Cleaning/conditioning Ebony Fingerboard

[lemmy999]

I have a PDF80 and the manual states "Lemon oil mixed with beeswax will keep your fingerboard from drying out". But I've always read that lemon oil is a cleaner and will dry out fingerboards. Is there a better option for cleaning and conditioning the ebony fingerboards?

[mmmguitar]

I have a PDF80 and the manual states "Lemon oil mixed with beeswax will keep your fingerboard from drying out". But I've always read that lemon oil is a cleaner and will dry out fingerboards. Is there a better option for cleaning and conditioning the ebony fingerboards?

I know everyone swears by a different trick; so I'll disclaim that I speak purely for myself, here: Mineral oil with lemon scent is fine - Real lemon oil, on the other hand, contains the solvent limonene; which, combined with the associated acidity, is liable to dry out your board and contribute to fret corrosion. If someone reading this has been using lemon oil for forty years with no issues: Congrats. Again, speaking purely for myself, here.

For any unfinished wood fingerboards (commonly anything but maple), they're very simple to maintain with two bottles and four corners of a rag (though a really grimey board might require a razor blade and some cotton swabs in the first cleaning):

Apply some naphtha ("petroleum distillates"; such as Ronsonol lighter fuel) to the corner of a rag, and rub the fingerboard in small, back-and-forth motions to work any grime off. Then use a clean area of the rag (such as another corner) to wipe off any excess (which itself isn't likely to be a huge problem; because it flashes off quickly).

Then, apply your preferred oil-and-wax wood conditioner (Howard feed-n-wax is what I use) to a different clean corner of the same rag, wipe it on, let it soak in for a minute or so, and then use another clean area of the rag to wipe off all excess - Never leave excess residue on a fretboard in routine maintenance.

A bottle or can of naphtha will last for years, and a bottle of feed-n-wax might last a lifetime if you're only using it to condition guitar fretboards.

One last heads-up is that, if your ebony board is dyed (which is more common than not, nowadays; as formerly "premium" woods are included as selling points on guitars produced for lower and lower price points), cleaning it will probably turn your rag black as the excess dye is leeched out and replaced with the stuff needed to keep it conditioned (playing will also turn your fingertips black). This can go on for multiple cleanings, until all the excess dye is out of the playing surface of the board (meaning, if you change the guitar's strings only once per year, for example, the excess dye can continue to come off for years).

[lemmy999]

Thanks for the detailed answer. I already have some Ronsonol and Howard Feed-n-Wax is easy to pickup locally.