Oil for Ebony

[shreddermon]

Dry wood is dry wood, bro - both will absorb conditioning oil. No harm in doing so with either, just don't over-do it.

And I believe you have that backwards, anyway. Ebony is typically a more tightly grained wood than rosewood. Rosewood usually has an appearance with more "open pores", if you will.

In my experience, ebony is MUCH more prone to drying out and even shrinking. (Sharp fret ends, anyone? ) So it needs a freshening more often. That's one of the reasons I prefer good quality rosewood or pao ferro.

[xenophobe]

Dry wood is dry wood, bro - both will absorb conditioning oil. No harm in doing so with either, just don't over-do it.

And I believe you have that backwards, anyway. Ebony is typically a more tightly grained wood than rosewood. Rosewood usually has an appearance with more "open pores", if you will.

In my experience, ebony is MUCH more prone to drying out and even shrinking. (Sharp fret ends, anyone? ) So it needs a freshening more often. That's one of the reasons I prefer good quality rosewood or pao ferro.

I'm not talking about aesthetic appearance. I'm talking about the material characteristic. Rosewood has a more grainy appearance, it won't soak up oil like ebony. If you don't believe me, take one of each guitar, lay them flat, apply a drop of mineral oil, cooking oil, motor oil, minteral spirits or even water. The solvent on rosewood should bead. The solvent should absorb on ebony. Of course both will soak up solvents.

[AAEA]

I like Dr. Ducks. it doesn't have any of the bad stuff in it and its pretty cheap.

[shreddermon]

I'm not talking about aesthetic appearance. I'm talking about the material characteristic. Rosewood has a more grainy appearance, it won't soak up oil like ebony. If you don't believe me, take one of each guitar, lay them flat, apply a drop of mineral oil, cooking oil, motor oil, minteral spirits or even water. The solvent on rosewood should bead. The solvent should absorb on ebony. Of course both will soak up solvents.

We're talking around each other with semantics. LOL.

In any event, both woods dry out (at different rates) and both woods will absorb oil (at different rates).

[Axewielder]

Question: What would happen if this rosewood board were placed in a steel container with a bead of solvent placed on it. You cannot know if the board soaks up the oil. Does the board absorb the oil or does it bead?

Answer: The board would be both oiled and dry, and exist in a superposition of states (according to quantum law).

I hate these fingerboard oil threads!

[xenophobe]

We're talking around each other with semantics. LOL.

In any event, both woods dry out (at different rates) and both woods will absorb oil (at different rates).

Fair enough. Rosewood is considered an oily wood. Like salmon is considered an oily fish. Ebony is not considered an oily wood. Like trout is not considered an oily fish.

Question: What would happen if this rosewood board were placed in a steel container with a bead of solvent placed on it. You cannot know if the board soaks up the oil. Does the board absorb the oil or does it bead?

Answer: The board would be both oiled and dry, and exist in a superposition of states (according to quantum law).

I hate these fingerboard oil threads!

Oh for fucks sake man...

[sharpjimbo]

I thought we aren't supposed to oil maple fret boards?

Raw/unfinished maple necks/fretboards (they're oiled and waxed form the factory) do need some re-oiling from time to time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS4K9Y8G0Do

[diablomozart]

Question: What would happen if this rosewood board were placed in a steel container with a bead of solvent placed on it. You cannot know if the board soaks up the oil. Does the board absorb the oil or does it bead?

Answer: The board would be both oiled and dry, and exist in a superposition of states (according to quantum law).

I hate these fingerboard oil threads!

schroedinger's jackson?? ...d.m.

[Nimitz]

Question: What would happen if this rosewood board were placed in a steel container with a bead of solvent placed on it. You cannot know if the board soaks up the oil. Does the board absorb the oil or does it bead?

Answer: The board would be both oiled and dry, and exist in a superposition of states (according to quantum law).

I hate these fingerboard oil threads!

[j2379]

Rosewood is an oily wood also depends on the rosewood, it does need to be oiled but not like ebony. I had an old Schecter w a one piece brazilian rosewood neck it doesnt absorb oil like ebony does. It doesnt really dry out or crack like ebony will. The guy i got it from never did anything to it. The body was koa and was also just oil finished, the koa would absorb the oil & barely needed to be wiped down after applying, the rosewood barely took any oil and didnt look darker after oiling except when i first got it.

[TommyD]

Michael Sweet said in an interview that on his Jacksons that a couple times a year,he used heated OLIVE oil. Tommy D.

[tyryny]

Well, the Howard's says it contains petroleum distillate. You don't want that.

Mineral oil will be fine. I use Old English Lemon Oil, which is just scented mineral oil. Hell, you can even use Vaseline, which is what Jackson used to recommend in their owner's manual. And Jimmy D'Aquisto, the acoustic guitar maker, recommended using motor oil.

I may be late, but have you ever used vaseline on your ebony board?

[toejam]

I actually haven't tried it on ebony, but I did on rosewood once, just a tiny bit, and it was fine. And I believe Martin Guitars did/does use 3-in-1 oil on their boards, so I guess use whatever sparingly and don't worry too much about it. They're all really just mineral oil based.

[tyryny]

I actually haven't tried it on ebony, but I did on rosewood once, just a tiny bit, and it was fine. And I believe Martin Guitars did/does use 3-in-1 oil on their boards, so I guess use whatever sparingly and don't worry too much about it. They're all really just mineral oil based.

For an ebony board, would Dunlop 65 Ultimate Lemon oil be fine?

[toejam]

Should be fine. I've got an old bottle of the Dunlop 02 deep conditioner that I've used with good results. I think the 65 ultimate lemon oil replaced that, so it should be pretty similar.