Noob fretboard finishing question

[Nik]

Hi all, I'm currently building a JB4 (Jazz Bass with Rosewood fretboard) with my son. So far he has done most of the work (sanding...) and it is coming along nicely.

I've got a wudtone clear neck topcoat to apply to the neck, so this will seal all the pale wood.

Does a rosewood fretboard need to be sealed, or will a good rub with Dr Duck's Ax Wax be enough to treat the wood to nourish and condition it?

I've got around a dozen guitars with rosewood fretboards, and they don't have any gloss finish on them. I've got one bass with a maple fretboard, and it definitely has a gloss clear coat.

My initial inclination was just to oil the fretboard, but having never built a guitar from scratch, I thought I would check to see if there is a right way and a wrong way - or a preferred way. I don't want anything to warp or crack in the future due to poor preparation now.

Thanks all.

Nik

[pablopepper]

I have also asked this question. No, do not put wudtone on your rosewood fretboard. Dr Ducks will work fine, alternatively lemon oil or mineral oil to treat the rosewood. Personally I use mineral oil.

[Nik]

Thanks Pablo. Having never worked on a "raw" guitar I wasn't sure if it needed to be sealed with anything.

Thanks fella, you've answered my question. I'll keep mineral oil in mind as an alternative to Dr Duck's. How do you find the mineral oil for penetration and playability?

Cheers.

[keloooe]

Mineral Oil is really good for shine and fast playing on the fretboard

[pablopepper]

Pest is right, mineral oil looks the goods and leaves a slick (but not wet) fretboard. It cleans finger gunk off very well too.

Sidenote: Where've you been Pest? Never thought I'd say this, but I missed you I noticed your absence.

[DanMade]

I haven't tried it myself yet, but Fret Doctor or Bore Doctor has been building quite a reputation as the best fretboard treatment. I plan to get a hold of some in the near future.
It's not like like lemon oils that are just mineral oil, it's a chemists blend of special oils.

[Gavin1393]

I only use Dr Ducks axe wax on my guitar fretboards.....

[Scott J.]

Ah, the "Great Fretboard Finish" deliberation!

Guarunteed to bring more responses than the "Great Body/Neck Finish" debate ... Wudtone -v- Tr..Tr..Tr..(cant say it!) -v- Ni..Ni..Ni.. (just cat say that either! ... fear the wrath of DB! - fear the "Naughty Corner"! 8O )

Do a bit of research on the topic via the web and you'll go completely nuts! 8O ... there's a mountain of research and even more opinion (and argument!) from all angles, both professional and amateur. The end result appears to be personal preference & availability.

Personally? Bore Oil ... as used in the "bore" of woodwind instruments (i.e. clarinets, oboes, etc) and available from any music store selling woodwind/brass instruments and quite affordable (my argument? - its been serving them well for centuries!).

"Fret Doctor/Bore Doctor" (same product-different labels) is a type of bore oil (although extensively modified from their "blurb"- they used NASA research! 8O ) and although highly recommended in many circles its bloody expensive!! (if I remember correctly, incl. postage about $Aus25 for a 15ml bottle!!!) ... and alas not readily available in Oz from my enquiries.
http://doctorsprod.com/cbuy/bore-doctor
http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

A lot of the luthiers and guitar-techs on this side of the continent seem to use lemon-oil, though when I pushed for reason why it seemed to come down to a combination of availability/performance/price.

[Nik]

Thanks Scott - I trawled a number of sites over the past few days and I came to the same conclusion - this is driving me nuts . I've had a bottle of Dunlop 02 deep conditioner that I use on my Kramers once a year, and it makes the Rosewood really glow but I wasn't sure if I needed to give special treatment to a raw neck.

It's interesting reading all the opinions on how to treat fretboards - some guys swear by mineral oils, virgin olive oil, baby oil, liquid paraffin, lemon oil, Dr Duck's, Carnumba, nose oil (!), danish oil, 3 in 1 oil etc etc etc.

For the bass build, I'll wood tone clear coat everything apart from the fretboard, then once it's all cured I'll give the neck and fretboard someDr Duck's. I've got a Jackson Rhoads V build on the go for another son, so I might try mineral oil on that one to see if I can feel any difference.

Cheers

[dingobass]

Stick to the Dr Ducks.. mineral oil is not a good thing to put on timber!