Darken the fretboard

[Zerberus]

Has anyone tried these? I just got 'em last week. But havent used 'em yet. They are moistened wipes. But I think it will just be the same like tim says..."lemon scented"

Pledge contains silicone, and most glues used in luthierie hate the slippery aftermath of it....So, if you want an eventual future repair to be horrendously expensive or even near impossible, go ahead with the wipes.

If you still just want to darken teh fretboard, you´ve probably already spent more than a bottle of Fiebings would have cost you.

I hate Home depot luthierie, there´s a reason that after a few hundred years most of us have accepted certain products as the industry standard. But why do it right when you can save 20cents.

I mean, it´s not my problem, I´m the one that earns a few hundred more when the guitar gets fucked up. I just don´t like watching people screw up good guitars just because they have to second guess everything that professionals tell them :ROTF:

[emperor_black]

thanks! I will throw it away.

[secks]

I'm a knife collector with many knives with handles made from rare and expensive woods. I use no product other than mineral oil/baby oil for both my knives and fretboards. Mineral oil will also darken your fretboard eventually.

All the other products that claim to be lemon oil are basicly petrolium based cleaning agents with a small percentage of real lemon oil and they are poisonous if swallowed, be carefull to wash your hand before having diner after playing guitar .

Real lemon oil contains a yellow stain as well which will dye your inlays as well hence never should/would be used on a fretboard.

[Number Of The Priest]

When I used to have rosewood fretboards, I got a very similar effect when I used a toothbrush and Weiman Lemon Oil, as Toejam mentioned.



Whether it's TRUE lemon oil for moisturizing the wood or not, I don't really care. I have no problems with my guitars drying out. My studio is in my basement, I keep my guitars in their cases when not in use, and the basement is so humid that I need to run a dehumidifier during the day.

But it does a fine job of making the fretboards look "rich" and the toothbrush helps to remove skin deposits.

I usually put a little of that Weiman Lemon Oil on the toothbrush, scrub the fretboard a few frets at a time, let it sit for a minute or two, and then wipe/scrub off the excess with a clean cloth. Occasionally, clean your frets using fine steel wool. After some new strings, the guitar plays like butter... bends and vibrato seem so much easier and frictionless.

[hippietim]

I'm a knife collector with many knives with handles made from rare and expensive woods. I use no product other than mineral oil/baby oil for both my knives and fretboards. Mineral oil will also darken your fretboard eventually.

All the other products that claim to be lemon oil are basicly petrolium based cleaning agents with a small percentage of real lemon oil and they are poisonous if swallowed, be carefull to wash your hand before having diner after playing guitar .

Real lemon oil contains a yellow stain as well which will dye your inlays as well hence never should/would be used on a fretboard.

Mineral oil is petrolium by-product. Most of the so-called lemon oil products are in fact just mineral oil with some scent, just like baby oil. There really is no difference.

[Firebird V]

try black paint. spray paint oughta work. get black. and put it on in thin coats. lots of them.

[Firebird V]

That has nothing to do with conditioning your fingerboard. That's for you so you can handle their customer service and pricing.

rotf!

[S-man]

Bore Oil....Damnit!!!!

Use the fucking bore oil and stop having stupid problems. Geezzz.

Keep your shit clean and oiled and you will have no problems.

[S-man]

Another handy tip....

take a plastic credit card or something similiar and scrap any built up crap off the fingerboard, wipe with a clean dry cloth rag, then apply oil.

If you have have a floating trem equipped guitar...don't be a pussy...take off all the strings. Then clean and oil the fretboard when changing strings.

JMO.

[hippietim]

Make sure you verify that the bore oil is in fact not just some mineral oil derivative - a lot of the so-called bore oils on the market are not natural. I highly recommend Fret Doctor.

[S-man]

[guitarmn101]

Michael's craft stores sell wood dye pens for touchups, but for really getting a fretboard black again, use waterproof India ink. You'll be amazed. Wear rubber gloves while applying, for obvious reasons. If you do get ink on your hands, use cheap hairspray to remove if you don't feel like splashing acetone on your palms.