lemon oil on chineze rosewood fretboard ?

[Deleted]

Hello
I finally got the new ibby : www.ibanez.co.jp/products/eg_page12.php?area_id=3&data_id=246&color=CL02&year=2012&cat_id=1&series_id=79
whose fretboard like its predecessor has a very dry feel and also looks very light colored in comparison to common rosewood. This is most visible here : www.ibanez.co.jp/products/eg_page12.php?data_id=246&color=CL01&area_id=3&year=2012&cat_id=1&series_id=79
looking at the light-ish/white-ish spots on the fretboard.

Is this in need of lemon oil treatment?

I had tried this in my previous ARZ800 problematic ibby, before i returned it, and the rosewood got a lot better, both its looks, ease of play, and feel.

Thing is, now, i am too scared to touch the new guitar. I am so frightened from this ex-buzz, that i am afraid to even touch it again with some tool, liquid, or any other treatment. Call me nuts, but that is the way it is...

Is there any paranoid way that a lemon oil treatment would result in .... buzz?
cause frets popping up?

If yes, then what can i do to bring up some moisture to this completely dried harsh fretboard?

[long813]

Hello again pyrros.

A little background on 'lemon oil'. First, lemon oil is just mineral oil + some lemon scent. You know, like the mineral oil sold in the pharmacy section of grocery stores to give your self an enema... to far? Well, I say that because it's extremely cheap to just buy it there.

Next, oiling up your fretboard should only occur once a year. It's shouldn't be needed more often than that. When you do apply the mineral oil. you just need to dab a little dot on a cloth then rub it in the fret. One small drop could last one or two frets as well.

Hopefully explaining everything well, I move on to the last point. Not everyone agrees that oiling the fretboard is needed. Some say the wood is dead and doesn't 'hunger' for anything, while some say the oils on your fingers will be enough (more applicable to ebony), another opinion is that using these oils will just make the fingerboard dry out quicker after the application, lastly others say you should do it once a year.

It can't hurt to oil the board up once a year. It gives it a nice dark look with is pleasant and 'new'. You just have to make sure you don't go overboard and use to much mineral oil or apply to to often. Lastly, it also cannot create buzzing. Complete over saturation though, can cause problems.

This blog goes through cleaning a JEM. One of the pages talks about oiling the fretboard. He used bore oil, but it's unnecessary. Mineral oil would be fine.
www.ibanezrules.com/tech/grunge/grunge_1.htm
It's also a nice paint job

Hope it cleared it up...or did I just confuse you.

[Deleted]

As long as it does not buzz, its fine with me!
thanx for the fine tips/info. Ibanezrules is a fantastic site.

What is the problem with saturation?
in the problematic ibby i did it 1-2 times at least in one month, since it was drinking it all and drying again.
Maybe that was smth bad i did?

PS
When i have toilet problems i try to eat plum

[long813]

Oct 3, 2012 9:13:49 GMT -5 @pyrros said:

As long as it does not buzz, its fine with me!
thanx for the fine tips/info. Ibanezrules is a fantastic site.

What is the problem with saturation?
in the problematic ibby i did it 1-2 times at least in one month, since it was drinking it all and drying again.
Maybe that was smth bad i did?

PS
When i have toilet problems i try to eat plum

I hear that the over-saturation can cause the fret wires to become loose due to expansion. From this, if the fretboard is bound, the binding could come loose. I have never seen or experienced this personally, but it falls in line with everything I know about humidity control and wood.

[Deleted]

thanx .....
which for my case translates to : hold your lemon oil for any guitar but the ibby!

[Double Yoi]

Just dot it on and rub it in with a rag...let it soak a bit and wipe dry..no buzz, no damage, no sweat.
If the wood looks dry its because it is..usually in a kiln or over a long period of time.
I have oiled all my rosewood fingerboards and never had a problem..

[Deleted]

yeah, thanx...

i heard "body" oil (finger oil ;D ) serves this purpose as well..... also nice to see which parts of the fretboard were less played.

[cynical1]

OK, unless you have a significant stake in a lemon orchard, there is no advantage in putting lemon oil your fingerboard. There, I said it.

Read the ingredients on your standard bottle of Feldergarb Fingerboard oil and you'll see that it's over 99% white mineral oil. The lemon oil is merely added to give it fragrance. That's really about it.

I would suggest sinking a few bucks into some GHS Fast Fret.



It has a handy applicator and a shelf life of about 25 years if you keep the lid on. I know this as I still have a can around here with the old screw top that still oils up a fingerboard. You have the added advantage of keeping your strings clean and it does help prolong their life as well.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[long813]

Oct 31, 2012 9:00:16 GMT -5 @pyrros said:

yeah, thanx...

i heard "body" oil (finger oil ;D ) serves this purpose as well..... also nice to see which parts of the fretboard were less played.

Yes, it can work. I've read that Ebony boards don't need oil at all (even if you are in the camp of "oil the board") because the oils from the fingers are enough. It may have been from a luthier who didn't think boards needed oiling as well, so it's still not definitive.

[Deleted]

Oct 31, 2012 11:37:43 GMT -5 cynical1 said:

OK, unless you have a significant stake in a lemon orchard, there is no advantage in putting lemon oil your fingerboard. There, I said it.

Read the ingredients on your standard bottle of Feldergarb Fingerboard oil and you'll see that it's over 99% white mineral oil. The lemon oil is merely added to give it fragrance. That's really about it.

I would suggest sinking a few bucks into some GHS Fast Fret.



It has a handy applicator and a shelf life of about 25 years if you keep the lid on. I know this as I still have a can around here with the old screw top that still oils up a fingerboard. You have the added advantage of keeping your strings clean and it does help prolong their life as well.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

Thanx man,

i had some Gibson fretboard conditioner since i was a uni student (back in 1989) and i almost felt smth when i threw it away just some days ago. Yes, it lasted for over 23 yrs!

I will take a look at GHS Fast fret. Loads of ppl praising it.

Currently i have www.jimdunlop.com/product/fretboard-65-ultimate-lemon-oil


and i have used it on all of my axes but the Ibanez. ( i am still hesitant to touch this lil funker )

[Deleted]

Oct 31, 2012 15:38:07 GMT -5 long813 said:

Oct 31, 2012 9:00:16 GMT -5 @pyrros said:

yeah, thanx...

i heard "body" oil (finger oil ;D ) serves this purpose as well..... also nice to see which parts of the fretboard were less played.

Yes, it can work. I've read that Ebony boards don't need oil at all (even if you are in the camp of "oil the board") because the oils from the fingers are enough. It may have been from a luthier who didn't think boards needed oiling as well, so it's still not definitive.

thanx, note taken.

As long as the fingers dont stick to the fretboard its ok, otherwise explicit oiling is needed, but if someone is as patient as to play the guitar till it gets naturally finger-oiled, its fine..

[gckelloch]

A local luthier I know likes to use Murphy's Oil Soap on unfinished FB's. It's really nice and buttery feeling without any tackiness.

I use something called BigBends Fret Board Juice (thinned mineral oil) to extend the life and effectiveness of the GFS Fast Fret applicators. I got several years use from my last one, and only used ~1/4 of the BigBends bottle so far.