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RobF -> RE: Oil for Fretboards (Aug. 29 2023 15:24:55)
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In recent years I’ve been using the MusicNomad F-One oil, which I believe is available in the UK. It’s not very expensive and a bottle will last forever, or until it goes rancid. I say that because it’s plant based, so it does have a shelf life (but many years), unlike the mineral oil you’re showing, which shouldn’t. I don’t know if it’s a drying oil or not, and I can’t answer to if there is any real difference between using mineral or plant based, I just know it works very well.
One very important thing is you shouldn’t dose and soak your fingerboard in it, like you’ll see being done on a lot of the internet clips. Just apply with tiny drops and rub the oil in with a fingertip works well. You don’t want it getting into the fret slots in any quantity or having it on so long it softens the wood (not sure if that actually can happen), which is why a rub on, wipe off method is preferable to going bezonkers with the stuff. But generally the small amount rubbed on will soak in very quickly so wiping off doesn’t really lift anything.
Before you apply the oil, it wouldn’t hurt to give the fretboard a wipe down with 0000 steel wool to clean everything up. Again, don’t go nuts, just a polish and clean. Your fingerboard looks like it might be stained and, if it is, the steel wool could remove some of that, so be mindful and don’t rub too hard. If you see stain lifting and revealing lighter wood beneath then stop. The oil will darken the board significantly but if it needs a stain touch up then that’s a topic for another discussion (probably a controversial one, at that). Those light streaks could just be dirt or a natural variegation of the wood, however, so don’t stress too much about it.
P.S. I just want to add, this oiling of fingerboards need not be done nearly as often as the internet would have you think. It’s an as needed kind of thing. I’ll generally oil a fingerboard after dressing frets or the like, but most of my personal guitars would be lucky if they see an application every ten years or so.
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