Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: flaxattack on October 08, 2007, 08:53:57 PM

Title: How much oil?
Post by: flaxattack on October 08, 2007, 08:53:57 PM

i located lemon oil in the aroma therapy aisle at the local organic market. Since wolf has never been treated in 2+ yrs,  the first oiling absorbed rather quickly. so far i have done about 4
my luck the board will separate from the neck.
so question is- how much oil?

Title: How much oil?
Post by: alembic_doctor on October 08, 2007, 09:01:34 PM

There's only so much oil on the ground
Sooner or later there won't be much around
Tell that to your kids while you driving downtown
That there's only so much oil on the ground
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sorry.  I couldn't help myself.  It was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the title of the post in my email.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: pierreyves on October 08, 2007, 10:14:51 PM

you take some paper, just to saturate it and let the oil 30 minutes on the fingerboard.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: flaxattack on October 08, 2007, 10:54:58 PM

care to translate that into english?

Title: How much oil?
Post by: harald_rost on October 09, 2007, 12:25:13 AM

Put a little bit of the oil on a piece of cotton towel or something like this and wipe it onto the fretboard. Don't satiate the fretboard totally, that's not necessary. After 20 Minutes wipe with a try cotton towel over the fretboard and take the oil away which has not gone into the wood.
You can't do anything wrong as long as you don't take too much oil and let it dry on the fretboard (which would become sticky then).
[sorry, this might not be a good english but I hope you will understand what I mean].
 
All the best
Harald (from Germany)

Title: How much oil?
Post by: flaxattack on October 09, 2007, 06:03:57 AM

thanks harold
well i guess i might have overdid it
but is sure smells good

Title: How much oil?
Post by: rockbassist on October 09, 2007, 07:05:14 AM

I ususally use cotton swabs to apply the oil. I apply enough so that it looks shiny when wet but I am careful not to saturate it.  First I go with the grain and then across it to ensure that the oil is getting into all the small crevices. I let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes and then wipe the fretboard with a soft cloth.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: lbpesq on October 09, 2007, 07:23:18 AM

Flax:
 
Hopefullly you have not tossd the old strings, yet.  After oiling, you probably want to put the old strings back on for a few days.  I find that whatver set of strings I use right after oiling, new or old, turns black pretty quickly where I fret.  After a few days the residual oil dries/wipes away/? and no longer discolors the strings.  Then I swap to a new set.  And yes, it sounds like you may have overdone it a bit.  Sort of like Chien-Ming Wang.
 
Doc:  Shouldn't it be in the ground?
 
Bill, tgo
 
(Message edited by lbpesq on October 09, 2007)

Title: How much oil?
Post by: terryc on October 09, 2007, 07:53:02 AM

If you read the FAO on this, I do saturate it then wipe it off, put your old strings back on and play for a day or two before re stringing with new ones..apparently the oil will deaden the strings so use the old ones until the board is dry.
I don't think over use will do any harm apart from as said before, make the board a bit sticky

Title: How much oil?
Post by: bassman10096 on October 09, 2007, 08:36:57 AM

I think there was mention some time back of a Club member who over-oiled sufficiently that the oil penetrated all the way through the ebony and disolved the glue, causing the board to separate from the neck.  Hopefully someone can correct my recollection of the story if I have it wrong.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: terryc on October 09, 2007, 11:05:36 AM

Jeeze..he must have poured a gallon on it..let's face it common sense must prevail..you wouldn't over fill the engine of your car with oil

Title: How much oil?
Post by: bassman10096 on October 09, 2007, 11:18:05 AM

I think it may have been repeated, frequent applications of oil adding to become too much of a good thing...And do you mean adding oil every day to my car engine may not make for a smoother-running engine?  Now THAT would explain all the smoke!!!

Title: How much oil?
Post by: flaxattack on October 09, 2007, 02:02:30 PM

gthanks guys,. right now it is sitting stringless since i took the opportunity to polish him and clean the brass a little. we be talking about 6 total drops of oil on the larger frets and less on the smaller. first dressing sucked right into the board in what seemed like 2 minutes. since i am not playing this week i can let it sit and put the strings back on later this week,
i am also noticing that the new brand of finish they used which i believe they switched over to on a permanent basis tends to leave surface scratches  even when using a microfiber towel. i dont recall that happening with the finish from 05.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: mica on October 09, 2007, 02:48:52 PM

You haven't overoiled, Jeff, Wolfie should be fine. I retold the story about the overoiling as told to me by a Les Paul owner after many years of slathering oil on the fingerboard.
 
The paint you polish on Wolf is the same as the '05. What changed was the sealer coat for all Rosewoods. After it's sealed, then the regular polyester finish is on top. Not all microfiber towels are non-scuffing. I still think and old well-washed cotton t-shirt or diaper or a piece of chamois is best.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: keith_h on October 09, 2007, 05:25:06 PM

I second Mica on the diapers. I've used diapers for polishing for many years. They more they are used and washed the softer they get. Just be sure if they are new to wash and dry them several times before you use them.  
 
Keith

Title: How much oil?
Post by: lbpesq on October 09, 2007, 05:25:38 PM

Hey Jeff, I'll bet you could buy a used diaper from Mica.  lol
 
Bill, tgo

Title: How much oil?
Post by: terryc on October 10, 2007, 02:02:54 AM

Old t's are the best for polishing, minute scratches can be buffed out using a ultra fine car rubbing paste..there are some specially for plastic materials which should work on the poly finish.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: bassman10096 on October 10, 2007, 04:34:46 AM

Thanks for clearing up the overoiling story, Mica.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: flaxattack on October 10, 2007, 04:39:31 AM

thanks all... mica- can i get an alembic logo diaper? lol  
actually the board looks nice and dark again with no tackiness.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: flaxattack on October 10, 2007, 04:43:02 AM

btw- i think that new sealer coat for the rosewoods has definitely improved the sound. i noticed that immediately after it came back.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: alembickoa on October 12, 2007, 10:55:21 AM

Speaking of oil, anyone ever used Dr. Duck's Axe Wax? I used it for many years on all sorts of instruments and it worked well on the koa. Just curious.

Title: How much oil?
Post by: anarchyx on October 12, 2007, 07:05:57 PM

I haven't oiled my bass yet