Gunstock oil on Axis unfinished neck?

[lenny]

its pretty simple to do and this is what i do to my ebmm's. i clean the fretboard every string change. first i hit it with murphy's oil soap wipes and then lemon oil on some cloth baby diapers. i then take a clean one and wipe it down afterwards. for the back of the neck twice a yr i hit the back with the oil soap wipes then hit it with casey's tru-oil. i let that sit for a few seconds and then buff that off. then i hit it with the tru-wax and buff that off. have never flet anything so smooth or stay so clean. just do what it says in the faq which is where i learned it and you cant go wrong.

But Agian if your using the LEMON oil its ONLY on a roseWood Board Like I said every Bottle of Lemon oil that is HIGH GRADE at least in Canada SAYS not for use on Maple Fingerboards,i would assume if LEMON oil was good for the MAPLE they would use it at the factory but they dont so Neither will i ,
GUNSTOCK OIL<GUNSTOCK Wax=MAPLE BOARD
LEMON OIL=Ebony and Rosewwod

 

[cbpmmjp05]

Our Forumite fsmith was at the EB open day at Slo and he said that he spent quite some time watching an employee apply the finish to the necks. This is what he said...

"Yep, it's not a big secret. It's been documented elsewhere. I was very curious because I've been doing my own necks and wanted to see if I was doing it correctly. I spent about 20 minutes at that station and actually talked to the woman who was doing the finish on the necks.


She applied the oil to the neck wiping a coat over the entire neck and I'd say within 15 seconds she grabbed a paper towel and wiped it off. Then she applied the wax, let it sit for 10 seconds or so and with fresh paper towels wiped it clean and then with another paper towel she did a final wipe down and moved to the next neck. If you blinked she was moving on... I was surprised by how fast she was doing it and asked is that all there is to sealing the necks and she said yes that's it."

I followed those instructions which resulted in the "factory finish".
You may think "let's just rub that in a bit more or let's leave it on a bit longer 'cos it's bound to produce better results - no need!!

Spudo

Bingo! I remember when you posted this method a few months ago. This is the method I use, and it works beautifully. I remember doing this my first time. I was scared sh*tless. But really, it is no big deal. Follow this very easy method, and you will achieve great results.

 

[J_Alexander]

actually jon told me to use lemon oil on the maple neck when it is dirty and on a rosewood when it is dry. how much more proof do we need when it comes from the horses mouth.

 

[blackspy]

Anyone from EB wanna chime in on this? Really this shouldn't be a problem every few weeks. Clarifying the FAQ with hard details and very specific information would be a great idea.

 

[Quarter]

Anybody see how they factory finish an all rosewood neck?

++ for a better FAQ.
Break it down for each neck / fretboard combo.
Maple neck and maple fretboard =
Maple neck and rosewood fretboard =
Rosewood neck and rosewood fretboard =

 

[lenny]

actually jon told me to use lemon oil on the maple neck when it is dirty and on a rosewood when it is dry. how much more proof do we need when it comes from the horses mouth.

Well the proof to me is what they do at the Factory and what it says on the Lemon oil bottles.......If the factory used lemon oil then i too would but they dont end of story for me! i mean when spud put the info from Fsmith and he TALKED RIGHT TO THE LADY ACTUALLY BUILDING THEM,,,,,thats info i take to the bank!

AND i just went to the EB FAQ and low and behold they say Lemon oil ??????????????????????
why in the name of all that is right would they tell you to do something that they dont actually do at the Factory! no wonder we are all confused!
http://www.ernieball.com/faq_content.php?subjectcode=mm_guitars

 

[lenny]

just a little something else i thought u guys might want to read like i said i have researched this alot so anyway...................

Pure lemon oil (or other citrus oils) is composed of d-limonene at an amount of 90% or more. There are other minor components that give each of the citrus oils its own unique flavors and fragrances. These ingredients include citral, linalool, geraniol, nerol, citronella, pinenes and other terpenes.

Since d-limonene is the majority of lemon oil (or orange oil), we can look at its properties to determine why it is not suited for fretboard care. First, and most importantly, d-limonene is a very strong solvent. It is used to remove glue, paint, grease, oil and other substances. If an oil with a high percentage of d-limonene were applied to a fretboard, it might even begin to loosen the bindings, fret markers or other trim. Additionally, it could soften some varnishes or lacquers used on necks and bodies. Also the vapors of d-limonene are flammable with a flash point of about 124 degrees F.

What are petroleum distillates? The type of petroleum distillates used in furniture cleaners is a very thin, purified and deodorized mineral oil. Normal paraffin and iso-paraffin oils are generally used since they are less agressive to finishes and have lower odors. They are also flammable but the flash points are usually above 200 degrees F.

 

[jongitarz]

Ok... now this is getting confusing... on unfinished EVH maple necks and fretboards... do we use lemon oil or gunstock oil? And what kind of wax for maple/EVH necks/fretboards?

On a maple neck with maple fretboard, use lemon oil to clean the gunk. Then use gunstock oil and gunstock wax. Use the oil in small amounts. Finish with the gunstock wax.

 

[lenny]

On a maple neck with maple fretboard, use lemon oil to clean the gunk. Then use gunstock oil and gunstock wax. Use the oil in small amounts. Finish with the gunstock wax.

Guys Notice what Jon Says CLEAN THE GUNK WITH LEMON OIL,then TREAT WITH GUNSTOCK OIL AND WAX

to me there is a big difference from cleaning the gunk with the Lemon oil and TREATING the neck with it,this i guess is where the confusion is the CLEANING and the TREATING .....2 totally different things

and with ALL DUE RESPECT to JON ,,,,from what i have read and from what it says on the bottles i still wont use the lemon oil ......gunk comes off just fine with a little elbow grease
Thanx JON

 

[J_Alexander]

wow jon i thought the tru-oil and wax were only for the back of the neck and not the fretboard to. if this is the case i will have to try this. please let me know as i dont wanna put this on the fretboard and ruin them.

 

[jongitarz]

On a maple fretboard, you can use a little gunstock oil on the fretboard. Wipe it off quickly, and what I do is this. After the oil is wiped/buffed, put some wax on a cloth, or paper towel, do the back of the neck, and use what is left on the fretboard. Don't go heavy on the fretboard.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Nice one Jon you have confirmed what j_alexander is saying.

All we need now is a reply from someone regarding the query from forumite quarter on how they treat rosewood necks and maybe contemplate using this thread as a sticky?

 

[lenny]

On a maple fretboard, you can use a little gunstock oil on the fretboard. Wipe it off quickly, and what I do is this. After the oil is wiped/buffed, put some wax on a cloth, or paper towel, do the back of the neck, and use what is left on the fretboard. Don't go heavy on the fretboard.

Awesome! clear as super clean glass now!
thank you very much Jon

 

[jplacson]

Thanks so much Jon! Another question, is it safe to use lemon-oil on the body as well? (Just to clean up, and wipe off immediately) Or will this ruin the finish?

 

[jongitarz]

I would not use lemon oil on the body.

 

[jazzbo jim]

+1 on the above.

The diff between lemon oil (LO) and BC (Birchwood Casey) oil is that the LO acts as an emollient/cleaner -ie) moisturizes and conditions the wood. The BC is a fast penetrating and fast hardening oil which is intended to seep deep and quick into the wood's pores and seal it up. I t dries hard too (ever notice how crystrallized the container lid gets? I've not seen that with LO)

The best way IMHO to apply is to sand wood bare, apply oil, wait. Smooth the surface (#0000 steel wool is good). Apply the wax. Wait. Buff. repeat.

Come back again in a few years because if you did it right, it'll last a long time.