Lemon Oil

nagukush · #1 March 18th, 2006

Hello All

Sorry if I'm asking something that has already been explained

. I just wanted to know something about Lemon-Oil. How should I use it on my acoustics. Should it be used only on the Finger-Board ? What is the use of it?

How often should one perform cleaning on the Guitar.

Kindly suggest me guys. Take Care

Kindest Regards

Kush

coldethyl · #2 March 18th, 2006

Hi Kush, UGB had some good advice about cleaning products in the Guitar Tech section!

I do believe though, that Lemon Oil is okay but should be used sparingly and not liberally!

Hope that helps!

Neil

Ultimate Garage Band · #3 March 18th, 2006

I only use lemon oil on the fingerboard and I only do that about 2 times a year. I'd think for typical at home player who might play an hour a day or less, once a year is plenty.

nagukush · #4 March 18th, 2006

Thanks for the Inputs Guys !!!
Thanks UGB, I guess I'll not use it now

Kindest regds

Kush

seagull · #5 March 18th, 2006

UGB, How about if you have airconditioning running most of the year?

Ultimate Garage Band · #6 March 18th, 2006

It's more of playing time, acidity of fingers, etc.

seagull · #7 March 18th, 2006

Ok, thanks for the info.

Nem · #8 March 18th, 2006

yeah, dont drench the fingerboard in lemon oil, its not good for the wood

once every half year should be ok

737blues · #9 March 18th, 2006

Gidday UGB. Do you have any thoughts on string lubricants and EXP coated strings, such as those new D'addario one's? I usually use 'Finger-Ease' on all my strings but I wondered if it might actually damage whatever coating they use on these EXP strings. BTW, I did send this question to D'addario but I either don't buy enough strings or it was too hard for them. No answer received. Cheers,

John

Ultimate Garage Band · #10 March 18th, 2006

I'm a D'Addario dealer and I've gotten some EXP's to try out on my own guitars before I stock them. I've yet to put them on any guitars so the jury is still out but I'll proabably be placing another order in a couple of weeks and I'll ask my sales rep about that.

I don't use any string treatments, never have.

I do 'flood' the fingerboard with lemon oil in extreme cases. For instance, tonight I was given a 25 year old Sigma solid top to check out. Now imagine a fingerboard that's NEVER been cleaned or oiled in 25 years.

That's what I see all the time. It's not for the weak stomach.

I will literally pool the lemon oil on the wood and it will actually swell a bit as it absorbs and then stabilizes. I'm also using the oil as a cleaning agent as described in my sticky thread here of how to do that. At least this one doesn't have any mold on it. This one will be lemon oil in a bowl, dip a toothbrush in it and go to town. Then steel wool the frets to polish them, then clean rags to wipe it all down and away. So, for this guitar I'm doing a set up, which is $25 w/a new pack of strings, but I'm including the lemon oil process which I call a 'spa treatment'.

That's an extra $10.

737blues · #11 March 19th, 2006

Thanks for that UGB, I'll stay tuned. I usually just treat the strings but having been a keen timberworker for years, sometimes I can't help giving the fingerboard a quick polish, for which I simply use a good quality .... timber polish! As you suggest I'd only use something like lemon oil for refurbishing damaged timber. Thanks.

John

Ultimate Garage Band · #12 March 20th, 2006

Cleaning a guitar is totally dictated by use, acidity/oil/dirt/grime left by the player, and time. There's no set rule because each factor affects the other in one way or another. For instance, let's say I play my guitar for 4 hours a day, at least, I don't wash my hands before I play, I don't clean my strings when I'm done, etc. And I sweat a lot. The fingerboard won't need the moisture treatment as much as it will need to have a top layer of gunk removed from it after about 2 weeks of playing. With that level of playing, I'd treat it with lemon oil about once every six times I cleaned it.

Speaking of which, one of my reps just left and he's got a buddy that has developed his own brand of guitar polish and his own brand of lemon fingerboard cleaner. The cool part is I get to put my name and logo on the bottles.

I just ordered a dozen of each and I'll let you know how they work out. I ask a lot of questions about finish testing and it seems to safe for all finishes to this point. The developer of the formulas comes from a chemical background in paint/coatings manufacturing.

737blues · #13 March 21st, 2006

Thx. UGB. All good info.