Linseed oil?

robgilmo

Does anyone use it on rosewood fret boards?
Or is it best just to clean the fretboard and not oil at all?
Basically I'm restringing my acoustic and it could do with a good clean but all I have is linseed (raw and boiled) , tung oil and teak oil. I also have light machine oil, clock oil etc which I think are mineral oils but I'd be hesitant to use them on a guitar,

MartinBlythe

I use boiled linseed oil on my acoustic's. Never had any issues before and it's what Taylor Guitar recommend. I would wait a little while after applying it to get rid of the smell/oil before putting the new strings on - maybe an hour or so 

octatonic

Definitely boiled as it is less sticky than raw.

I prefer lemon oil.

robgilmo

What would be good to clean the fretboard with first? I do a bit of French polishing so I have most things to do with finish work here at my disposal.

robgilmo

octatonic said:

Definitely boiled as it is less sticky than raw.

I prefer lemon oil.

Boiled sets quicker than Raw.

MartinBlythe

robgilmo said:

What would be good to clean the fretboard with first? I do a bit of French polishing so I have most things to do with finish work here at my disposal.

If you have some fine steel wool that does the job perfectly. I always cover the sound hole with some masking tape to stop anything going inside.

robgilmo

Coolio, I'll give that a whirl.

robgilmo

Thank you.

Danielsguitars

Boiled linseed oil and 0000 wire wool works for me

Blacksheep

I use it. And it is recommended by Dan Erlewine, who generally knows what he's talking about. 

robgilmo

Does the fretboard need to breath? Or is it Ok to seal it? Linseed oil is basically a drying oil that will harden the wood it is applied to. It turns into a glass like coating. Ive used it on oak quite a lot, especially oak that is left outdoors.
Ive even coated my Land Rover chassis in it as a rust preventative and its doing a grand job. 
I suppose in this application less is more?

Danielsguitars

Use a very small amount and just wipe over the whole board
I use the wire wool to polish it giving a very smooth feel

I didn't know Dan Erlewine used it 

proggy

I've always used lemon oil, it cleans and conditions.

TheMarlin

Give less of a shit

ESBlonde

Boiled linseed is good on dark woods. Let it set for 5 min then wipe off the excess. It will set hard fairly fast but a few weeks of hard playing the shine wears off.

JookyChap

@Blacksheep said:

I use it. And it is recommended by Dan Erlewine, who generally knows what he's talking about. 

Yeah, I use raw linseed for the same reason - he said in one of his books to avoid boiled though (can't remember why now, mind)

Gassage

I would caution against boiled and suggest raw linseed. Raw is absorbed, boiled sets to a film. You just wipe off the excess. Lemon is still better as less viscous.

Brize

This stuff is the best fretboard oil I've used;

robgilmo

Boiled has additives that make it go off quicker, I don't know if it actually sets harder but it could well do.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil#Boiled_linseed_oil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil#Modified_linseed_oils

Gassage

robgilmo said:

Boiled has additives that make it go off quicker, I don't know if it actually sets harder but it could well do.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil#Boiled_linseed_oil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil#Modified_linseed_oils

it does. Plus it sits on surface of the wood- which is why cricket bats use raw linseed only.

robgilmo

Lemon oil is traditionally a cleaning product, I've used it before when restoring antique furniture, its very acidic and is basically a degreaser , I've stripped old furniture wax with it in the past.
http://www.antiquetrader.com/featured/is-tung-oil-safe-for-antique-furniture-no-not-really

I'm thinking I might just give the fretboard a good clean then leave it untreated, I'll see how it looks after I've cleaned it.

Rosewood, if it is a true rosewood, is naturally oily, but this all depends on the process to get it from lumber to fret board so cleaning with anything acidic might serve to dry the wood further.