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hey all, do any of you use some sort of conditioner for your fingerboard. the melody maker has quite a dry fingerboard and i think it could use some kinda treatment. what do you suggest, there's so many to choose from.

Lemon oil. But I have also used Olive Oil when I didn't have any Lemon - works just fine, rub it on, when you get to the top fret go back to start and rub off any excess with a clean cloth.
Those new Ernie Ball wipes are meant to be good but I haven't tried them.

lamp wrote:Lemon oil. But I have also used Olive Oil when I didn't have any Lemon - works just fine, rub it on, when you get to the top fret go back to start and rub off any excess with a clean cloth.
Those new Ernie Ball wipes are meant to be good but I haven't tried them.

yeah but they're pretty exspensive (wonder wipes or something ?)

i have a bottle of dr stringfellow lemon oil, i've had it for years and from time to time i'll put it on there, used to do that more when i still played bass.




also used to have dunlop 65 but this kyser one is nicer, less harsh smelling and more oily, dunlop is like lemon chemical water stuff.

doesn't olive oil go rancid after a fashion? somehow i can't recommend olive oil.

lemon oil isnt actually a food product, nor is it made from lemons. it is a combination of mineral oil and solvents, that i guess is scented to smell like lemon. it both cleans and conditions rosewood, and a number of other things. id be careful around fine finishes though, i think it contains naphtha.

also, that kyser spray stuff is weird to me. i prefer qtips and a regular can, personally.

william wrote:doesn't olive oil go rancid after a fashion? somehow i can't recommend olive oil.

I know it seems a bit weird, but someone recommended it to me years ago and it's just fine!
It doesn't go rancid or anything...I guess it's one of those things that you have to try and see.

lamp wrote:

william wrote:doesn't olive oil go rancid after a fashion? somehow i can't recommend olive oil.

I know it seems a bit weird, but someone recommended it to me years ago and it's just fine!
It doesn't go rancid or anything...I guess it's one of those things that you have to try and see.

fair enough.

still, i cant imagine that it cleans while it conditions.

(this is starting to sound like a bad infomercial )

no it definitely doesn't clean - when I've used it, I've cleaned the board first then oiled.

yeah i first go over the fretboard too with a cloth to get dirt off then i put the oil on it, not too much or it's icky, but you know.. it's been over a year since i've done that to my guitars. i don't really care anymore if it's dirty, with bass i was more picky and wanted the fretboard to be clean and smooth, i used string cleaner to to keep bass strings bright for as long as possible, now i just don't bother. unless i get bored. with guitar i mean, my bass has been standing on a rack in a corner for over a year, i never really touch it.

i clean guitars meticulously when i first get them, but then i dont really bother anymore, except to maybe spray a little meguier mist and wipe on the back of the neck, or on the body if its really nasty.

however i am all about keeping hardware clean.

+1 to lemon oil. I use it everytime I change strings.

heavium wrote:

This - mine's about ten years old and has a screw in spray nozzle, so I unscrew the lid and soak it into a rag; treat the guitar every other string change.

i got three different things.
1. old english, good for a lil cleaning.
2.this "buy ohio" lemon oil for the 80's fantastic stuff, cleans and conditions the wood really well.
3. and this stew mac stuff that is the best, its a bit of a stain(light, very light), smells like death, but it gets the job done the best.
i actually really like it if i have done some sort of fret work/fretboard repair.
it covers up small scratches and gets those small bits of metal out of the cracks and what not.
but all of this stuff is for rosewood shit only.
supposedly the stew mac stuff will stain maple.

i use honda cycle polish in a can. it fucking cleans anything




i spray it all over my guitar. its the beezkneeze

I use planet waves hydrate, I heard lemon oil could rot the wood, dunno if it's true, though.

i've used it once. i always vouch for planet waves stuff, cause shit's tyte, but otherwise, i don't really notice much difference whether i condition or not

gayz

Lemon Oil, except... Aren't you not supposed to use it on rosewood? Dries it out or something?

MrJulius wrote:Lemon Oil, except... Aren't you not supposed to use it on rosewood? Dries it out or something?

Yr ONLY supposed to use it on rosewood. Maple & ebony don't need it.

What can you do to clean maple? Other than naphtha?