RnRDave Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Hello all, I'm a 4 stringer that has been used to glossy maple necks for the past 10 years ago. I recently bought a SX Short Scale P bass as a project (planning on turning it into a PJ bass monster). The back of the neck is lovely and glossy but the fret board seems really 'dry' for loss of a better word. Any tips on what to use to make it a lil bit glossier? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Walnut oil out of your kitchen, the stuff you might slosh on a posh salad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 4 hours ago, Grahambythesea said: Walnut oil out of your kitchen, the stuff you might slosh on a posh salad! Never heard of that. Got some brown sauce in the cupboard though. I went with F-one fretboard conditioner, which should arrive in the next couple of days. Will report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Just for the record I use boiled linseed oil. Just a smidge in a kitchen towel, tap a dot of it on every 'fret square' along the fingerboard, rub it in then immediately wipe it all off with a clean kitchen towel. Makes the grain pop and look amazing! I got this tip off Talkbass from Roger Sadowski himself. He does exactly this to all his builds with rosewood fingerboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 I threw out the linseed oil I used on my school cricket bat some years ago. Still got the bat, though I hardly used it at school. I could probably string it and put pickups on it, would get more use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 (edited) The standard kind of fretboard conditioner you can buy from just about every music instrument and gear related shop of several different brands, sometimes called lemon oil, but really not containing any real lemon oil whatsoever, but predominantly mineral oil, as organic oils can go stale and mess up your freboard, like caking up or beginning to smell bad, will do that for you. I can attest it's effectiveness to shine up dry looking rosewood from personal experience. It usually comes with a cloth too, otherwise get a special guitar polisher cloth too, or use a soft cloth that won't lint up of some kind, the micro-fiber kinds would be perfect, or similar types of cloths made for wiping off television and computer screens, only applying a few drops really, a little goes a really, surprisingly, long way, and you don't really want your fretboard wood to get totally soaked, as too much too often can soften the wood, which you wouldn't want to happen. Personally I use PRS Fretboard Conditioner, and 1 small flask for all my basses and guitars has lasted for years, but most brands will be equally good, and as said all mostly be of more or less same formula, which is predominantly consisting of mineral oil, same as one of the main ingredients in most furniture polishers. Edited June 23, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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