Tru-oil on a rosewood fingerboard...

[Boolywho]

Anyone ever put a tru-oil finish on a rosewood fingerboard? I know this is really unconventional, but I think I might want to do it. I'm getting a rosewood fingerboard on my tele neck (for aesthetic reasons) but I really the feel of a finished fretboard.

What would you all suggest for someone in my situation? Is it a bad idea to finish a rosewood fingerboard with tru-oil? Will it even work (i.e. is the wood too oily to accept this type of finish in the first place)?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Jupiter]

If you don't mind a cross-post from another forum, there's been discussion about this on reranch. Some pretty nice looking pics, too.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

I have, works well. Just kinda messy.

Linseed oil, tung oil, tung/poly mix, and olive oil also work well.

Still wont feel like a finish maple board though.

 

[taekmanis]

i use cooking oil for my rosewood something i use polishing spray oil base..there is no thru oil, gun stock oil in my city..

 

[rangercaster]

sweat and skin ... just play it ... no additional finish needed ...

 

[flyingbanana]

This is all I use now...plus, a little goes a long way. It also happens to darken up the fretboard more than anything else I've used barring a dye.

http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

 

[udimet720]

Works fine. Just put it on in VERY light coats. Like spread one drop over several sections of the FB. Maybe 3-4 drops for the whole board. You would have to put on a number of layers to hide the grain.

 

[flyingbanana]

Hardly anyone agrees with the same line of thinking. And there are often many different ways to skin a cat, but my opinion is that rosewood shouldn't be sealed. That's why I like to apply a very light oil on it. Then, in the future, it will accept more oil, thereby keeping the wood from drying out and getting lighter in color. What I have found is that by sealing it, you prevent future coats of oil from seeping down into the wood. But, as they say...to each his own.

 

[udimet720]

This is no different than the rosewood (body) telecaster. Those are all finished and shiny. So there's no reason it can't be done. Though, maybe some finishes are not ideal.

The main disincentive is it's hard to polish the finish on the fb once the frets are on.

 

[hackworth1]

Finished two necks with tru oil in the spray can. One maple fretboard and one tiete (rosewood). Sprayed the entire necks front back and all around with the frets in. Set for a week. Steel wooled and polished with Scratch X, Swirl X and automotive wax.

Buffed with a $30 machine buffer from Home Depot. Thought I had pictures. I'll post some later.

I like the tru oil on the fingerboards. And the backs of necks. Good Stuff. Smooth. Not as thick and glossy (think poly) sticky - grippy when hands are sweaty. Sufficiently shiny for good aesthetics.

 

[Boolywho]

So... If I do want to put a tru-oil finish a rosewood fingerboard, do I oil (lemon oil, olive oil, etc...) the fingerboard first, then put on the tru-oil finish, or do I just tru-oil the dry fingerboard?

 

[udimet720]

Just dry. It will darken slightly.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

So... If I do want to put a tru-oil finish a rosewood fingerboard, do I oil (lemon oil, olive oil, etc...) the fingerboard first, then put on the tru-oil finish, or do I just tru-oil the dry fingerboard?

Nope, just tru oil.

 

[otterhound]

It is not necessary to oil Rosewood and some will recommend against it , but it can be done . My Rosewood Tele has a coated fretboard .
My experience is that Madagascar Rosewood feels very similar to Maple .

 

[ChristianN]

Finished two necks with tru oil in the spray can. One maple fretboard and one tiete (rosewood). Sprayed the entire necks front back and all around with the frets in. Set for a week. Steel wooled and polished with Scratch X, Swirl X and automotive wax.

Buffed with a $30 machine buffer from Home Depot. Thought I had pictures. I'll post some later.

I like the tru oil on the fingerboards. And the backs of necks. Good Stuff. Smooth. Not as thick and glossy (think poly) sticky - grippy when hands are sweaty. Sufficiently shiny for good aesthetics.

I'm reviving an old thread... But with purpose. Have you or anyone else who have tru oiled rosewood necks any information to report on how well its held up over the years?

I was using fiebings dye to "ebonize" all my fretboards which looks good at first, but after anywhere from a few weeks to months, the fretboards start to look dry and have to be oiled... Basically with every string change (or before!). It looks great on 95% of my tries, but requires maintenance.. And perhaps too much oil?

I was thinking of using naphtha to get off as much of the fiebings as possible and then use a black minwax pen, waiting at least a couple days for it to fully dry, and then perhaps tru oiling over that to keep a nice, dark ebony-like sheen with little maintenance.

I keep reading about "don't seal your rosewood fretboard", but I'm not getting that most of the people saying this have actual experience with this, as they sometimes provide some basic logic, but no actual explanation of results.

Like.. Does it flake? Does the fretboard warp? Crack in shrinkage / expansion? Anything word happen to the open grainsif the get completely filled or just slightly depending on how thick the tru oil was applied or how many coats etc? Any other issues?

If anyone could please report or have any comments..

Thanks!

 

[Art VanDelay]

I put this on an unfinished Pau Ferro neck and it came out looking amazing. Just this, nothing else (rub on and wipe off 15-20 minutes later)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BKQYGW/?tag=tdpri-20

 

[schmee]

NO!

 

[lammie200]

It works fine. As someone said, all you need is a few drops and only one coat. It will darken the wood and not build up or leave any residue. I am sure that you will be pleased with the results. With only a few drops and only one coat it will not change the absorption of the rosewood by much at all. 2-3 coats and it will start to build up. I wouldn't go that far on a fretboard, myself.

 

[Silverface]

What are you trying to accomplish? Treat the board, or coat it and create a glossy surface, or ????

It will penetrate the wood and harden the grain - IMO that's not a good thing, as it will make the board more prone to shipping during a refret.

As a coating it is VERY thin compared to other materials, being much closer to a Danish oil than a varnish. The solids content is very low, meaning the resin component - which forms the film and provides gloss - is a fraction of other products. It will take quite a few coats to build a gloss on most rosewood.

Again, though - the film itself is essentially that of a thin varnish. I've tested various varnishes and other clear coatings on fretboards for decades - all varnishes get a slightly sticky feel from perspiration. The abrasion resistance is also lower than lacquer or polyurethane; combined with the thin film it's doubtful it would hold up well to abrasion from string contact/bending.

Rickenbacker is the best-known manufacturer that coats rosewood fretboards, but they use a proprietary conversion varnish (likely a polyester or polyurethane, and a plural-component system) not available to the public.

I don't see any advantage to Tru Oil in a fretboard application, an odd "feel" and maintenance headaches. I'd stick with conventional fretboard oils.

Edited to add -

regarding using it in a very light application to just "oil" the board - that's a one-way ticket. Because of the varnish-type resins and grain hardening properties other fretboard oils will no longer penetrate consistently (if at all), possibly leaving oil on the surface - not a good thing. And additional coats of Tru Oil will add resin and increase the gloss - so at some point you'd need to decide whether you want a varnished fretboard (see reasons why not above), try to sand it to make it look consistent - too many variables, none good.

As far as oiling rosewood at all - it depends. Rosewood has a natural oil content - some more than others. Some rosewood can dry and become brittle - I have boards like that on several vintage resonator and budget guitars. So if it starts to look dry, or shows the least sign of splitting I recommend oiling.

And if you clean a rosewood board with solvent (or worse, water) you at least partially remove the natural oils, which will likely dry it out - those should be oiled (the best/safest cleaning soilvent if you're going to oil is naphtha).

If you clean only with a dry cotton cloth and it looks good with a very slight sheen you probably don't need to oil it.

Music Nomand F-One fretboard oil is a safe one that goes a long way; Old English "Red Oil" many techs have used since the 1970's with zero problems. "Lizard Spit" fretboard Conditioner has solvents and oils - I only suggest it if another oil is used as well - it's a good cleaner but not that great an oil.

Lemon oil can be good or terrible - most have solvent additives and you really should know - and understand - the exact content of any lemon oil product before using it. Because of that I don't recommend it.

Motor oil, sewing machine oil and other "machine oils" are not recommended. Many contain drying solvents, or additives like Teflon, silicones and other contaminants, and all are "dirt magnets".

Same with most furniture oils - they contain artificial shine products that are not good for natural wood Yo have to read the label AND MSDS - if anything isn't clearly safe don't use it.

 

[D_W_PGH]

I cooked varnish two weekends ago, and asked a good friend of mine about tru-oil (his name is George Wilson, he's retired now, but was a guitar, violin, mandolin, pistol, tool, whatever it is, you name it instrument maker, but he worked as an instrument shop master for probably about 15 years). It sounds to me like a softer version of varnish, and he said at one point he put it on a violin, and then seated a bridge after it was cured, and the bridge slowly made its way through the tru-oil finish until it was in contact with the top wood. Something varnish wouldn't have done (as in, it's a relatively soft finish and will wear as such).

If you like it, put a little on. If you don't like it, you can always scrape it off with a light scraper - it's only work to remove it, not much risk.

I'd prefer either an oil or a lacquer (not on rosewood, though) or varnish, but not something in between. I've always lightly oiled rosewood fingerboards with boiled linseed oil (without wiping all of it back off - the oil needs to dry). Though it penetrates a little bit, I've never had anything that penetrated deeply enough to be difficult to scrape off. BLO travels more easily "along the straws" than into them from the side. Linseed oil (flax oil if you want to buy from a food store) is also fine if you don't want a drying oil - it'll eventually dry.

Anyway, getting off tangent - if George Wilson wasn't afraid to put it on a violin (though he did have to strip it off eventually and use real varnish), then there's no reason you should be afraid to put it on a fingerboard to try and see if you like it.