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How to darken a rosewood fretboard?


jmingo

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lemon oil is a terrible suggestion.

 

In the long term, it actually is drying out your fretboard, which will actually make it lighter looking, and worse yet, more prone to cracking, warping, and the like.

 

Lemon oil should only be used to clean an extreeeeeeemly dirty fretboard.

 

Pure mineral oil is much better as a conditioner.

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Originally posted by No Soul

lemon oil is a terrible suggestion.


In the long term, it actually is drying out your fretboard, which will actually make it lighter looking, and worse yet, more prone to cracking, warping, and the like.


Lemon oil should only be used to clean an extreeeeeeemly dirty fretboard.


Pure mineral oil is much better as a conditioner.

 

 

Quote from PRS site

 

For the cleaning and conditioning of a rosewood fretboard, rosewood neck optioned McCarty solidbody, 513 Rosewood neck/fretboard or the neck/fretboard of your Modern Eagle model we recommend the use of a quality lemon oil. This should also clean tarnished frets as well as dirt built up on your fretboard if used with a toothbrush. After the lemon oil is applied, thoroughly wipe down all of the surfaces with a soft, clean, dry cloth and seal it with a quality furniture polish. The natural oils in your hands, over time, should seal and treat the rosewood as well[

 

I think I will go with PRS.

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Originally posted by knotty

Quote from PRS site


For the cleaning and
conditioning
of a rosewood fretboard, rosewood neck optioned McCarty solidbody, 513 Rosewood neck/fretboard or the neck/fretboard of your Modern Eagle model we recommend the use of a quality lemon oil. This should also clean tarnished frets as well as dirt built up on your fretboard if used with a toothbrush. After the lemon oil is applied, thoroughly wipe down all of the surfaces with a soft, clean, dry cloth and seal it with a quality furniture polish. The natural oils in your hands, over time, should seal and treat the rosewood as well[


I think I will go with PRS.

 

 

Read it carefuly and read what we are talking about here.

 

Im not disagreeing with that at all, as they recomend using it as a cleaner, and nothing else. Conditioning is a different story, and for that Im going to have to agree with just about every knowledgable person who deals with antiques over anybody else.

 

To go into more detail, 99% of lemon oils (including those packaged for guitar care) contain solvents, which are great for cleaning, but once again, actually bad for the wood itself if used regularly.

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Originally posted by knotty

I did read it carefully and even highlighted the word 'conditioning'.


I cant see them being wrong, its their product.

 

 

we are using the word for different things, but you really seem to not want to believe me.

 

So go for it! SOAK YOUR FRETBOARD IN LEMON OIL!

Hell, cut the crap and go for something with a higher content of petrolium distilates in it!

 

If you want to take a piece of information you simply read on the internet as Gospel, more power to you.

 

I grew up dealing with antiques worth a lot more than an indian rosewood fretboard on a PRS.

 

And Im not sure how you qualify PRS as being infallible.

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Originally posted by knotty



You dont take being wrong very well do you?

 

 

dont make me laugh, youre really making yourself look like an absolute {censored}ing moron because all you have to rely on is a paragraph.

 

Ask anybody experienced with high end antiques, its as simple as that. And I can promise you, there is not a damn thing PRS knows about wood that the antique industry does not.

 

Hell, you know what?

Im not only in fact a PRS dealer, but I also know people at PRS.

Would you like me to get ahold of them and clarify this for you?

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Actually, I think you are both right to a certain extent. (Peacemaker IKE) I use lemon oil on my rosewood boards, BUT, very sparingly and only about once a year, so I guess you can say I use it as a cleaner instead of a conditioner. I have never had any problems doing this and the lemon oil does a good job of cleaning up the fretboard and giving it a great sheen. But too much excessive use can hurt, it can soak in and cause frets to lift (wood expands and contracts with use of penetrants, weather, etc.)

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Originally posted by IKE

Actually, I think you are both right to a certain extent. (Peacemaker IKE) I use lemon oil on my rosewood boards, BUT, very sparingly and only about once a year, so I guess you can say I use it as a cleaner instead of a conditioner. I have never had any problems doing this and the lemon oil does a good job of cleaning up the fretboard and giving it a great sheen. But too much excessive use can hurt, it can soak in and cause frets to lift (wood expands and contracts with use of penetrants, weather, etc.)

 

 

thats what Im trying to tell this guy, but ever since he got on this forum he has had some huge stick up his ass which he seems to blame on me...

 

whatever, I really dont care. Im here to share information, not get into stupid arguments with inexperienced people

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Originally posted by No Soul

dont make me laugh, youre really making yourself look like an absolute {censored}ing moron because all you have to rely on is a paragraph.


Ask anybody experienced with high end antiques, its as simple as that. And I can promise you, there is not a damn thing PRS knows about wood that the antique industry does not.


Hell, you know what?

Im not only in fact a PRS dealer, but I also know people at PRS.

Would you like me to get ahold of them and clarify this for you?

 

I think there is only one person whose discussion technique makes them look like a moron, and it ain't me.

I just wonder why you think I should believe you know more than the manufacturer.

PS if I need a sideboard french polishing I will let you know.

I assume you are also a brain surgeon, nuclear physicist and proctologist? (actually I can believe the last one)

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Originally posted by No Soul

...

Hell, cut the crap and go for something with a higher content of petrolium distilates in it!

...

 

 

Like pure mineral oil. That's about the only thing I can think of that has a higher (100%) amount of petroleum distillates than lemon oil (around 99%).

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People often will write in these forums how this or that will "harm" your fretboard but no one ever has any experiences. It's all what they've heard or read. You can probably douse it in gasoline and it would likely do nothing to it. Fact is, I have an rosewood boarded neck from an old 80's el cheapo guitar that I experiment on & I've done everything to it(short of gasoline) and it is none the worse.

 

Just be wary of anyone on these forums who is telling you DO NOT do this or that.

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