Which fretboard oil?

[Maguchi]

My small bottle of lemon oil is almost empty and I'll need to get something to condition/oil the rosewood and ebony fingerboards of my guitars. I want to try something new and don't want to pay Stew Macs shipping fees. What can you all recommend for a good inexpensive fretboard conditioner. Would like something guitar specific and not generic stuff from the hardware store or supermarket.

 

[northernguitar]

My small bottle of lemon oil is almost empty and I'll need to get something to condition/oil the rosewood and ebony fingerboards of my guitars. I want to try something new and don't want to pay Stew Macs shipping fees. What can you all recommend for a good inexpensive fretboard conditioner. Would like something guitar specific and not generic stuff from the hardware store or supermarket.

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You can fill up a lot of those small bottles with a bottle of Weimans. Same stuff, light mineral oil.

 

[johmica]

This is what I use. It's $9 at Sweetwater for a 2 oz bottle, and $25 for an 8 oz bottle.

 

[bobio]

I have been using the Dunlop System 65 line on my guitars for as long as I can remember.
My preference is for Rosewood/Pau Ferro and that is what is on MOST of my guitars.
I clean and oil the fretboards once a year. Has worked well for me.

SYSTEM 65 GUITAR MAINTENANCE KIT - Dunlop (jimdunlop.com)

 

[ndcaster]

grenadilla oil

used for clarinets

 

[Cali Dude]

I like "Fiddle brite."

 

[Peegoo]

Bore oil, used for woodwinds, is good. It's basically mineral oil. Boiled linseed oil works great too.

I've even used Hawaiian Tropic Deep Tanning Oil; it is mostly mineral oil, and it makes your guitar smell like a beach babe!

These days I prefer Howard Feed 'n' Wax. It is the best stuff I've ever used for rosewood and ebony fretboards and acoustic bridges.

Anything sold for use on instruments is going to be twice the price of the exact same stuff that's not marketed to musicians.

 

[Maguchi]

Would like something guitar specific and not generic stuff from the hardware store or supermarket.

Bore oil, used for woodwinds, is good. It's basically mineral oil. Boiled linseed oil works great too.

I've even used Hawaiian Tropic Deep Tanning Oil; it is mostly mineral oil, and it makes your guitar smell like a beach babe!

Anything sold for use on instruments is going to be twice the price of the exact same stuff that's not marketed to musicians.

Thanks, would like something guitar specific and not generic stuff from the hardware store or supermarket.

 

[Stratohacker]

I like and have been using Fret Doctor for years.

 

[Boreas]

If you live in LA, visit the nearest ma/pa music store and buy anything with light mineral oil in it. Gorgomyte is a cleaner, conditioner, and fret polisher that is interesting, but not cheap.

 

[2HBStrat]

"Back in the day" raw linseed oil was the recommendation for rosewood fingerboards...

 

[Back at it]

Definitely fret doctor, same as bore oil for woodwinds

 

[Cjteleforum]

I wouldn't use a drying oil, i.e. linseed or walnut. They're just oil paint minus the pigment.

 

[dspellman1]

My small bottle of lemon oil is almost empty and I'll need to get something to condition/oil the rosewood and ebony fingerboards of my guitars. I want to try something new and don't want to pay Stew Macs shipping fees. What can you all recommend for a good inexpensive fretboard conditioner. Would like something guitar specific and not generic stuff from the hardware store or supermarket.

There's really nothing "guitar specific" necessary. It's frikkin' wood! Plain old mineral oil works as well as anything on the market, and probably 90% of the concoctions out there are mineral oil based with a "Guitar" sticker on the bottle. Mineral oil has been recommended for fretboards for maybe a hundred years, and the "lemon oil" spoken of by most people is actually something like the Olde English Lemon Oil cleaner, which has no lemon oil at all. It's mostly mineral oil with a bit of cleaning solvent that smells a bit citrus-y.

 

[dspellman1]

I wouldn't use a drying oil, i.e. linseed or walnut. They're just oil paint minus the pigment.

These are also referred to as polymerizing oils. They're actually a finish, and while you can apply these to your fretboard, you should do so rarely and in a very thin (and perhaps a thinned) coat, wiping them off almost immediately. In particular with non-boiled linseed oil, you can end up with a sticky mess that will never dry.

 

[schmee]

Pure Linseed oil works great for me. Hardware store.

 

[dspellman1]

I like and have been using Fret Doctor for years.

Fret Doctor is snake oil. It does absolutely nothing better than plain old mineral oil for your fretboard. What it does extraordinarily well is make money for the guy who sells it. I bought a gallon of mineral oil for $11 some time back. A gallon contains 128 ounces. Multiply the cost of Fret Doctor in that 30ml bottle (approx 1 oz) by 128 to see what he's making off a gallon of that stuff. A 1 oz bottle on Amazon is $20. 128oz x $20/oz is $2560.00.

I have a 1939 Epiphone Emperor that's had its fretboard taken care of with mineral oil since it was constructed and that fretboard is in excellent shape.

 

[dspellman1]

Thanks, would like something guitar specific and not generic stuff from the hardware store or supermarket.

Why, exactly? Any particular reason?

 

[Wyzsard]

Despite the laxative lable, this is 99.9% mineral oil. Put a very thin coat on the board and wipe it off. Don't let it soak into any cracks on the fretboard or let it seep into the fret slots. That's Frank Ford's method at Gryphon Guitars. Him and Erlwine share a mutual respect for one another, so that's good enough for me. Any pharmacy chain store has it with their name on it. Or Swan brand.

 

[Wyzsard]

Dp