Montys "ageing wax" snake oil? or good ?

OilCityPickups

BillDL said:

Basher said:

I'd love to try this on my horribly streaky Les Paul fingerboard. However, I've tried a few different products on it over the years, from boiled linseed to Fret Doctor. I'm guessing it'll take much more than a quick run with naptha to get that out and that without having a completely clean fretboard the Monty's wax won't work. 

I think we are going to have to start getting used to streakiness in fretboards as densely coloured rosewood and ebony stocks dwindle and we have to pay a huge amount more for stockpiled premium woods.  On some guitars the streakiness can look really nice, but it just doesn't look right on a LP unless it's a modern take on one that has other non-traditional appointments.

Personally I love the look of Macassar ebony and would have no issues having a traditional Les Paul with a fingerboard with this figuring. I remember when everyone wet their knickers with indignation when Gibson used roasted maple ... now everyone's piddling their strides with rapture when Harley Benton or Fazley etc equip one of their guitars with a roasted maple neck/fingerboard. It seems when Gibson did it it was sticky and didn't feel right ... not a patch on rosewood etc ... but today we are convinced it's a 'feature' on guitars we all want :-) 
I think we are all going to have to get more broadminded on guitar woods in future for the sake of the environment ... perhaps it's time to embrace the streaky!  

BillDL

When Gibson started using "Richlite", purists hated it.  I don't know if the composition of man-made fretboard material complicates a neck refret with regard to chip-out, delamination, or just failure to "grip" the tangs of new frets, but it looks and feels very similar to the dense black ebony that the same purists seem to die for.  I have a number of guitars with man-made composite fretboards including a couple of Sigma acoustics that use such material (they call it Micarta), and I see no problem with it.  I haven't yet needed to refret any of them though, and that may be a different story.

OilCityPickups

BillDL said:

When Gibson started using "Richlite", purists hated it.  I don't know if the composition of man-made fretboard material complicates a neck refret with regard to chip-out, delamination, or just failure to "grip" the tangs of new frets, but it looks and feels very similar to the dense black ebony that the same purists seem to die for.  I have a number of guitars with man-made composite fretboards including a couple of Sigma acoustics that use such material (they call it Micarta), and I see no problem with it.  I haven't yet needed to refret any of them though, and that may be a different story.

I've re-fretted Richlite before ... I actually found it easier than rosewood or ebony ... especially old or rather dry rosewood or Ebony! 

WezV

OilCityPickups said:

 I remember when everyone wet their knickers with indignation when Gibson used roasted maple ... now everyone's piddling their strides with rapture when Harley Benton or Fazley etc equip one of their guitars with a roasted maple neck/fingerboard. It seems when Gibson did it it was sticky and didn't feel right ... not a patch on rosewood etc

Those other companies are using torrified wood as "stabilized maple", rather than the rosewood replacement Gibson was aiming for.  

I remember the first Gibson examples being very dark, then they seemed to get lighter and lighter.  Gibson must have realized it was problematic to do such a dark roast - it gets more brittle the more you roast it.  

Making the neck of a cheap guitar more stable is a very good use of the process.  Making it as dark as possible is not.

ghad

BigPaulie said:

nero1701 said:

elstoof said:

I probably won’t use my tin again and there’s plenty left so let me know if anyone wants to give it a try

Oh, me please

This tin should go on tour so we can see how many Fretboarders' guitars it can treat.

I would love a go please. I'll bung a 5er to charity too. Is there a TFB charity of choice?

nero1701

ghad said:

BigPaulie said:

nero1701 said:

elstoof said:

I probably won’t use my tin again and there’s plenty left so let me know if anyone wants to give it a try

Oh, me please

This tin should go on tour so we can see how many Fretboarders' guitars it can treat.

I would love a go please. I'll bung a 5er to charity too. Is there a TFB charity of choice?

Add your name to the list 

Basher

Just to add something. I'm not against streaks in fretboards or paler rosewood/ebony fretboards. My newest guitar has a laurel fretboard and it's fine by me. Also, I'd have no problems with richlite or some similar synthetic product.

What gets to me is excessively ugly, uneven steaks where there are sodding great lines on one half of the board and not the other. I have a plain top R9 (yup, they existed for a short time) and the board really lets it down, both in terms of ugly streaks and very messily fitted inlays. (Ironically I've seen similarly sloppy inlays on photos of vintage LPs, though not with horrific fretboards.

I know I should "shut up and play my guitar" as Frank said but it does annoy me. I've considered getting a new fretboard done but it would probably cost more than the guitar is worth!

@fretfinder out of interest, who did the work for you?

Edit: photo of said board while last oiling (a year or two ago). The streaks are more pronounced in daylight or when the oil dries off.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51630739366_8ac21833ff_b.jpg

guitarjack66

ghad said:

BigPaulie said:

nero1701 said:

elstoof said:

I probably won’t use my tin again and there’s plenty left so let me know if anyone wants to give it a try

Oh, me please

This tin should go on tour so we can see how many Fretboarders' guitars it can treat.

I would love a go please. I'll bung a 5er to charity too. Is there a TFB charity of choice?

Not sure of the charity but it's HQ is a super yacht docked in Dubai!

ghad

nero1701 said:

fretfinder said:

nero1701 said:

So heres the deal.. 

I'll donate £1 to charity for every person that gets the use of this tin.

Names on the list to see order of use.

1. Nero1701
2.

I’ll have a go if there’s any going. Someone could just post a dollop to everyone interested in a small flat plastic bag, which would be much cheaper to post than the tub would be.

1. Nero
2. Fretfinder
3. Lebarque
4. Willo

1. Nero
2. Fretfinder
3. Lebarque
4. Willo
5. ghad

Not sure if I've done this right... I am the stupidest smart person my OH knows...

Lebarque

ghad said:

nero1701 said:

fretfinder said:

nero1701 said:

So heres the deal.. 

I'll donate £1 to charity for every person that gets the use of this tin.

Names on the list to see order of use.

1. Nero1701
2.

I’ll have a go if there’s any going. Someone could just post a dollop to everyone interested in a small flat plastic bag, which would be much cheaper to post than the tub would be.

1. Nero
2. Fretfinder
3. Lebarque
4. Willo

1. Nero
2. Fretfinder
3. Lebarque
4. Willo
5. ghad

Not sure if I've done this right... I am the stupidest smart person my OH knows...

Lol. When will it begin its travels? Just wondering whether to put a new set of strings on the axe or not.

elstoof

Sent it to nero end of last week so hopefully he’s had good weekend weekend getting his wax on

fretfinder

elstoof said:

Sent it to nero end of last week so hopefully he’s had good weekend weekend getting his wax on

And he’s put a dollop in the post to me today!

My replacement Braz board @Basher  was done by JXG and I did a thread about it a few years ago. JXG’s more recent story is a bit of a sad one and I think well known on here…

nero1701

elstoof said:

Sent it to nero end of last week so hopefully he’s had good weekend weekend getting his wax on

I used it on my Duesenberg and my les paul, both lovely boards, both darkened ever so slightyl, but both look much more lustrous.

jdbwales

@fretfinder and whoever else, if I could be added to the list to try this I’d be very grateful - I’m about to ebonise my Studio’s board and apparently this stuff is excellent to seal it all in!

Offset

BillDL said:

Looking at the consistency of the Monty's wax in the tin brings back old memories of childhood ...

I got this far before wondering where your post was going Bill :-)

Downsman

So, I thought I just had a tin of the relic wax arrive, and when I opened it I realised I ordered the instrument food below by mistake. Feels like a lot of money for bees wax, but maybe it's better quality than the no-name stuff you see in DIY stores or on Amazon? Has anyone used it on their guitars? I can see a possible use for it on a couple of mine with dry boards that are already a decent colour. Or on the back of the neck to finish up ones I've sanded the gloss poly off.

If it's worth keeping instead of trying to send it back, I'm wondering if anyone would be up for say trading a half or quarter tin of this instrument food for the same amount of Montypresso? 

GavRichList

Downsman said:

So, I thought I just had a tin of the relic wax arrive, and when I opened it I realised I ordered the instrument food below by mistake. Feels like a lot of money for bees wax, but maybe it's better quality than the no-name stuff you see in DIY stores or on Amazon? Has anyone used it on their guitars? I can see a possible use for it on a couple of mine with dry boards that are already a decent colour. Or on the back of the neck to finish up ones I've sanded the gloss poly off.

If it's worth keeping instead of trying to send it back, I'm wondering if anyone would be up for say trading a half or quarter tin of this instrument food for the same amount of Montypresso? 

This stuff actually brings out the lighter tones in the wood if anything. It does make the board feel very nice to be fair. It’s also good as a nut slot lubricant too. Definitely won’t darken the board though. 

Downsman

GavRichList said:

This stuff actually brings out the lighter tones in the wood if anything. It does make the board feel very nice to be fair. It’s also good as a nut slot lubricant too. Definitely won’t darken the board though. 

Yes, it wasn't until I opened the tin and thought "how's that going to darken anything" that I checked the lid and realised it was the wrong stuff. Frustrating, but now trying to figure out if it's worth keeping anyway. 

nero1701

where'd we get to with the tin?

Lebarque

nero1701 said:

where'd we get to with the tin?

I received the gunge from @fretfinder and posted it on to @ghad , where I believe it's currently residing. @willo wanted to skip his place in the pecking order.

Many thanks to @elstoof . I followed Monty's instructions (cleaned with lighter fluid, use gloves etc. - vid below) and used it on two necks. I left it on for four or five days I think before wiping it off (which was fun).