My Music Man and my previously owned Wolfgangs all had oil finished necks and fingerboards. No thick coating over them. The lemon oil cleaned and conditioned them well. The lemon oil I use is made by Fernandes Guitars.



As for hard earned scratch.....I bought this bottle easily 10 years ago and there's still almost half a bottle left. I use it 2 or 3 times a year. Again, I've been doing this like this for close to 25 years and have never had an issue with anything even remotely related to anything that was posted in that earlier article. Now, the written word is difficult to get an idea of how the person is talking. I'm not trying to sound defiant or cocky with you, just telling you my experiences.
MULLY

I use "Formbys" lemon oil on rose wood and its just great.

On some of the cheaper Squiers and Starcasters the maple is not sealed, or looks not to be, I use lemon oil there too with no problem.

I would have to dispute the idea that you don't need to oil rosewood. Some of the rosewoods I have seen for the pacific rim etc have fretboards so dry the fret ends start to poke out.

I think the wotch word is buy a good quality wood finishing oil and use it in moderation.

that's cool.
Did those axes have oil finished maple fretboards? I was unaware that anyone did that.
If that's the case then oil would be the appropriate choice.

Don't get me wrong on lemon oil, I'm not saying it'll hurt your axe, just that it is just scented mineral oil. The earlier article is confusing lemon Oil for wood, with real Lemon Oil, which i make a point of mentioning every time we have one of these discussions. Buy your lemon oil from a hardware store, or a guitar shop, because the Lemon oil at your supermarket is different stuff!

i understand that a bottle of Lemon Oil is pretty cheap, and will last forever, but I hate paying more than i have to, I'm cheap

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Funny how long a thread called "Lemon Oil" keeps going on and on and on!!!!

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

Xhefri we use the same routine,lol I bought a bottle of Fret Doctor 3 years ago and never looked back as I think it is the best, before that it was always Lemon oil. As Xhefri stated I also do not use it more than twice a year and the only guitars that get a polish are those that are going in a case for a length of time.My beayers get a quik wipe down with Mcguires Mist.

Yes!

Wow, I just had a case of incredible deja vu.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

I use dunlop lemon oil. Comes with a handy spray cap.



Andy

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Pending Greatness

I'm no expert on finishing so I could be waaaaay off base here, but my MM and the Wolfgangs....hey, pretty cool band name.....anyway, they are either oil finished or some kind of really thin satin finish to them. I know the lemon oil I use on them soaks right into the wood as opposed to my Fender where it just spreads out and wipes off. I think it would be difficult to pull up a spec sheet on them now that they are no longer in production. I'll look around though to see if I can confirm it.



Yeah, I hate spending on little things like that too. I used to work in a guitar shop and this is the lemon oil we always used there. I bought a bottle of it and it never seems to finish. haha!! I also use Fender guitar polish for the body and I have used it on the back of the neck of my MM. Never put it on the fingerboard though.
MULLY

Just found a spec sheet on the Wolfgang and it says "Bolt on, oil finished neck and fingerboard."

Still looking for the MM specs. I'm guessing it's the same though. I'm looking at it right now and if there is any kind of coating on it it's microscopic. I can't see it.

thx for the info MM. I played a MusicMan ( i want one of the Silhoutes, or a Steve Morse model, which is similar, damned sexy guitar,) a long time ago, i really liked it, but i didn't know anything about finishes etc. back then.

i just assumed that maple necks would be lacquered, like Fender does. Or tru-oiled.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I use Garlic.. To ward off the evil spirits.

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HaleAmano- House Of Sharks (Now On iTunes)
http://www.reverbnation.com/haleamano
http://www.haleamano.com

+1

I use the one with the cloth on top on all my Rosewood and Ebony fretboards. It works great, it makes the fretboard look like new again.

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Dean, Epiphone and Fender guitars

Be wary of getting Lemon oil on any nearby Nitro finished parts of your guitar, I know Martin don't recommend it at all on their Guitars. I trust their advice as they happen to know a thing or two about wood.

http://www.mguitar.com/services/faq.php?id=4&qCat=Guitar%20Care

Lemon oil is recommended for rosewood fretboards

That's it! REAL lemon oil is bad. If it's just lemon scented mineral oil, then you are okay, but since it may not be easy to know which is which, Martin Company's suggestion to stay away is a good one.

Just find something that you know is mineral oil (like what's sold as Bore Oil).

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

For God's sake! It's lemon oil, not toxic waste! Yes, do avoid silicones and distillates but by God, if Homer Formby and Den Erlewine say use lemon oil, that's what I'll continue to do. It hasn't seemed to hurt those expensive violins from the 1600's, it's not likely to cause harm to a guitar fingerboard in your lifetime!

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60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!