Treating neck with gunstock oil & wax

[Steamthief]

OK, how many of you have done this? How do you determine when it's time? Even though I bought it NOS a month ago, my Ray is almost six years old. Is it due? The neck feels great, but would it be even better if I treated it? Thanks, all.

 

[shamus63]

OK, how many of you have done this? How do you determine when it's time? Even though I bought it NOS a month ago, my Ray is almost six years old. Is it due? The neck feels great, but would it be even better if I treated it? Thanks, all.

The fretboard is way overdue, especially if it's Rosewood. I just got finished oiling the fretboard (using lemon oil) on my SR4 that I acquired last night, and even used *a little* on the back of the neck.

Don't know about Maple fretboards, but I oil darkwoods every two to three months, along with the string change.

 

[Steamthief]

shamus, I lemon-oiled the board the night I brought it home, it did need it. how about the back of the neck, as mentioned in the the FAQ on the main site?

 

[bovinehost]

Yes, definitely don't use gunstock oil and wax on the fretboard, eh?

It depends on how much you play it and how you like it to feel, really. I've had my SR5 for almost seven years and have only applied it twice. If you like the feel of the gunstock oil/wax finish, do it whenever it feels like raw wood.

Jack

 

[LowDownDave]

I emailed customer services about this and am still waiting for a reply. If you should not oil/wax a maple fretboard, how are you supposed to treat it? Mine is looking quite dry (especially compared to the maple on the back of the rosewood neck on my new Ray). I have used lemon oil before, but it doesn't seem to do anything for the hydration of my maple fretboard. Has anyone used gunstock oil/wax on their maple fretboards? I'm always hearing contradictory info on this issue here on the forum, and the FAQ just doesn't cover it. I just want to make my old SR4 fretboard look as nice as the board on my new SR4.

 

[Rano Bass]

Hello! I'll chime in... first of all, lemon oil it's only recomended for rosewood boards, for maple boards use gunstock oil/wax, if the maple board it's really dirty first use Murphy's soap oil, then gunstock oil/wax.
That's bassically it.

 

[shamus63]

Hello! I'll chime in... first of all, lemon oil it's only recomended for rosewood boards, for maple boards use gunstock oil/wax, if the maple board it's really dirty first use Murphy's soap oil, then gunstock oil/wax.
That's bassically it.

I think I've heard the same thing about Murphy's in relation to maple fretboards...don't know one way or the other about the gunstock oil/wax.

 

[Moose308]

Just out of curiousity, is there more generic terminology for gunstock oil/wax rather than gunstock oil/wax? What in a hardware store would I be looking for if I can't find something actually called gunstock oil, or gunstock wax?

 

[soniq]

I use Holloway House Lemon Oil for cleaning and treating bare wood. This stuff really works really well for getting gunk off and doesn't leave a sticky residue.

 

[DKWilkins]

Just out of curiousity, is there more generic terminology for gunstock oil/wax rather than gunstock oil/wax? What in a hardware store would I be looking for if I can't find something actually called gunstock oil, or gunstock wax?

Birchwood Casey makes "Gun Stock Wax" and "Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish"; you could try at a sporting goods/hardware store that caters to firearms enthusiasts.

 

[scottbass71]

Hello! I'll chime in... first of all, lemon oil it's only recomended for rosewood boards, for maple boards use gunstock oil/wax, if the maple board it's really dirty first use Murphy's soap oil, then gunstock oil/wax.
That's bassically it.

In the FAQ it says you can use lemon oil on a maple board???

 

[Bill]

I used lemon oil on my maple board last time I changed strings. It's hard to tell what good it did, but it certainly didn't do any harm.

 

[punkrockbass]

if you can't find tru-oil, you can go to your local hardware store and pick up a can of boiled linseed oil as it's basically the same. you can rub it in, wait 5 minutes, then rub it off. the other thing you can do is let it dry and continue to add coats so as to build up a solid finish. depends on how you want the neck to feel. if you go with the latter, get yourself some 1500 grit paper to take out the rough spots in the finish. then you can compound the finish with rotten stone and water. finish off with birchwood casey "stock sheen and conditioner" then use the wax to finish it off and bring up the shine.

 

[Lazybite]

Can any aussies reccomend brands we get here? For both lemon oil and this gun stock stuff for the neck?

 

[Aussie Mark]

Can any aussies reccomend brands we get here? For both lemon oil and this gun stock stuff for the neck?

I use natural orange oil I found at Bunnings. No additives or preservatives. As good as lemon oil but smells better. And, I have used lemon or orange oils on maple boards for the past 30 years with no ill-effects.

 

[Lazybite]

thanks mark..there is a magnet mart and bunnings within walking distance from so work so will try my luck.

 

[Aussie Mark]

At Bunnings you'll find the orange oil where the furniture polish and oils are stocked.

 

[Rano Bass]

In the FAQ it says you can use lemon oil on a maple board???

Well... of course you can use it, the thing with lemon oil is that it dries the wood{supposedly} over time, that's why it's recomended for oily woods as rosewood, and not so much for maple, but... whatever.
Lemon oil it's good for cleaning, so... do it, but wipe it off immediately, then use gunstock oil to protect the board, and leave that for a good 5 minutes.
IMO

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Birchwood Casey makes "Gun Stock Wax" and "Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish"; you could try at a sporting goods/hardware store that caters to firearms enthusiasts.

That's what I use and it's easy to buy in Aust

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

At Bunnings you'll find the orange oil where the furniture polish and oils are stocked.

I'll head down on Sat. Any special brand Mark?