Bore oil for fretboards

[socal16]

I have been using Roche-Thomas premium bore oil on ukulele fretboards when changing strings. My understanding is that it is superior to lemon oil in conditioning fretboards. It is plant based and not mineral oil. Any thoughts?

 

[besley]

I have been using Roche-Thomas premium bore oil on ukulele fretboards when changing strings. My understanding is that it is superior to lemon oil in conditioning fretboards. It is plant based and not mineral oil. Any thoughts?

Well the environment on the inside of a clarinet, covered with spit, is certainly much more demanding than a fretboard - so I imagine bore oil should work just fine. I doubt it will make a difference, as just about any product will do the job, as long as you use it regularly and not too often (at most with every string change, or perhaps just once a year). As for whether plant based or mineral oil based treatments are better, that argument has been going on forever in the guitar world, with no winner yet.

 

[socal16]

Roche-Thomas Corp - Premium Fingerboard Oil 2oz

Premium Fingerboard Oil 2oz

rochethomas.com

It appears to be mineral oil… my mistake. It’s a terrific product and lubes a fretboard nicely. A small bottle is a lifetime supply!

 

[socal16]

Best Oil for Guitar Fretboard in 2022 - Buyer's Guide & Reviews

Is your fretboard looking sorry for itself? We review the best mineral, bore and lemon fretboard oils for keeping it in pristine condition.

zinginstruments.com

In this review it states that roche-Thomas bore oil is made from “ultra-refined tree and seed oils”??

 

[ripock]

If you're using it when you change strings, you can use anything you want. It is so infrequent that nothing you do will either hinder and help the fretboard. For example, try gasoline.