Members niceguy Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 So my new maple-board guitar has fret ends sticking outta the sides of the fretboard. Many of you kind folk have suggested that the dry air has shrunk the board (I live in an extremely dry area). So, before filing down the fret-ends, I'm trying to rehydrate the guitar. It so happens that I have a very nice room-humidifier. I put my guitar in a walk-in closet along with the humidifier, and I shut the closet door----presto, instant humidifying room! What should the humidity be set at? 60%? I can leave the thing on pretty much all the time...how long should I humidify the guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Foozman Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 I have a similar issue and would love to hear the answer to this question too. So bump! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rapmaster Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Don't set the humidifier too high, it could possibly corrode some of the metal parts. You'll probably end up having to do a bunch of neck adjustments every time you put it in the closet and take it out to play it. Why not just leave it out in the open and humidify the room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted February 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 yeah I could just humidify the bedroom and leave the guitar out that way...but I was thinking maybe I could get faster results by keeping it in the closet (haha). Maybe I'll take it out of the closet. The dem's ARE in control, after all. (seriously, I'm not gay. I just want my fretboard fixed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GibsonQC Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 I would use some fretboard conditioner (light mineral oil works well if the board is unfinished) and just make sure the room is properly humidified. I set my house humidifier at 50%, so I would guess your room humidifer at 50% would probably be ample. The drying effect was probably slow, and I would re-humidify in the same way. Just set the guitar in the room on its stand and humidify the room--the closet may be overkill, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rapmaster Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 Be patient man, don't rush and screw anything up by being hasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted February 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 yeah, I went ahead and set up the humidifier in my bedroom with the guitar inside... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted February 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Update: so I left the guitar on a stand in my bedroom, and I brought in a 2 gallon cool mist humidifier. I shut the door and left the humidifier to keep the room at 60%. I've kept the humidity constant over the past 2 days. and Already the fret ends are smoothing out! The difference is small, but noticeable. I'm going to keep running it like this for a few weeks. Any ideas on how to "lock in" the moisture once the fretboard is back to normal? I'm guessing I should oil the board every few days with light mineral oil, which should act as a sealant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Update: so I left the guitar on a stand in my bedroom, and I brought in a 2 gallon cool mist humidifier. I shut the door and left the humidifier to keep the room at 60%. I've kept the humidity constant over the past 2 days. and Already the fret ends are smoothing out! The difference is small, but noticeable. I'm going to keep running it like this for a few weeks. Any ideas on how to "lock in" the moisture once the fretboard is back to normal? I'm guessing I should oil the board every few days with light mineral oil, which should act as a sealant. Keep it in a stable RH enviro.....mineral oil will not really seal effectively Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 You can't lock it in, wood breaths in and out. In fact, I've experienced this when I was concerned about the humidity of my gear, I kept it a certain level at home, but when I played live somewhere else the air would be quite a bit dryer and the guitar would change while I was playing. Also, I would do a sound check and everything would be in tune, twenty minutes later, when I get up to do my thing it's all out of tune. Some people would say it's your tuners, it's your intonation, it's your bridge, and I figured out it's the humidity causing the wood to expand or contract. So, if you guitar was made in a humid climate and shipped to where you live in a dry climate, I would have the frets filed, unless you plan to never play out or walk around in a humidified bubble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted February 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 yeah it's a fender MIM strat, and it's a very non-humid winter up here in Washington...we'll see if it contracts radically again once it's re-humidified... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members marekk Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 yeah it's a fender MIM strat, and it's a very non-humid winter up here in Washington...we'll see if it contracts radically again once it's re-humidified... would have guessed a MIM. i had a mim tele that always dryed out leaving sharp frets. i love fender maple necks and fenders in general, but my bound rosewood boards rarely do this. plus i apply a fretboard conditioner that helps stablize the neck i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Armitage Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Keep the humidity around 40%, no more, and a little light mineral oil on the board twice the first year, then once a year after that is all you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nephilim-777 Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 I use lemon oil to clean and lube my fretboard at every string change. Between changes, natural oil from my fingers does the trick. I've never experienced a dehydration problem in any environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whatever Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 About 45% humidity is ideal. I'd recommend pure tung oil for the fretboard. About once a year should do the trick. Just be careful throwing away the oil soaked rags as they can spontaneously combust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrChitlins Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 when I played live somewhere else the air would be quite a bit dryer and the guitar would change while I was playing. Also, I would do a sound check and everything would be in tune, twenty minutes later, when I get up to do my thing it's all out of tune. Some people would say it's your tuners, it's your intonation, it's your bridge, and I figured out it's the humidity causing the wood to expand or contract. I would suggest it's the result of the guitar adjusting to a difference in temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nephilim-777 Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 I would suggest it's the result of the guitar adjusting to a difference in temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted February 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 22, 2007 would have guessed a MIM. i had a mim tele that always dryed out leaving sharp frets. i love fender maple necks and fenders in general, but my bound rosewood boards rarely do this. plus i apply a fretboard conditioner that helps stablize the neck i think. yeah, my bound les paul fretboard has had no problems at all...neither has my bound acoustic fretboard. but I got this strat from GC, so naturally it's been neglected to hell. I think that once I get it re-hydrated, it'll stay that way, since I don't mistreat my guitars. I'm guessing that someone had this guitar laying around outside or in the back room or on the back of the truck in the cold, dry winter air for awhile... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members David Bray Posted November 1, 2019 Members Share Posted November 1, 2019 How do you rehydrate a neck with lacquer/acrylic finish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LarryDaly Posted March 8, 2020 Members Share Posted March 8, 2020 I just re-hydrated my MIM Strat neck. Took about 5 days in a room at 50%. good as new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted March 8, 2020 Members Share Posted March 8, 2020 On 11/1/2019 at 5:43 AM, David Bray said: How do you rehydrate a neck with lacquer/acrylic finish? Any bare wood would take in moisture. I wanna know how you tell when it's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted March 9, 2020 Members Share Posted March 9, 2020 On 11/1/2019 at 10:43 AM, David Bray said: How do you rehydrate a neck with lacquer/acrylic finish? A sealed neck isn't going to loose much humidity so hydrating it isn't going to be very important. If all frets are Rough on the ends its more likely the result of a bad fret job, especially if the frets have been lacquered over. Acoustic guitars its important to use a humidifier because the inside is raw wood exposed to the air. Electrics that are completely painted and lacquered over have their humidity sealed in. Its highly unlikely you'll get much moisture in or out through whatever screw holes there may be. Unfinished Fretboards are of course the exception. Even there, if you use mineral oil to treat your fretboard its going to resist most humidity . You may get some in through the truss rod area especially on Fender guitars that have no cap over the nut. To be honest, unless its a semi hollow body guitar I don't even working about electrics. I simply keep the neck straight and the rest takes care of itself, especially since I moved to Houston where the Humidity is always high. My studio is has a 30% humidity in winter and higher in the summer. I have zero issues with wood getting dry. If you live up north with long winters and a house heated by central hot air you likely want to buy a humidifier for the room you keep your instruments in. If you have acoustics you can buy a humidifier that fits in the sound hole and is designed to be used with the instrument in its case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members milkphish Posted January 13, 2021 Members Share Posted January 13, 2021 On 3/7/2020 at 5:12 PM, LarryDaly said: I just re-hydrated my MIM Strat neck. Took about 5 days in a room at 50%. good as new. How were you able to do this? Guitar in case? Guitar in room? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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