ACOUSTIC NECK LOVE

[Old Music Guy]

I am cleaning up and restringing a 7 year old Epiphone AJ-100 VS. Not a high end box, but sounds pretty nice.  It shined up pretty nice, but the neck could use a little TLC. 

I try every year to give my guitar necks some love. Normally I give them a quick go-over with some 0000 steel wool to take any munge off the frets, take a tack cloth to remove the residue and then give it a good 2 or 3 coats of mineral/butcher block oil to "moisten" it up. 

Any suggestions as to other treatments? As long as she's naked, I'd like to address the neck. 

 

[KuruPrionz]

Neck itself or the fretboard?

[Old Music Guy]

Fretboard. Sorry. 

I put 2 coats of mineral on it tonight. Sucked up the first coat like a sailor on leave. Second coat is still working its way in. 

I was reading that mineral oil is good for conditioning, and should be done every year or so. I'm good with that. It spends non-use time in a good case.

I was also looking at tung oil, which was said to be good for finishing, not so good for conditioning. 

I'm thinking that yearly maintenance with mineral oil is a better option than tung oil. But I would still like opinions on what y'all prefer.

EDIT: typo

[KuruPrionz]

Just now, Old Music Guy said:

Fretboard. Sorry. 

I put 2 coats of mineral on it tonight. Sucked up the first coat like a sailor on leave. Second coat is still working its way in. 

I was reading that mineral oil is good for conditioning, and should be done every year or so. I'm good with that. It sends non-use time in a good case.

I was also looking at tung oil, which was said to be good for finishing, not so good for conditioning. 

I'm thinking that yearly maintenance with mineral oil is a better option than tung oil. But I would still like opinions on what y'all prefer.

 

I try not to saturate the board with oil. I do use lemon oil and apply a very light coat about 3 times a year. 

It cleans and oils the board. That's only for rosewood or ebony. My main Tele and Strat are maple necks with finish on them. I just wipe off with Pledge or something similar every couple of string changes. Strings last a long time for me, I don't have corrosive sweat or dirty guitars. 

[Old Music Guy]

13 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

That's only for rosewood or ebony.

It's rosewood. I have maple on one of my Teles and one of my Strats. I'm partial to maple personally. 

I let the guitar sit overnight with the second coat, and it looks like a million this morning. All the oil has soaked in and the wood actually looks fat and happy 😎

[Larryz]

I treat all my fretboards the same and just use a guitar polish/cleaner/protector, when changing strings.  I change 2 adjacent strings at a time which gives me enough room to clean and moisten the fretboard.  I also use fret polishing paper to clean the frets while changing the strings.  I have used Dunlop 65 for decades and about 3years ago I switched to Music Nomad The Guitar "One".  I use the same product on all wood surfaces, and I like the Guitar One a little better for wipe off.  Dunlop sells and recommends Lemon Oil for the fretboards which I have heard good things about. 

 

I haven't had any problems with my rosewood and ebony fretboards drying out.  It's probably due to keeping all my guitars in their cases when not in use.  All of them are stored in the same room and closet which I keep the humidity between 35 and 55%.  I do not take my guitars outside in hot or cold weather or rainy conditions.  If I do have weather/temp concerns, I use my solid body or laminated top guitars.  I think a lot of fretboard shrinkage and other wood issues depends a lot on humidity, temps and where you live...😎

 

 

 

[Old Music Guy]

5 hours ago, Larryz said:

I keep the humidity between 35 and 55%.

That's not a reality where I live. All my stuff is in my cellar. I try to keep my guitars in a case, but I like to have 2 or 3 out so I can just grab one and play. I live in New Hampshire and In the winter it's always very dry. The dew point rarely gets above 15 +/-. Fortunately the temp downstairs is a relatively constant 65F. In the summer, while the temp remains about the same, I needed to get a dehumidifier to keep it about 35 to 40% RH. Dew points can get to the upper 60s. 

Nonetheless, I do try and take care when I can,

[Larryz]

OMGuy, Winter and Summer are the seasons I have to pay attention to. Running the Heater and running the AC (and evaporative cooler) can change the humidity and dry out the air.  I keep a temp/humidity gauge in my music room.  I too like to keep a couple of guitars handy to grab and play but I lay them flat on two stands and flip flip flip they come out of the case when I need them.  I'm trying to do better and put all 13 in the rotation concentrating on which ones need a string change getting the attention 1st.  If the humidity is above 55 or below 35, I bring out the solid body electrics and leave the acoustics and more expensive archtop and hollow body models in the closet.  I'm very lucky to have the temps and humidity in the zone fall and spring where I'm at.  Having a humidifier that can do the whole room is a great idea.  When temps are hot in the summer and cold in the winter, I pay more attention to the rotation as I keep them all tuned at 440 and can tell when the necks tighten and loosen.  So far (knock on wood) I haven't had any fretboard shrinkage...😎

[Caevan O’Shite]

The VERY BEST stuff for ebony, rosewood, and such fretboards that I've found is ColorTone Fretboard Finishing Oil; because it contains drying agents, so that when you apply a modest amount rubbed around with a cotton ball, cleaning it up in the process, and then let it stand for a good 24 hours, what's left can be buffed off, leaving a protective shiny quasi-finish that's somewhat hard and never greasy, sticky or tacky feeling. I love it on my Les Paul and hollowbody Ibanez Jazzbox! One bottle will last you a lifetime and then some, even if you're a youngster.  
 

  

On 3/29/2023 at 11:26 PM, KuruPrionz said:

I try not to saturate the board with oil. I do use lemon oil and apply a very light coat about 3 times a year. 

It cleans and oils the board. That's only for rosewood or ebony. My main Tele and Strat are maple necks with finish on them. I just wipe off with Pledge or something similar every couple of string changes.

That's a good point, about not overdoing it and saturating the wood. And that also goes for NOT oiling finished maple fretboards (of course). Personally, for finished maple, I'd just use a very lightly dampened all-cotton cloth, or naphtha.

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

The VERY BEST stuff for ebony, rosewood, and such fretboards that I've found is ColorTone Fretboard Finishing Oil; because it contains drying agents, so that when you apply a modest amount rubbed around with a cotton ball, cleaning it up in the process, and then let it stand for a good 24 hours, what's left can be buffed off, leaving a protective shiny quasi-finish that's somewhat hard and never greasy, sticky or tacky feeling. I love it on my Les Paul and hollowbody Ibanez Jazzbox! One bottle will last you a lifetime and then some, even if you're a youngster.  
 

  

That's a good point, about not overdoing it and saturating the wood. And that also goes for NOT oiling finished maple fretboards (of course). Personally, for finished maple, I'd just use a very lightly dampened all-cotton cloth, or naphtha.

Naphtha is a solvent. So is lemon oil for that matter. 

My favorite acoustic guitars are all graphite so I use the afore-mentioned damp cloth on the fretboard.