Oil and wax treatment

[J_Alexander]

Guys i have talked to jon before and he told me to do this twice a yr. i am getting ready to do my ebmm and i only do the oil and wax on the back of the neck correct? for the top just use lemon oil. i use murphys oil wipes between string changes to keep the neck looking new and it does. just want to make sure about the other part.

 

[Thirdpole]

Well,

I don't want to contradict any EBMM experts here but i've had my Axis for close to ten years and the guitar has been played almost everyday since then : I have never refinished or applied oil of any kind to my neck. And ... it's in tip top shape !

 

[blackspy]

Well,

I don't want to contradict any EBMM experts here but i've had my Axis for close to ten years and the guitar has been played almost everyday since then : I have never refinished or applied oil of any kind to my neck. And ... it's tip top !

Perhaps, but you should do it. If you think its tip top now, it'd be even better with a fresh application of oil and waxed.

 

[Thirdpole]

Perhaps, but you should do it. If you think its tip top now, it'd be even better with a fresh application of oil and waxed.

Naaah, i'd rather not do it, i don't see why i should ! It's an awesome player and i don't care for the looks of the neck. I actually like how it looks worn and used. My silhouette special is also getting worn after 4 years of intense abuse.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I picked up my AL just after Xmas and raised the question of the finish on the maple neck.
There was good advice in the FAQ but some seemed to contradict each other.

I just fell in love with the neck when I got it and was concerned about looking after my new guitar - cos man I busted a gut to save for that baby!

Anyway the advice was Birchwood-Casey Gun stock oil, followed by Birchwood -Casey Wax.

So I (very) sparingly applied the oil (back of the neck only) one lunchtime and in the evening used a 2000 grit paper to remove any "nibs" .
I followed this up with an application of wax, and buffed this up. A lovely finish.....
but completely different to the original feel of the neck which in it's original state was more like a matt finish.

I don't know whether I like this outcome and in retrospect prefer the feel of the neck as it came. I don't feel that this is too much of a problem though because with an application of 3M pad type abrasive (very fine ) I could get the neck back to how it was before.

On the fretboard I use Fast Fret (GHS)

Caveat emptor

 

[beej]

The time line is kind of a rule of thumb. I'd say you're best to do it by feel. When the back of the neck starts feeling a little coarse, the sanding/oil/wax treatment will make it smooth and sealed again. If you like the look and feel of it now then don't do it.

Additionally, if you find you're having neck stability problems (lots of truss rod tweaking) it's probably best to do it so the neck is re-sealed.

 

[darchirnoj]

Re: Lemon oil on fretboard

About 2 days ago, I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Dean Campbell of Campbell American guitars and I had mentioned that I had used lemon oil for both my ebony board carvin and my rosewood Gibson fretboards. He freaked. He suggested that lemon oil may too harsh in the long run and suggested something called Jam Juice.
Just FYI.
-darchirnoj

 

[beej]

As I understand it, lemon oil is just fine- it's been recommended in a lot of different situations (I'm no pro, though). (Ebony, though, isn't very porous so I'm not sure if it makes much difference there.) Keep in mind people have been using lemon oil for years on their beloved antique furniture ...

When you say "too harsh", what do you mean? Did he imply a consequence to using it over the long run?

Kinda sounds like a sales pitch, IMHO.

 

[darchirnoj]

Well,

Specifically, I don't honestly remember why he said not to use it, probably because I was taken back when he raised his voice and said, "NO!". I thought about that sales pitch thing since he does sell the jam juice on his sight, but he doesn't make it (it's not his product, as are the guitars he sells). I will say this, when I use the lemon oil on my rosewood neck, it looks nice and shiny, kinda' like fresh wood. On my ebony neck, however, I've noticed the neck looks a little dryer after the application, which is weird because Carvin used to sell lemon oil on their site specifically for their ebony necks (it is a carvin ebony neck). After they stopped selling it, they told me I could get lemon oil from a local guitar shop, which is what I did.
-darchirnoj

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Well,

I don't want to contradict any EBMM experts here but i've had my Axis for close to ten years and the guitar has been played almost everyday since then : I have never refinished or applied oil of any kind to my neck. And ... it's in tip top shape !

+1/2 I have had 2 of mine re done after 10 years of gigging. Only beacuse they became a bit slimey.

 

[puppiesonacid]

havent done the oil and wax treatment yet. It's kind of freaked me out when, on one of the bottles(either oil or wax) said that it has been known to cause cancer and or birth defects by the State of California;which is kind of confusing since EBMM is in Cali. anyways...

I dont use lemon oil or fast fret or finger ease or any of that "stuff". A local luthier informed me that those products contain preservatives (lem) or silicone based substance(fret or ease) both of which i dont want in the fingerboard wood of my guitar. SO he suggested the use of "BORE OIL" , which i have used on all my guitars and have had no problems or "whitening" of the fretboard.

hope this helps.

TOny

 

[dannymusic]

oiled and waxxed the neck for the first time last night. Turned out just fine, but it smells like a gun now.
I've used the Dunlap guitar care system for 6 years now and it's great. Wax,fretboard cleaner, fretboard oil, string cleaner and "65" daily spray cleaner. My guitars always look primo. like $19 for all.

 

[doubleR]

havent done the oil and wax treatment yet. It's kind of freaked me out when, on one of the bottles(either oil or wax) said that it has been known to cause cancer and or birth defects by the State of California;which is kind of confusing since EBMM is in Cali. anyways...


TOny

Everything here in California has that label on it--you even walk into a resturant and see warning signs. It's called the Proposition 65 warnings--basically legal disclaimers that say pretty much everything you do in your daily routine can kill you.

Only in California..............

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Everything here in California has that label on it--you even walk into a resturant and see warning signs. It's called the Proposition 65 warnings--basically legal disclaimers that say pretty much everything you do in your daily routine can kill you.

Only in California..............

The more I visit the USA, the more I see this. I dont think its just a West coast thing.