How often to use Lemon Oil on the Fretboard?

I would imagine the naphtha would help it dry faster.

Look for ingredient lists, and MSDS if you can find them, for the "Lemon Oil" sold for guitars, furniture, etc. (MSDS aren't required for consumer products.) Bet you'll find a warning about "contains petroleum distillates" on all of them. Mineral oil's a petroleum distillate. Naphtha covers a wide range of petroleum distillates from lighter fluid to Diesel fuel. Probably means mineral spirits in this case.

Thank you for the input, people!

Helpful as always.

How about Martin Guitar polish? Is that stuff still around? I'm a newb and have had my guitar for 4 years or so and all I've done is a wipe down with a dry cloth. The guitarist that I used to play with(in my drumming days of youth) used to use Martin Guitar polish. Any opinions?

Any opinions concerning Boiled Linseed Oil?

Was recommended by a music store clerk but I havent heard any corroborating opinions.

Linseed oil works wonders on cricket bats. I don't know why it wouldn't do the same on guitars. I don't particularly like the smell of linseed oil, but to each their own.

I think used sparingly what is euphemistically called "lemon oil" would work. I do mine twice a year with very little oil on a 00000 steel wool pad. I can't find the 00000 anymore, but a light touch with 0000 would probably work. Anything less than that will scratch your fretboard. Alternatively you could apply it with an old soft toothbrush.

Regarding the olive oil, extra virgin, virgin or slutty?

I use Jim Dunlop Lemon Oil... http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=222&pmh=products/maintenance
1 bottle will, more than likely, last you many, many years.

I only use it probably every 2 or 3 string changes (about twice a year, depending on which guitar i'm playing the most)... I usually polish the frets when I oil the fretboard aswell. Makes the guitar feel like new...

Who knows about long-term effects... Unless you have an amazing priceless guitar i wouldn't worry about using it...

J

Linseed oil works wonders on cricket bats.
An American that knows something about cricket ??? Am I in the twilight zone ??? :wink:

I've lived here for about 30 years, but I was born at St. James' on the banks of the Thames and spent my formative years just down the frog and toad from London.

Boiled linseed oil is what I was talking about above. It's a wood finish, not a lubricant. It dries in a day or two. But it never gets hard. It's a finish that's supposed to be in the wood, not on it. If it builds up on the surface, you can rub it off. Then it looks and feels like dried rubber cement. I recommend against it for fretboards. I use it on the stocks of old Mausers.
:D

BTW, it's not really boiled. It's raw linseed oil with cobalt naphthenates added to speed the drying process. Raw linseed oil takes a long time to dry. Stays sticky for weeks or months. They used to mop it on the wooden floors of schools when they let out for the summer, expecting they'd dry by the time school started back in the fall.

how about "fast fret"? , is it as healthy as lemon oil?

could you name a few of a good lemon oil brand that available out there?

what kind of material or chemical stuffs that usually combined within the lemon oil products (especially the furniture's lemon oil product) that we must avoid from the fretboard?

is the "wd 40" or "philps contact cleanser" dangerous for the fretboard..i wanna use it to prevent the frets from rust n i'm worried if i spray it to the frets then it might spoil the fretboard also n then endanger the fretboard..
thanx u a lot... :)

Fast Fret is silicone spray.

Anything with silicone in it should be avoided if there's any chance your guitar might need to be refinished at some future date. Causes "fish eye" in any film finishes, unless "fish eye preventer," itself a silicone product, is blended into it.

WD40 and contact cleaners won't prevent rust, though they're useful cleaners. WD40 is mostly kerosene, with a small amount of very light mineral oil. It evaporates quickly.

Rico: thx u very much for the answer but i don't really understand for some of your sentences..i'm asian n not very fluent english...please understand me :P
what do you mean by " Causes "fish eye" in any film finishes, unless "fish eye preventer," itself a silicone product, is blended into it." ?

so.., u do think that i must avoid "fast fret" for my fretboard,right?well, i'm now confuse, because fast-fret's manual tells that it doesn't damage the finishes n it is primarly used for cleaning n prolonged fretboard life...so,which one is true?

is lemon oil the best product for cleaning the fretboard?can you give me any good lemon oil brand ?
thx u a lot..
regards,Jeansen

so.., u do think that i must avoid "fast fret" for my fretboard,right?well, i'm now confuse, because fast-fret's manual tells that it doesn't damage the finishes n it is primarly used for cleaning n prolonged fretboard life...so,which one is true?I expect they're both true. It won't damage your finish, but if you ever want to refinish your guitar, the silicone that's absorbed into the wood will cause the new finish to adhere poorly, pulling away and leaving bare spots of wood with blobs of finish around them. That's what's called "fisheye" and it's a real problem for finishing. If it happens, you have to strip all the finish off and start over, with fisheye preventer mixed into the lacquer, varnish or whatever you're using. I personally like to avoid anything with silicones for polishing guitars, furniture, guns or anything made of wood.

thx u, Richo... :) i understand it very well now... :)

btw, i've heard that lemon oil is not allowed for maple fingerboard and neck..is it true?if it is true..how to clean n prolonged the maple fretboard?

if the contact cleanser doesn't prevent rust,so how do you prevent rust on pickups?

thx u a lot.. :)