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Post subject: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:12 am
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Roadie
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Winter's on it's way. With the coming dry heat+ oiling rosewood boards becomes a question. No matter what oil you choose I was told by one tech that oiling the board every year will eventually rot the wood? He suggested once every 3 to 5 years. Possibly two years in a row if the board is old & especillay dry but then go back to 3 to 5 years. SO what is too dry or too wet? Brother Dave, & anyone else whats your take on this?


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:50 pm
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Maybe by looking at it you can tell when it's dry. Also when you oil the neck you don't want to let the oil sit on the fboard long at all. I rub it in with my finger and wipe it right off. You can tell that works because the wood gets darker. One small drop about 1/2 the size of a dime usually works fine and spread it around with the finger tip. I don't know about rot. Sounds odd anyway but nothing suprises me anymore.


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:42 pm
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Now that is a can of worms. I sort of hate to get into it because, like strings you'll get a bunch of different suggestions on cleaning rosewood and people will disagree and post their favored magical rosewood elixir.

It is generally accepted that maple fingerboards/fretboards should NEVER be oiled. Just clean them. On maple you can lightly use 000 steel wool to clean the wood with no fear and then just buff the maple with an old white sock. There, it looks new and you are done. The steel wool loosens surface dirt and also polishes the frets making them look nice. You can safely use a toothpick to get to any grunge that builds up right next to the frets. Toothpicks are way softer than the maple so it can't hurt the maple. Repeating, DO NOT oil maple boards! YES it WILL cause the finish on maple boards to rot.

When it comes to dark woods like ebony and rosewood, there are several schools of thought on that. Some oil, some don't. Heck, some never do ANYTHING but change strings!

One school says the oil in your fingers is enough to keep a rosewood fretboard oiled. All you need to do is wipe down the strings after playing and your are done. However the problem I have with that practice is some players' fingers are relatively oil free, like mine. If the board starts paling or streaking, then your fingers probably aren't oily enough to keep it dark. And what about that gunk that collects around the frets?

Another school says that you should use no oil. But it is OK once a year or so remove the strings and buff the rosewood fretboard with the steel wool to cleanse it and then buff with a soft cloth. Pretty much like it was maple. This gets rid of the grime on the open areas of the wood, but again there will be the buildup around the frets, so you can use toothpicks to clean around the fretwires. The toothpicks are again softer than rosewood. This works.

Yet another school uses just a few drops of oil on rosewood boards first, then 000 steel wool, then toothpicks and buffs with a soft cloth thoroughly. The oil helps loosen dirt and softens the gunk buildup at the frets so it comes off easier with the 000 steel wool and the toothpicks around the frets. But some people seriously overdo the oil figuring more is better. I think that if you are using more than a few drops you are using too much. The oil helps loosen surface grime and it can make the fretboard look a tad darker too. Just don't overdo it! Think of it as a CLEANING process instead of an OILING process. This method seems sensible.

Among the oilers there are several schools of thought about how often and what oil or specialized fretboard conditioner to use. I figure the frequency should vary based on how frequently it gets dirty. If the fretboard LOOKS dirty...I'd clean it at the next string change. If not dirty, why bother?

Some people use pure lemon or linseed oil or mineral oil. Others use furniture polish and others use a product that quickly evaporates called Endust which is safe for about any guitar finish but doesn't really soften up much grime around frets or darken the wood color. I've even heard of people that use a soft rag dampened with tap water! Actually, the water cleans good. The Dunlop brand is popular and so is Dr. Ducks Ax Wax but Dr. Ducks Ax Wax dries hard which is good on paint but not so good on rosewood. Martin Guitars of Nashville actually recommends the all purpose household type "3 In 1 Oil" to their customers. Don't dare get "3 In 1 Oil" or any of this stuff (except the Endust or Dr. Ducks Ax Wax) on the painted area or the back of the neck. It really doesn't matter what oil you use as long as you get almost all of it off. Rosewood is pretty hard and is mostly nonporous but just enough oil will soak into the top cell layers to yield a slightly darker color which is attractive to some players. I lightly rub rosewood with just a drop of lemon oil and let it stand a few minutes to soften up grime then clean it with the steel wool on the rosewood, use toothpicks around the frets, then finish with a good hand buffing using a clean dry old gym socks, and I'm done. Worn white gym socks are white t-shirts are good to buff as they are very soft, absorbent and immediately show dirt. You are finished the frets should appear shiny and the fretboard clean. The wood should not be oily looking though. Get as much of the oil and dirt off as possible. Oil kills fresh strings in no time and dirt kills them too eventually.

If you want to just buff your board with an old sock and skip the steel wool and oil that works for a very long time before the frets get really grungy and you need toothpicks.

"Different strokes for different folks. And so on and so on and scoobie doobie doobie." (Sly Stewart)


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:26 pm
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Brother Dave pretty much nailed it.

When I oil a rosewood fret board, I use a good furniture lemon oil (which is typically scented mineral oil), and apply the oil all over the fret board. I wait until the oil stops being absorbed, maybe just a minute or two. Then I wipe the rest off. The wood will tell you when it stops being thirsty. :)


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:06 pm
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I have had a problem with what appears to be metal slivers getting in my fingers while playing. You know the kind you can feel but can't see? Sometimes takes me a few days to finally get it out. And during that time I cannot play because it is too painful when fretting.

I am not saying it was steel wool, because I don't really know if my tech was dressing frets, etc. But I just try to avoid anything that might cause this problem to recur.

I use flatwounds, so perhaps slivers hide between the winds? If you suddenly start to have this problem after starting to use steel wool on your fboard, maybe that is something to consider as a possible cause.

I wash my hands before each time I play and have had no gunk build up on my frets.

Nevertheless, steel wool is a staple for fingerboard maintenance, etc. I don't know if anyone has the sliver problem too.


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:42 am
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lungimsam wrote:
I have had a problem with what appears to be metal slivers getting in my fingers while playing. You know the kind you can feel but can't see? Sometimes takes me a few days to finally get it out. And during that time I cannot play because it is too painful when fretting.

I am not saying it was steel wool, because I don't really know if my tech was dressing frets, etc. But I just try to avoid anything that might cause this problem to recur.

I use flatwounds, so perhaps slivers hide between the winds? If you suddenly start to have this problem after starting to use steel wool on your fboard, maybe that is something to consider as a possible cause.

I wash my hands before each time I play and have had no gunk build up on my frets.

Nevertheless, steel wool is a staple for fingerboard maintenance, etc. I don't know if anyone has the sliver problem too.


Over the years I've gotten away from using steel wool. The little gremlins seem to get everywhere.

I clean the board with Murphy's oil soap. Deep dirt can be removed with a toothbrush, but most of the time the board comes clean with just the towel.

I polish frets with 1000-grit sandpaper. StewMac sells a aluminum fret protector that allows you to crown/polish frets without damaging the board. $6, I think. Well worth it.


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:01 am
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Yes that Stew-Mac tool is cool and for $6 why not?

Regarding the metal slivers previously mentioned, there have been several threads over the past three years about metal slivers from flatwound strings. I don't think those slivers came from steel wool. I think they came from the strings.


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:46 am
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Interesting. I've had the same set of Ernie Ball flats on my P Bass for nearly two years and haven't noticed that. Any particular brand?


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 4:08 pm
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Regarding the slivers from flatwounds, I recall the threads were Fender flatwounds. That was before the last forum software update, at least 2 or maybe even 3 years ago. I did a search looking for those threads and they don't show up. I seem to recall that it was happening with weeks old strings, not older ones.


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Post subject: Re: Winter's coming oiling boards
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:01 am
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I was getting slivers when I was using Fender Flatwounds 9050's.
They were young sets.

I started some of the threads. But never found a cause or solution. However, one person claimed that raising the action even a tiny bit higher than the fender factory height would cause the string to chip away at the back side of frets as the string was pressed against them, causing metal to come off the fret.

I play at 8/64 - 7/64 - 6/64 - 6/64 Low E - hi G at the 17th fret.

Lately, I have been using LaBellas 109 and 110 flats, and have had it happen much less often and with more minor slivers that were more easily removed.

But I still cannot say what was causing the slivers. But it happens much less often with the LaBellas.

That being said, I was using the Fender flats from 2004-2009 that were in the old packaging with the pic of the bass on it. I had switched to LaBella right before Fender changed their packaging to the new picture of the big Fender F. So that series may be different than what I was using. But I like the LaBellas and don't see a reason to change back.

Another note: A while back, I started playing with the Carol Kaye left hand technique and that seemed to be a turning point where I had the slivers happen less often.

Now back to your regular thread...


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