rosewood boards once or twice a year. My 1974 Strat is showing no ill effects from this schedule and it's older than some of the kids posting to this forum

mthorn00 wrote:

I use "Old Spice" aftershave to clean my fretboard once a year and that's it.

Good Lord - I haven't seen Old Spice since the mid-'80s!

Mr Thorn, your aftershave is older than some of the kids on this website too!!! :lol:

Cheers - C

mthorn00 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:09 am

Ceri wrote:

mthorn00 wrote:

I only oil/clean my rosewood boards once or twice a year. My 1974 Strat is showing no ill effects from this schedule and it's older than some of the kids posting to this forum

mthorn00 wrote:

I use "Old Spice" aftershave to clean my fretboard once a year and that's it.

Good Lord - I haven't seen Old Spice since the mid-'80s!

Mr Thorn, your aftershave is older than some of the kids on this website too!!! :lol:

Cheers - C

Brother Ceri, you can still find it around. The last time I bought a bottle was from Target (it's a discount retail chain here in the States). I don't use the stuff on my face, only my fretboard.

Martian · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:27 am

mthorn00 wrote:

Ceri wrote:

mthorn00 wrote:

I only oil/clean my rosewood boards once or twice a year. My 1974 Strat is showing no ill effects from this schedule and it's older than some of the kids posting to this forum

mthorn00 wrote:

I use "Old Spice" aftershave to clean my fretboard once a year and that's it.

Good Lord - I haven't seen Old Spice since the mid-'80s!

Mr Thorn, your aftershave is older than some of the kids on this website too!!! :lol:

Cheers - C

Brother Ceri, you can still find it around. The last time I bought a bottle was from Target (it's a discount retail chain here in the States). I don't use the stuff on my face, only my fretboard.

Everybody sing:

"Old Spice means quality", said the captain to the bosun. So look for the package with the ship that sails the ocean. Fresh as the sea, Yo-ho!

Plabius · **Joined:** Wed Nov 12, 2008 7:55 pm **Posts:** 25

Old Spice???

I want to clean and condition my fretboard, not take it out to dinner!

Thanks to everyone who responded. Since the answers were all over the place, I did some further research and found this (and others like it):

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:rnLNcUjy1i8J:www.tothestage.com/upload/fretboardcare2_1879.pdf+how+often+should+i+oil+my+fretboard%3F&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESik2w0MaRRDpmKxKQG2Q9ZM_9YeSTae3VnmhcEPNH4svqR6GTb_3s2OnbvO6pAWEWOva5ey8YeuAMorNMQKDc4DWa2Fd-I0_q2pQ2hgrt4koIXNgn2H-3l9XNLpiXWbns9PsuJ0&sig=AHIEtbQnwZ9cnex6lG9jbNLDo9CKQsgcBA

His web site is here: http://www.guitarservices.com/index.asp. LeVan does plug the Planet Waves stuff, as they sponsor his web site, but since a guy has to make a living, and other companies make the same kind of stuff, I didn't mind.

* * * * *

I live in an area whose climate experiences seasonal (and sometimes drastic) changes in temperature and humidity, which I have observed to have a visible effect on my guitars.

I bought some Guitar Honey and will use that for a while (it made the fretboard look great). I'll do it every other string change over some months to see what overall effect it has on the board's condition.

Again, thanks for the replies.

mthorn00 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:57 am

Fantastic singing voice :lol:

Ceri · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 11:24 am

Plabius wrote:

Old Spice???

I want to clean and condition my fretboard, not take it out to dinner!

Excellent - my favorite quote of the day!! :lol:

Still: I have both Polo and Chanel. Maybe I should do some comparative trials and see which is best for my fretboards. Or which dissolves them first...

Cheers - C

orvilleowner · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 12:07 pm

mthorn00 wrote:

I use "Old Spice" aftershave to clean my fretboard once a year and that's it.

Really?
Does it leave it smelling?
Is Old Spice mostly alcohol? I suppose it could clean it up, but the smell?

I use Bore Oil ... stuff you can find in the "Orchestra" section of your favorite music store. It's cheap. And it's probably just mineral oil (without the snake oil of many of the other similar products).

Plabius · **Joined:** Wed Nov 12, 2008 7:55 pm **Posts:** 25

orvilleowner wrote:

mthorn00 wrote:

I use "Old Spice" aftershave to clean my fretboard once a year and that's it.

Really?
Does it leave it smelling?
Is Old Spice mostly alcohol? I suppose it could clean it up, but the smell? ....

My guess is that he was joking, since Old Spice Cologne contains denatured alcohol and Benzyl alcohol, and the after-shave contains those two plus Propylene Glycol. These alcohols would actually further dry out the fretboard, which is the opposite of what I'm trying to achieve.

However, I imagine that his guitar smells most attractive, and affords him much flirtatious playing!

jmr986 · **Joined:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:53 am **Posts:** 560

FWIW here's another opinion. Albeit from Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars. On page 11 of the fall 2009 Wood & Steel. Taylor's in house magazine.

"Here's what I like on fretboards: linseed oil. But only do it once or twice and then forget about it for a couple of years. Then do it again then forget about it for ten years."

nikininja · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 2:30 pm

Plabius wrote:

However, I imagine that his guitar smells most attractive, and affords him much flirtatious playing!

Have you ever smelt Old Spice? The last time I wore that stuff I was attacked by wild dogs.

rjake · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 2:51 pm

I quit using Old Spice in the '70s when "Hi Karate" came out. Using that and being a guitar player made getting chicks easy. hehe

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