Conditioning the fret board

Ukejenny

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I have an Ohana SK 28 with inlay the length of the fretboard. Do I need to do anything special to condition the fretboard? I am thinking of a little lemon oil on all my fretboards. Here's a photo showing the inlay.
image.jpg
 
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Lemon oil works fine. I've used it for years on guitars and ukes. It's especially nice if the fret board is a little dry as often happens.

I've started using wax on fret boards, though (specifically, Renaissance Wax). If they are dry when I get them I'll treat them every 4-6 weeks with lemon oil until they come back to life, then I wax them and find I never really need to do the lemon oil again. I re-wax the fret board with each string change. I first switched to wax because I had ukes with natural koa fret boards and I didn't want to darken the wood with lemon oil.

John
 
Just a little dab goes a LONG way.
Be careful it is very easy to over apply.
I have had good luck with Loprinzi fret board conditioner as well.
 
That sounds good John....I use LoPrinzi's fret butter....it doens't change any colors, and slicks things up really nice, leaves no residue, and cleans off the dirt.
 
I use sweet almond oil on my wooden clarinets. I wonder if it would be good for fretboards as well. Off to google LoPrinzi fret butter. Thanks, gang.
 
The almond oil should be okay if it doesn't harden or turn sticky. I use boiled walnut oil on natural wood Native American flutes but that is more of a finish than a conditioner - it will actually harden and probably build up so I don't think I'd use it on fret boards.

John
 
That sounds good John....I use LoPrinzi's fret butter....it doens't change any colors, and slicks things up really nice, leaves no residue, and cleans off the dirt.


Mike(MGM) told me the LoPrinzi fretboard conditioner was the best he used...so this is one of many tips that I took away from Mike.....
 
I switched to the LoPrinzi fretboard conditioner about 2 years ago. A superior product with nothing but great reviews from those who have used it as far as I can tell.
 
The LoPrinzi fretboard conditioner definitely removes gunk--both the fretboard and the frets look better after I use it.
 
I will be ordering the LoPrinzi fretboard conditioner from Uke Republic. I'm also not going to be using almond oil on my wooden clarinets any more. Some of the information I read said that it can go rancid and break down the wood cells. Yikes on that. I found some organic bore oil that I will also be ordering.

http://cargo.ukerepublic.com/product/loprinzi-fingerboard-conditioner
 
Alex at southern ukulele store recommended the music nomad F-ONE oil to me, made in the USA it is made from 100% natural oils and is free from wax and petroleum, yes it is quite expensive but I think it will last a very long time.
I have used this for over the last six months on a lot of ukes and in my opinion it is best I have ever used, I always play with clean hands but its amazing how much dirt it picks up on the cloth when used.
Steve.
 
Alex at southern ukulele store recommended the music nomad F-ONE oil to me, made in the USA it is made from 100% natural oils and is free from wax and petroleum, yes it is quite expensive but I think it will last a very long time.
I have used this for over the last six months on a lot of ukes and in my opinion it is best I have ever used, I always play with clean hands but its amazing how much dirt it picks up on the cloth when used.
Steve.

I use F-ONE Fretboard oil as well. I am not keen on Lemon Oil as many folks (in the guitar world articles I have read) have reported that down the road, it actually dries out the fretboard on certain types of wood (I have seen maple mentioned) and does not contain any waxes or petroleum based ingredients like you mentioned. It works wondefully. Saw them at NAMM and they have a nicely expanded like of products. I picked up their ONE spray which has done a great job of wiping down my ukes with gloss finishes. Really brings out the shine.
 
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