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December 2003
Posts: 28
Location: Chicagoland U.S.A. | Worked like a charm on my frets and fretboard on my 2003 Collectors Edition. I tried, after doing a lot of reading on the subject, cleaning and oiling my fretboard. I first sanded the board lightly with the 0004 steel wool to get rid of the prior owners finger oil marks, then brushed the dust off with a toothbrush, sanded the frets a bit...then I applied the boiled linseed oil to the fretboard and rubbed it in, left it on only the recommended 5 minutes and wiped it semi dry. I'll tell you, that board feels and looks almost new. It was worth the homework! |
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December 2003
Posts: 420
Location: On the beach in Southwest Florida | How often should oiling of the fretboard be done? |
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December 2003
Posts: 28
Location: Chicagoland U.S.A. | From what I read, if you use the right stuff...every 6 mos. to 1 year, I guess it depends to a degree if it is rosewood or ebony, it seems to me that ebony would require less since it doesn't dry as quickly, not as porous as rosewood. By the way, I am not talking about maple care here at all. |
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Posts: 420
Location: On the beach in Southwest Florida | Thanks for the info. |
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Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | omegaman,
AFAIK ebony needs treatment more often than rosewood. I oil my ebony fretboard at every string change, which is once/month or once/two months.
Martin |
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February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | Ebony is more prone to drying and cracking.
I live in a dry climate, so I do a quick fret polish with the steel wool and a quick wipe with Old English Lemon Oil (which has served me well for years) every time I change strings. But since I switched to coated strings, that isn't nearly as often.... |
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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | What do you mean by "boiled" oil? Do you rub it on while warm?
Brad |
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December 2003
Posts: 420
Location: On the beach in Southwest Florida | Would you also oil the bridge as well? |
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August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | I agree with Paul. ;) .. I use the Olde English Lemon Oil on my 2001 COllector's with ebony fretboard and I also oil the ebony bridge...
It also works well on the rosewood Balladeers.
BTW "Boiled" refers to the oil processing method.... just apply it at room temperature.
tim |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | I use Gibson Luthiers Choice Fretboard Oil, which on closer inspection is the same as your regular lemon oil, in an undersized bottle at an oversized price.
And yes, I do oil the bridge as well. I oil it with a cloth on the outside and drop a droplet of lemon oil in the stringholes.
I wax my Adamas' back of the neck with regular furniture wax made of turpentine and bees wax.
Martin |
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December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Thanks to this string as a reminder I just went through a string change, battery replacement and lube job on my D50. Cool! I should have read the manual on prescribed maintainance a long time ago.
Thanks for the great info on what and where.
Are there any definite dont's such as "never Armorall the back of your roundback"? :eek: |
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February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | Those who complain that their Ovations don't slide off of their legs easily enough while playing will benefit from the ArmorAll treatment. :D |
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December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Since most of you guys most likely took up guitar to meet girls here's an extra tip:
Armorall the passenger side of your 56 Ford Pickup's bench seat real well and go extra tight on the right hand corners to ensure a little more togetherness. that is until there's a carseat in the way!
And now back to your regularly scheduled program. |
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December 2003
Posts: 28
Location: Chicagoland U.S.A. | To those of you above who oil up more or less at every string change, isn't it hard to tell that ebony requires oil moreso than rosewood? Rosewood is so much more visibly dry when it is, in fact dry. It seems hard to witness on ebony. So, do you just go ahead and do it anyhow? Thanks for the further input. And by the by, what about oiling the string holes on the bridge, is it okay to apply a drop in there? |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | omegaman,
yes, i just oil it up if the fretboard is satisfied it will take longer to take up the oil. if it's all still there after half an hour or so i just wipe it off. I know ebony can crack when dry, but it's hard to see the cracks because it has such a tight grain, so imo it's better to avoid this. BTW there is a lot about oil and maintenence in the archive.
And about applying a drop in the stringholes: that's what I do. There's wood there as well isn't it? I just don't apply as often as i do the fretboard.
Martin |
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December 2003
Posts: 28
Location: Chicagoland U.S.A. | Martin,
Thanks for your thoughts here. One more question for you. I used the boiled (not hot...lol) linseed oil, it looks great and worked into the ebony beautifully. Have you heard of any drawback of using this as opposed to lemon oil. My sense is that it is best to not overdo the linseed as there seems to be some form of distallate in the mix, like thinner. It may be too harsh for frequent use. Just my hunch and wondering what you may know. I'll check the archieves too. Best regards. |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | we used to use Boiled linseed earl in the factory too. don't use regular, needs to be boiled. Once or twice a year should be good or more with bad conditions or lots of play |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | Trust Cwk2 i'd say.
I have no experience with linseed oil, only with lemon oil and teak oil. Lemon oil is a mixture of mineral oil and has an added lemon scent, so if those drawbacks exist for linseed oil, i think they'd be the same for lemon oil.
And to change the subject: what setup do you use while playing your ovation? Do you use the GT-6? Or just plug it into the acoustasonic?
Martin |
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December 2003
Posts: 28
Location: Chicagoland U.S.A. | I plug the Ovation into the GT-6 then go to the Acoustasonic. The GT-6 is just fantastic, especially for electrics, you can save your favorite combinations any which way but loose for many different genres of sounds desired. I really like plugging into my Mesa F-50 as well, it is richer than the Fender but not per se and acoustic amp. Make sense? |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | I was just curious. I have the GT-6's predecessor, the GT-3. that's why.
martin |
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0004 steel wool and boiled linseed oil