Members GrantsV5 Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Hi,People here recommend mineral oil and lemon oil for rosewood guitar necks. How about regular cooking oil such as virgin olive oil or walnut oil? Best regards,GrantsV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Mow Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 no... just no... Mmmmm... rancidy goodness... no.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheDarxide Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 {censored} no! And when you oil a neck, you only put it on sparingly, and you should wipe off as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ajcoholic Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 I wouldnt use any oil that is a non- hardening oil... Any vegetable based oil will indeed go "bad" after a while, and will always feel oily to boot, something you probably do not want. Walnut oil will harden up with time,but you are far better off using something purpose made for fretboards, or a good danish oil (that will dry) like Watco brand (I use it a lot in my furniture business) and even Dan Erlwine recommends Watco brand oil by name in one of his books I have. AJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Aerys Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Be sure to add some chopped parsley. Play it, see how it feels afterwards. Season to taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aero90 Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 I actually found an artical about Banjo maintenance that suggested using sesame oil on the fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aero90 Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 I found this interesting (not that I'm advocating it): fretboard maintenance artical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tiger roach Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 It will smell bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wizard of Ozz Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Definitely no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members curseoftruth Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 And Lem Oil doesn't smell bad? Cleaned my fretboard last night and I can still small that crap in my home studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Originally posted by ajcoholic I wouldnt use any oil that is a non- hardening oil... Lemon oil is non-hardening, and is the standard for rosewood and ebony fingerboards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Originally posted by GrantsV5 How about regular cooking oil such as virgin olive oil or walnut oil? yeah...pass, as mentioned the thought of veg or nut oils going rancid on the board does not appeal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members came2play Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Originally posted by aero90 I actually found an artical about Banjo maintenance that suggested using sesame oil on the fretboard. Oh....are you going to get us going on banjo jokes?Don't call down the thunder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members came2play Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 We doneed no steenkeen banjos!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Originally posted by Abrasion Be sure to add some chopped parsley.Play it, see how it feels afterwards.Season to taste. I prefer mine with capers, anchovy, mushrooms and plenty of garlic. Perhaps a splash of vermouth. But no, olive oil will turn rancid and sticky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ajcoholic Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Yes, but lemon oil (which is also used in many furniture polishes) does not leave an oily, sticky mess/residue that cooking oil will most definitely leave... I personally still would recommend an oil that will harden, especially if you plan to soak the board with it. Now if you like your fingers to be oily... AJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cougar Hunter Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 coconut oil is the only edible oil that will necer go rancid. I use tung oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogsinotpalc Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Olive oil is grat, especially if you sautee the neck in it with minced or crushed garlic. Serve it over the pasta and choice and that's good eatin'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members came2play Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Originally posted by misterhinkydink I prefer mine with capers, anchovy, mushrooms and plenty of garlic. Perhaps a splash of vermouth.But no, olive oil will turn rancid and sticky. Speaking of olive oil, does anyone remember the olive oil scene in "Summer Lovers"? (bracing himself...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Olive oil no...But Walnut oil is a definite yes. Walnut oil is used in wood finishing a lot. It is second only to Lindseed oil as a drying oil for finishing. It won't give you much protection...but if you are trying to finish a wood object with the lightest finish possible, walnut oil is a good choice. It seems to be favored a lot with wood workers who build toys for children because it's safe to eat. For a stronger finish for childrens toys...try adding shellac flake finish in an alchohol solvent (both also edible) I use walnut oil for my fretboards a lot. Since it's a drying oil is doesn't go rancid on wood. A good routine is to go over the fretboard with a water damp cloth to loosen up the finger funk. Then go over the fretboard with 0000 grade steel wool to pull the funk out and polish the frets a bit. Wipe clean and then go over the whole fretboard with walnut oil and let it dry overnight. UV light dries walnut oil better and faster than air drying but either mehod will work. Just wipe off the excess the next day. The wood absorbs the oil slightly and this keeps ebony boards from drying out and cracking. It also helps build up a resistence to those pits in the fingerboard that develop over time from sweat. I know tradition is that the fretboard is supposed to be unfinished but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. A little drying oil and maybe even a dilute shellac wash to the fretboard will protect the fretboard a lot and can easily be removed with a few wipes of steel wool if you ever wanted to get rid of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boogs Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 One guitar of mine had a fairly dried out fretboard, and I treated it with walnut oil - I really rubbed the excess off well, and it worked great. Other than that, I've used guitar-specific "lemon-oil" stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Originally posted by Boogs One guitar of mine had a fairly dried out fretboard, and I treated it with walnut oil - I really rubbed the excess off well, and it worked great. Other than that, I've used guitar-specific "lemon-oil" stuff. ..and in reality, it was basically just as dried out after you oiled it as it was prior to the application...but sure looks better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 Originally posted by guitarcapo Wipe clean and then go over the whole fretboard with walnut oil and let it dry overnight. UV light dries walnut oil better and faster than air drying but either mehod will work. Just wipe off the excess the next day. hmm...doesnt seem too useful considering that the wood pores can only absorb so much oil and after a bit, diminishing return...not to mention possilbe adhesive failure at some point on inlays, bindings and the like. The wood absorbs the oil slightly and this keeps ebony boards from drying out and cracking. The hardened finish resulting from a drying oil, sure..otherwise, nah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 21, 2005 Members Share Posted November 21, 2005 I've never had problems with bindings coming loose or inlays falling out using walnut oil...I would think lemon oil (really mineral oil artificially lemon scented..no lemons involved) would be worse because it's more of a solvent. It strips out the natural oils of the wood and is better for cleaning out stuff more than protecting the wood. But yea...the walnut oil goes slightly into the wood and no more....and after a year or so it rubs off. You probably wouldn't want it to do more than that anyway. Then if needed you can apply it again. Suffice it to say that walnut oil is used in wood finishing a lot. Drying oils like walnut and linseed oil are considered a very weak finish just a little better than raw wood. Personally I think it's a perfect finish for a fingerboard. Gives a little protection but doesn't let the fingerboard seem "finished" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChrisGansz Posted November 22, 2005 Members Share Posted November 22, 2005 No anchovies, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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