Fretboard Oil

[David L]

I know I've heard this mentioned before but what do ya'll use to treat the fingerboard when you're finished building the guitar and about to string it up? I know some folks use various different oils and other stuff. Don't want to spend money on "special" fingerboard oil when I can use something that I have on hand.

David L

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I like Dr. Ducks.......good on the bridge too.

Kevin

[David L]

Where do you get Dr. Ducks from?

David L

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I got mine at Guitar Center. You can even use it to clean and polish the lacquer finish.

Kevin

[Jim_H]

It's a personal preference, but I don't like putting anything that finishes hard on my fretboards. I used to use the stuff stewmac sells, but I didn't care for the hard finish it leaves. My hands/sweat are too hard on that stuff and it looks terrible to me after a few minutes of playing

A while back I discovered something called "Fret Doctor" (i know, strange name for a wood oil :p). It's sold by a guy who designed it for restoring civil war era fifes and such. Someone figured out that it worked great on fretboards too.

http://beafifer.com/ (click the "Fret Doctor" link on the left).

I little bit of this stuff goes a long long long ways. It only takes a tiny amount to rejuvinate a dried out fretboard.

I only apply it about once a year as maintenance. It doesn't leave any residue behind, and once it's fully soaked in, other than the wood looking fresh and clean, You wouldn't even know it was there.

Note that this does not 'seal' the fretboard. It just re-moisturizes it. It will help loosen up fingerboard grime, but if you have a particularly grimey fretboard, or one that has a hard seal finish on it, you will want to clean it off with some naptha or something to remove everything down to the wood. This stuff works best when you have a clean board to work with.

[tippie53]

Martin used 3 and 1 oil for many years . I still do and then top off with shoe wax . Buff up nice

[kencierp]

From Don Teeter "the master"

Minwax --- finishing wax -- nice!!!

[Ben-Had]

Plain ole Mineral Oil, cheap and the base from many high priced commercial "specialty" conditioners.

[tippie53]

I hate to disagree but don't use mineral oil . You want to use something that will evaporate. Wax is also good. You don't want anything that will penetrate wood . 3 in 1 will clean off the surface debris then evaporate , wax helps to seal things to a degree.

[Ben-Had]

I hate to disagree but don't use mineral oil . You want to use something that will evaporate. Wax is also good. You don't want anything that will penetrate wood . 3 in 1 will clean off the surface debris then evaporate , wax helps to seal things to a degree.

John, I'm not sure why you would not want to use mineral but would use 3 in 1 oil. 3 in 1 oil is a naphthenic oil which is a type of mineral oil. I've been using mineral oil on my 1969 Gibson since I got it new in 1969 and it still looks and plays like new 42 years later and I've used it on all my guitars and everyone's guitars that I've worked on over the years and have had no issues at all. So I guess find what works for you and stick with it.