Linseed oil and rosewood fretboards...OK??

[CocoTone]

My rosewood needs some moisturizing. Isd linssed oil ok to use in small amounts??

CT.

[mockoman]

Linseed oil works great,just get the stuff labled "double boiled."

Told to me by an acoustic guitar luthier.

[SLBlues]

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...ighlight=lemon

[bluesjunior]

I used double boiled Linseed Oil on my Rosewood fretboards for years thinking it was ok until I read a post from someone saying that it doesn't sink into the wood but forms a very thin skin over it. The next time I changed strings on my ES335 I did a test and found out he was correct. It took me me over three hours to carefully scrape it all off with a stanley blade and get it back to the wood again. I now use Lemon Oil instead.

I found a use for the rest of my bottle of Linseed oil though. I had a pine dining table and chairs which we bought in Denmark many years ago which had faded over the years. I decided to renovate it and re-upholster the chairs at the same time. It wasn't varnished just a light stain so I sanded it all down just enough to get it clean and new looking again, heated up some oil and applied it with a sponge. Man that oil really put the life back into that dining unit. It looks like an antique one now. Thinking about it it almost is.

[Bob V]

Linseed oil does cure and harden but there's only a slight amount of it there after evaporation and drying. It's an important ingredient in the oldest recipes for paint and varnish, but when used alone it does not have added resins to build up a clear film. Sometimes linseed oil is packaged as a "dressing" to suggest something less than a thick protective finish ("Teak oil" for example is meant to keep teak furniture and decks looking nice before they inevitably turn grey from the weather, it's usuallly linseed oil). "Tung oil" is more expensive than linseed oil and it's used in high end marine varnishes; it's rarely sold on its own and when the packages says "tung oil" it's usually a thinned down varnish meant for wiping.

Linseed oil is availabe in the paint store/section along with paint thinner and denatured alcohol and acetone - same blue cans. "Boiled" linseed oil usually has driers added so it will cure faster. "Raw" linseed oil does not. Linseed oil is what the manufacturers put on the fretboard to begin with. Don't overdo it and it's a great material. I'd only use it if the fretboard was sanded/resurfaced or is really dry (as is the case with some brand new guitars), otherwise I clean it with naphtha and occasionally give it a hint of mineral oil. If there's linseed oil built up enough to detect a film on the surface, then way too much was used. On the other hand if you don't like the way it feels then you're certainly entitled to your preference. We're talking about rosewood boards here; on the other hand ebony is so dense it really doesn't need anything.

[CocoTone]

Thanks fellas.

CT.

[Rosewood]

I've used linseed oil for years with no problems what so ever, however like with any treatment you should use a small amount and remove the excess.

[Mike9]

I use an organic product called "Sweet Almond Oil" - it's a skin care product and should be available at most health food stores. It has no solvents, or resins in it - it really darkens the board nicely and keeps it that way for a long time. It won't go rancid and you don't have to wear gloves, or wash with solvent after- no smelly fumes either.

[9fingers]

Linseed oil has a strong smell, gets sticky and leaves a coating - fine for some wood work but I wouldn't put it on a guitar. Mineral oil is real cheap, odorless, soaks in & is not sticky, & is made to be ingested so it is non-toxic. I use it on fingerboards and as a string cleaner/conditioner. Like anything, use some sense & don't slather it on.

[triple_vee]

2 words: fret doctor

http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

also, search TGP for it. many fans here.

edit: ok, that link above my post is what you want to read...

[Soapbarstrat]

Originally Posted by 9fingers

soaks in

Yeah, that's a real advantage when you get something to soak in, that'll weaken the wood fibers.

[reeced]

Originally Posted by Soapbarstrat

Yeah, that's a real advantage when you get something to soak in, that'll weaken the wood fibers.

cheap sarcasm at the expense of evidence.

fact - the mineral oil can only soak in so far as to prevent existing moisture in the wood from escaping. Mineral oil is inert and thus will have no chemical effects on the wood structure, unlike lemon oil (read advice from Martin on the use of lemon oil on their products) which can degrade the wood.
FYI bore oil (mineral oil) is used both to preserve the internals of woodwinds from the corrosive effects of spittle, and to prevent the wood from drying out - if it's good enough to do that, then it's certainly good enough to preserve rosewood fretboards.

[Rosewood]

You can use a greasy teenagers face as long as it's done correctly.

[cram]

Originally Posted by reeced

cheap sarcasm at the expense of evidence.

fact - the mineral oil can only soak in so far as to prevent existing moisture in the wood from escaping. Mineral oil is inert and thus will have no chemical effects on the wood structure, unlike lemon oil (read advice from Martin on the use of lemon oil on their products) which can degrade the wood.
FYI bore oil (mineral oil) is used both to preserve the internals of woodwinds from the corrosive effects of spittle, and to prevent the wood from drying out - if it's good enough to do that, then it's certainly good enough to preserve rosewood fretboards.

that is a great response.

I have been doing fine carpentry for the last 10 years as a hobby. I mix all my varnish at home and use linseed oil as one of the three ingredients along with mineral spirits and either long or short oil varnish (indoor vs outdoor).

Oil simply preserves wood.

A practical example -
When you buy a cutting board for the kitchen it's even recommended to do light cleaning duty with soap and water (which damages the wood) and finish up occasionally with mineral oil - to preserve the wood.

[bluesjunior]

A practical example -
When you buy a cutting board for the kitchen it's even recommended to do light cleaning duty with soap and water (which damages the wood) and finish up occasionally with mineral oil - to preserve the wood.

Since Linseed Oil is poisonous if consumed I wouldn't recommend using it on a cutting board!!!.