RE: Oil for Fretboards

Costs are rising and times are tough.
Please consider a donation to keep this
place going.

Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.

This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.

We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.

You are logged in as Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >>Discussions >>Lutherie >>

Page: << < 1 [2]

Message

<< Newer Topic Older Topic >>

Morante

Posts: 2182
Joined: Nov. 21 2010

RE: Oil for Fretboards (in reply to orsonw)

My guitar is more than 30 years old and it never ocurred to me to oil the fingerboard, which still seems in good condition. What am I doing wrong??

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 10 2023 16:30:43

Ricardo

Posts: 14825
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Oil for Fretboards (in reply to Morante)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Morante

My guitar is more than 30 years old and it never ocurred to me to oil the fingerboard, which still seems in good condition. What am I doing wrong??

I never needed to do this…luckily my fingers have TONS of oil in them, it’s all over the place on ALL my guitars.

Eating pata negra before playing helps too.

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 10 2023 16:52:16

RobF

Posts: 1611
Joined: Aug. 24 2017

RE: Oil for Fretboards (in reply to Morante)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Morante
What am I doing wrong??

Probably you’re not watching enough YouTube. More YouTube = more oil.

I think this current trend is way overboard and probably comes from people wanting to darken lighter rosewood fingerboards more than anything else. My opinion is if it doesn’t look like it needs it, it doesn’t need it. For sure this trend of applying oil every string change or once a year doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Maybe do it once when new, then once every 15 years or so after that is more like it. Or maybe never.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 10 2023 18:07:20

estebanana

Posts: 9357
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Oil for Fretboards (in reply to Morante)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Morante

My guitar is more than 30 years old and it never ocurred to me to oil the fingerboard, which still seems in good condition. What am I doing wrong??

That’s because you probably play your guitar and the body oil from your hands and forearms get on the fingerboard. Because you’re correct, most of the time fingerboards don’t need to be touched with any product.

In fact, oiling the fingerboard attracts dirt. There are ways to clean the gunk that can build up next to the frets, but you only need to do that once in a while during a string change.

The proprietary products sold for fingerboard cleaning are unnecessary. It’s like how my grandfather described certain fishing lures, “tarted up to catch the fisherman and not the fish.”

_____________________________

https://www.stephenfaulkguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 11 2023 2:49:34

estebanana

Posts: 9357
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Oil for Fretboards (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ricardo

quote:

ORIGINAL: Morante

My guitar is more than 30 years old and it never ocurred to me to oil the fingerboard, which still seems in good condition. What am I doing wrong??

I never needed to do this…luckily my fingers have TONS of oil in them, it’s all over the place on ALL my guitars. Eating pata negra before playing helps too.

David Serva told me when he and Marote’ hung out at Bar Marbella in his neighborhood that Marote’ always wanted the jamon cuts with mostly fat. So there you go. Vindication by greasy fingers.

_____________________________

https://www.stephenfaulkguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 11 2023 2:53:43