Author Topic: Owners Manual; lemon oil (Read 609 times)

rogertvr · « **Reply #30 on:** February 25, 2005, 08:26:53 AM »

I use Culpeper Essential Lemon Oil on The Dragon's Wing fretboard. For the value of the board (it's inlaid for the benefit of the new members in here) relative to the cost of the lemon oil and my time, I'm not taking any chances! The UK is very humid most of the time, but the wood gladly soaks up the lemon oil. It works a treat on my Westone fretless too, which hadn't been lemon oiled in 18 years but had never given any trouble either. It has benefited too.

I would say (for what this is worth) - you have nothing to lose by lemon oiling with a high quality oil, and everything to lose by NOT doing it.

Rog

P.S. The Culpeper Lemon Oil is 100% pure, made only from the peel of the fruit www.culpeper.co.uk and search on product code 137238

(Message edited by rogertvr on February 25, 2005)

gtrguy · « **Reply #31 on:** February 25, 2005, 08:59:55 AM »

You know, years ago a guitar repair guy got me started using WD-40 on fretboards, which I have done ever since with no problems. You spray some on a cloth and rub it on the fretboard till it is dry.

Anyone know more about this?

Bye,
Dave

keith_h · « **Reply #32 on:** February 25, 2005, 10:36:55 AM »

Well for comparison sake, I have a Hagstrom 8 string with a rosewood finger board and I have not had any trouble with it. On the other hand I have a Vox MkIV about the same age with an ebony finger board that has shown some cracking (but not enough to effect playability). Neither have been oiled, however I do plan on oiling the Vox from this point forward in hopes of stabilizing it.

I don't think a constant humidity either dry or wet will cause problems. I would expect the wood to stabilize at some point. Where I think problems occur and oiling helps is when you have wide swings in humidity. As an example here in North Carolina the summer humidity in my house is 50-70% (with the A/C running). In the winter with the furnace it drops to 20-30%. This results in a lot of expansion and contraction of wooden items. I've had similar results in the mid-western states going from summer to winter.

Keith

jazzyvee · « **Reply #33 on:** February 25, 2005, 02:07:35 PM »

I have seen a band in the UK called The Hamsters, they are absolutely brilliant. Well their guitar player ( Snail Pace Slim ) sprays WD-40 direcntly on his guitars fretboard numerous times during his set.