Oiling the Fretboard

[Crazyguitardj]

Hey guys so I'm trying to get your thoughts on how often you should oil the fretboard on your guitar. I have a Taylor 214 ce guitar and I need to know what kind of oil to apply, how to apply it and how often to apply it. Also, how does oiling the fretboard affect playability?

[Brucebubs]

Welcome to the AGF.
I'm a big fan of the Music Nomad F-One Fretboard Oil.

Just a few drops needed - I use it about once per year.
Works well on bridges too - see the before and after shots below of my Martin JDP II.

[jseth]

While I'm also a fan of the Music Nomad products (their One polish/cleaner/wax is wonderful!), I've used both mineral oil and linseed oil (raw) for decades without issue...

A half-pint bottle of mineral oil will run you around $3 or so... and it will last you the REST OF YOUR LIFE!!! I kid you not...

You won't have to use any sort of oil but every couple years, really, if that. Basically, you use it when your fretboard is dry; if you play the guitar much at all, the oil from your fingertips will keep things just fine...

When I do use it (mineral oil), I spread it on with my fingertips (strings off, obviously), then immediately begin wiping it off with a soft cloth... and keep wiping the fretboard down with clean portions of a soft cloth until you aren't getting any oil visible on the cloth. Very difficult to get it all off, and that's okay.

Wipe your guitar strings and neck down with a cloth after each session... the fretboard will stay cleaner and your strings will last longer.

The downside to oiling your fretboard too often is that the oil can actually CAUSE the wood to crack; it gets into grain and swells a bit... so you don't want to overdo the whole "oiling the fretboard" thing.

I will sometimes use some OOOO steel wool (ALWAYS with the grain of the wood!) when I oil the fretboard to clean finger grease and gunk off... work the steel wool lightly and quickly over the fret wire to polish it... and then wipe everything down thoroughly.

I understand that folks want to take the best care possible of their guitars, but you don't want or need to overdo anything... don't put wax on it a bunch, either, when a slightly dampened cloth will clean most anything off the guitar's finish; buff with a soft cloth or microfiber towel afterwards...

[Kerbie]

Welcome, Crazy... with that kind of name, you oughta fit right in!

I use Gerlitz Guitar Honey sparingly once, maybe twice, a year.

[Wade Hampton]

Just to reinforce what’s already been written in this thread, never oiling a fretboard at all is less risky than overdoing it. Slathering it on at every string change, as some folks have posted about doing, ultimately causes more problems.

For one thing, the presence of oil on the fingerboard attracts dust and grit, which in turn acts a bit like sandpaper and accelerates wear, particularly with softer fretboard woods like Indian rosewood. Another problem that can accumulate over the years is that too much oil can seep through the pores of the wood, saturating it. Should the fretboard ever need to be removed temporarily for repairs to the neck or neck block, if too much oil has been applied over the years it can make gluing the fingerboard back in place difficult to impossible.

Excessive amounts of oil on the fretboard also softens the wood, to the point where you’ll sometimes see actual furrows dug into it. Again, this occurs mainly with rosewood fingerboards, but once those furrows have been plowed, they can’t be filled in again - the only thing that can be done to correct that is to pull the frets out, plane the entire fretboard, then refret it.

Which is a lot of work and expense to fix a problem that is easily avoided in the first place.

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about the potential hazards of over-oiling fretboards, and me writing about it has generated some angry responses from players for whom oiling the fingerboard must be a much-loved and often-repeated ritual. What the folks writing those responses tend to say is that I don’t know what I’m talking about, because this is something the guy has done weekly since 1937 or thereabouts, and there’s never been the SLIGHTEST problem with it.

To which I reply maybe not, but should the fingerboard ever have to come off, if it’s been saturated with oil it might not be possible to glue it back on.

Seriously - too much oil in the wood can make glues ineffective and close to useless.

So avoid getting into the habit of lavishing oil on the fretboard on a regular basis. Doing it once or twice a year AT MOST, and sparingly then, is a much better habit to get into.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Welcome to the AGF.
I'm a big fan of the Music Nomad F-One Fretboard Oil.

Just a few drops needed - I use it about once per year.
Works well on bridges too - see the before and after shots below of my Martin JDP II.

I use this product three to four times a year.
I seriously doubt that is too much. It doesn't attract dirt or whatever because 70-80 % of it dissipates rather quickly leaving a nice sheen to the fretboard.
YMMV.

[AndrewG]

I use Dunlop '65' stuff which seems to last forever. If it's a rosewood fretboard a couple of drops applied with a cloth once or twice a year is quite sufficient; for walnut and other woods I'd do the same. My bottle is still going strong after 10 years. Ebony doesn't need treating, and I always treat new guitars.

[zombywoof]

I can only tell you what I use which is Fret Doctor.

[dneal]

It's been a while since this contentious topic came up, so what the heck...

First, understand that there are a lot of different types of oils; and a lot of recommendations. Some generalizations:

- Vegetable oils (olive, corn, etc...) go rancid. Not a good idea.
- Tree / nut oils (walnut, tung, etc...) evaporate and leave a finish. Great for a lot of woodworking applications, not necessarily ideal for fretboards.
- There are two types of "Lemon Oil". The first is the essential oil from actual lemons. Don't put it on a fretboard. The second is more common, and is just mineral oil with a lemon scent added. This is the common "lemon oil" for fretboards.
- The "oil" from your skin isn't really much oil. Sure there are some lipids (fats) your body excretes, but most of the residue is urea, salt, lactic acid, water, etc...)

Second is whether it's recommended or not (and if it is, what type of oil is recommended). Some builders say nothing is needed. Some say occasional oil is optional/ok. Some say you should oil the fretboard periodically. Usually "lemon oil" (mineral oil) is the recommendation. Dave Doll at Martin recommends 3in1 oil.

Lastly is the "conventional wisdom" of the forum, and it's all over the place. I look at it like this:

- You apply a finish to wood to protect it. It's porous and absorbent. This is a reason the body of your guitar has a finish applied.
- You also apply a finish to make wood more attractive, which is a second reason your guitar has a finish.
- The fretboard is usually unfinished, or has "lemon oil" (mineral oil) applied. It evaporates / "dries out", and leaves no "finish" like walnut oil.

I think of oiling a fretboard the same as I do oiling a wooden cutting board, because you use the same oil for generally the same reason. An unoiled cutting board will absorb fat, water, acid, etc... from whatever you're cutting on it. It stains and gets nasty. A layer of mineral oil acts as a barrier to those contaminants and allows you to wipe them off. That mineral oil dries out and needs replenished periodically (even if you never use or clean the cutting board).

[renoslim]

I use this from StewMac maybe once a year or less. Does a nice job. will darken rosewood a bit if they are dry but also does a good job of bringing out the grain. A bottle lasts forever.

http://https://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Finishing_Supplies/Finishes_and_Solvents/ColorTone_Fretboard_Finishing_Oil.html

I also clean strings/board with just a touch of "orange" oil which is just scented mineral oil. This is always well buffed off with micro fiber cloth.

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Welcome to the AGF.
I'm a big fan of the Music Nomad F-One Fretboard Oil.

Just a few drops needed - I use it about once per year.
Works well on bridges too - see the before and after shots below of my Martin JDP II.

Did you put it on the rosette? It looks darker. Hope not because I like the lighter version.

[OneThing]

I use Dr. Duck’s Ax Wax. Great stuff!

[BrunoBlack]

Well, I’m perhaps the odd man out. But I’ve never done a thing to any of my guitars besides wipe them down with a soft cloth. Once in a blue moon, I’ll dampen a cloth with straight water to wipe off schmootz that got onto the guitar.

[ahorsewithnonam]

Originally Posted by Haasome

Well, I’m perhaps the odd man out. But I’ve never done a thing to any of my guitars besides wipe them down with a soft cloth. Once in a blue moon, I’ll dampen a cloth with straight water to wipe off schmootz that got onto the guitar.

Me too. I’ve never oiled a fretboard in my life.

[Bikewer]

Ditto here. I note that the guy that does the Frets.com site recommends that when cleaning is necessary, a bit of standard “mineral oil” and superfine steel wool works well.