Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Caruso on February 11, 2020 at 3:01am

I give my fretboards a very light brushing of Watco Danish oil (natural) with a rag, just to remove that unfinished look. Haven’t had complaints from any customers. I’m sure tung oil, lemon oil will do just as well. 

Permalink Reply by 3 Chord Ziggy on February 11, 2020 at 3:10am

Thx for the input!  I've been leaning toward oiling it.  Is the Danish oil pretty much tung oil, or something else?  Is it tinted?  This walnut is so dark to start with I'm wanting to avoid anything with stain in it.

Permalink Reply by Joe Caruso on February 11, 2020 at 5:04am

Danish oil is made with tung oil or polymerized linseed oil. I started using the natural recently which has no tint. I then don’t have to tape up the neck or fret board to avoid getting  any tinted oil where I don’t want it. After sanding and tack rag wipe down, I wet sand with 400/800/1000 and the neck is smooth as glass.

Permalink Reply by 3 Chord Ziggy on February 11, 2020 at 5:50am

That sounds exactly what I'm looking for, thanks a million!  Started looking around for suppliers, with luck I can find some in quantities smaller than a gallon.  Not easy finding certain items around here...we're not in the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from here.

Permalink Reply by Ben Ridgeway on February 16, 2020 at 12:26pm

Oil finish on all my builds due to allergies
The more coats the harder your surface
If I'm working with a porous wood and need some filler I do a 120 grit sand and put on a couple coats of oil, then do my finish sanding and re-oil
It's a labor of love and a love for the labor

Permalink Reply by 3 Chord Ziggy on February 16, 2020 at 1:36pm

I did the filler bit with the shellac and even added some sawdust.  I think it would work the same way as with the oil.  I rushed it, I'm pretty sure, because I didn't get everything filled all the way..."Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can.  It's seldom found in women, and never in a man." --Mom.  Anyway, at the moment I'm kind of enamored with the shellac and the impatient French Polish job.  Nice thing with the shellac, though, is that I can sand her back down and push more dust into the cells.  Thanks for the input!

Permalink Reply by Southpaw on February 11, 2020 at 6:54am

I've got a spray lubricant that is mostly lanolin, i wiped it over the inside of a box just to see what it looked like and it brought out the grain nicely.  think i'm going for a more aged look so not sure if i'll do the outside.

Permalink Reply by 3 Chord Ziggy on February 11, 2020 at 7:36am

Interesting. My wife ran a yarn/spinning/weaving shop, and her response to me when I mentioned this is that lanolin will actually eventually turn rancid unless it has some sort of stabilizers in it.  But it's really more of a wax-like substance, so it should make wood look really good.  But I've smelled rancid sheep fat...makes me rethink its use on my guitars!

I'm now toying with the idea of sewing machine oil on the fretboard. The stuff is also known as "white" mineral oil, and is apparently highly refined enough that it comprises the lighest bunch of petroleum distillates in the oil category.  I've oiled older (read: wrecked) yard sale guitars with straight mineral oil, never seen any downside.

Permalink Reply by Southpaw on February 11, 2020 at 4:34pm

i hadn't heard of that, it does have a damp earthy smell to it out of the can

Permalink Reply by Gus K on February 13, 2020 at 4:49am

This stuff works well and is priced right.

https://bit.ly/2UNtghr

Permalink Reply by 3 Chord Ziggy on February 14, 2020 at 2:32am

You're referring to the oil or the lanolin?  I'm guessing the oil....

Permalink Reply by MadGomer on February 11, 2020 at 10:07am

I'm going to use boiled linseed oil on my next one, will cut it about 50 percent with mineral spirits. Expect to rub in about three layers. Have done spray poly in the past

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page