I just got a new Ibanez SRH500F. I never oiled the rosewood fretboard on my old Yamaha fretless-- just cleaned it with Martin guitar cleaner whenever I changed the strings-- but I'd like to be more meticulous with the panga panga on my new bass. Any recommendations?
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Another vote for bore oil. It can be purchased cheaply at any school band instrument shop. It is designed for the inside of wooden clarinets, to keep them from drying out and cracking.
Avoid furniture oils, like lemon oils and such.
Cleaning and oiling rosewood fretboards
I clean with 20% solution of wood soap and oil/polish with Olde English( for light woods). Comes out pristine and nice deep color with a wooden glow.
Two basses from the 60's came out looking superb.
Many, many threads on this topic.
I clean with 20% solution of wood soap and oil/polish with Olde English( for light woods). Comes out pristine and nice deep color with a wooden glow.
Two basses from the 60's came out looking superb.
Many, many threads on this topic.
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another vote for nothing.
the fact that there's no clear consensus on it even among builders and repair people leads me to suspect that it doesn't make any real difference good or bad.
the fact that there's no clear consensus on it even among builders and repair people leads me to suspect that it doesn't make any real difference good or bad.
Alembic's advice (all of their ebony and pau ferro fingerboards are unfinished) was to use 'organic' lemon oil; i.e., food-grade lemon oil, not the stuff at Kroger or Home Depot that has petroleum distillates in it to aid its' liquidity. Not every place is as organic as NorCal, so I've used both, and honestly wondered why didn't I just use good olive oil?
Same thing using food oils as lubricants around the house. It also attracts vermin.
I was in property management for a few decades. The only way to keep things nice is clean with strong stuff and repaint every surface you can including the inside of drawers, cabinets, closets, etc.
But I digress. Now returning to your favorite thread...as you were.
You make a good point. In fact, I'm going to try contacting Ibanez to see if they have any recommendation. If they don't, I'll just do what I did with my Yamaha: clean it, and play it.
I use a guitar fretboard conditioner and cleaning agent called PRS Fretboard Conditioner with mineral oil (petroleum distillate) in it.
It both cleans and oils the fretboard.
Most recommend using mineral oil and advise strongly against using real lemon oil, others swear to using lemon oil.
Also note that some of the fretboard conditioner and cleaning agents out there are labeled lemon oil while really containing mineral oil.
It both cleans and oils the fretboard.
Most recommend using mineral oil and advise strongly against using real lemon oil, others swear to using lemon oil.
Also note that some of the fretboard conditioner and cleaning agents out there are labeled lemon oil while really containing mineral oil.
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With over 2 decades of playing electrics and high end acoustics I found the best oil is, the natural oil of the body. I've never treated, polished, or oiled up a guitar. Just cleaned with a soft cloth during each string change. Some say the FUNK adds to the mojo of the instrument.
Same here. I use a damp rag to clean gunk, a soft toothbrush if the rag won’t cut it, then wipe it dry.
In all my years of dark wood fretboards i only needed to oil a board once and that was only because i had a board that had been scrubbed with some kind of chemical that leeched the wood dry and left a white powdery residue down in the pores of the wood.
