Are you supposed to apply finish to the fretboard?
Are you supposed to apply finish to the fretboard?
Short answer: Maple - yes. Rosewood/Ebony etc - no.
With dark dense woods (rosewood/ebony etc) they are left unfinished (meaning no lacquer or poly) but periodically treated with a conditioning oil such as lemon oil or similar.
There are some (I'd dare say a *very* small minority) that leave maple unfinished and condition it with oil the same way, but this is not widely recommended. Especially not by aftermarket manufacturers (like Warmoth) that won't warranty a maple neck if it's only been oil treated.
FWIW re: lemon oil, these oils main component is mineral oil. You can use straight mineral oil on a rosewood fretboard for conditioning, it just won't smell "lemony"
Last edited by McCreed; 27-06-2019 at 07:29 PM.
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