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adimanto
Junior
Username: adimanto

Post Number: 37
Registered: 5-2008
Posted on Friday, December 02, 2011 - 6:36 am:   Edit Post

Hi there!'it's passed a year since i have my new alembic,the fingerboard start to loose black,probably i need to oil it a bit,i have bought a pure lemon oil,how many of them on the fingerboard?
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 4988
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Friday, December 02, 2011 - 7:18 am:   Edit Post

Just a small amount. I only use a drop or two. Rub it in lightly and let it soak. If it all soaks in and is dry to the touch after only a minute or two, re-apply. I let the oil soak in for 5 or 10 minutes, then wipe off any excess. I always leave my old strings on for a day or two as the recently oiled board seems to blacken the strings at first.

Bill, tgo
adimanto
Junior
Username: adimanto

Post Number: 38
Registered: 5-2008
Posted on Friday, December 02, 2011 - 7:23 am:   Edit Post

hi bill,a drop for all the finger board,or a drop for fret?
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 4989
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Friday, December 02, 2011 - 9:46 am:   Edit Post

For the whole board. Spread it around. I use a little piece of aquarium spun gentle plastic filtering material to work the oil over the board. A little goes a LONG way!

Bill, tgo
jazzyvee
Senior Member
Username: jazzyvee

Post Number: 2637
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Friday, December 02, 2011 - 12:09 pm:   Edit Post

I usually wet the whole fretboard and let it soak in overnight and it seems fine.

Jazzyvee
adimanto
Junior
Username: adimanto

Post Number: 39
Registered: 5-2008
Posted on Friday, December 02, 2011 - 2:17 pm:   Edit Post

hi jazzy!when you have oiled it,it's look like a new fretboard?or still have some bright part inside?
bigredbass
Senior Member
Username: bigredbass

Post Number: 1781
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Sunday, December 04, 2011 - 8:01 pm:   Edit Post

I'm with Jazzy; I put enough on it to where it looks wet, leave it for thirty minutes. After that time you'll see where it's absorbed some of it. Before I do it I rub the fingerboard with 0000 steelwool and shine up the frets, just to get everything cleaned up. Then I wipe it all dry and re-string. Ebony is ridiculously hard, so I rarely worry that the steelwool is taking off any worrying amounts of wood, though I only do this no more than twice a year. I hate new strings on top of dull-looking frets.

J o e y
jazzyvee
Senior Member
Username: jazzyvee

Post Number: 2640
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Sunday, December 04, 2011 - 11:28 pm:   Edit Post

I probably do mine about max twice a year and it looks great and black. I don't even change the strings afterwards as I can't say i've noticed any sound detriment.


Oh lemon oil smells lovely but I prefer the smell of limes to lemon. I wonder if there is Lime oil and if so would that be equally as good.?

Jazzyvee
edwin
Senior Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 1071
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Tuesday, December 06, 2011 - 11:42 pm:   Edit Post

There is lime oil. My wife has expressed and steam distilled at her shop. They do have different constituents from lemon oil and Dawn isn't sure if it would be as good. It is a little more corrosive, so it could be dangerous to some finishes. It's also more expensive. She recommends the expressed version, if you are looking for it over on that side of the pond.

(Message edited by edwin on December 06, 2011)
mica
Moderator
Username: mica

Post Number: 7533
Registered: 6-2000
Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2011 - 7:00 pm:   Edit Post

I'd steer clear of the lime oil, I found it to be irritating to my skin. It was the ONLY thing that made one particularly rank smelling case on a repair tolerable, sprinkled generously in the accessories compartment.
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 4993
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2011 - 7:25 am:   Edit Post

Anyone ever tried hemp oil? Just wondering.

Bill, tgo
hydrargyrum
Senior Member
Username: hydrargyrum

Post Number: 1089
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2011 - 8:01 am:   Edit Post

Well there was this time back in college where these friends of mine and I took a trip to Mexico, and while we were there me met this guy from Turkey . . .

Oh, you mean on your fingerboard! Umm, well nevermind, that's a whole different matter. :-)

(Message edited by hydrargyrum on December 08, 2011)
terryc
Senior Member
Username: terryc

Post Number: 1735
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2011 - 8:22 am:   Edit Post

mica..smoke from the hundreds of bars it had been in prior to public smoking ban??
edwin
Senior Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 1072
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2011 - 7:12 pm:   Edit Post

My guess is that it was a remedy for cat pee.
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 3059
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Friday, December 09, 2011 - 4:20 am:   Edit Post

Way back in the dim distant past my dad thought the cat had pee'd on my jeans - turned out to be the patchouli oil :-)

Graeme
collyman
New
Username: collyman

Post Number: 7
Registered: 10-2011
Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2012 - 4:34 pm:   Edit Post

Any particular brand of lemon oil for the best results?
adriaan
Moderator
Username: adriaan

Post Number: 2893
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2012 - 11:24 pm:   Edit Post

For best results, use essential lemon oil, with no additives.
edwin
Senior Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 1115
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2012 - 11:47 pm:   Edit Post

I just hit up my wife, who owns www.artscent.com. A while back she said she'd give a 20% discount to Alembic club members for aromatherapy grade pure lemon oil and the offer still stands. 800 551 0701. She's got several options. Ask for Dawn as her employees will probably have no idea what you are talking about.

For the more adventurous of you, there is the path that one of her clients in Boston followed. He's an upright player and commissioned an oil for his fingerboard that would interact with the heat of his hands, which activated the oils and a lovely smell would appear. Kind of aromatherapy for instrument and player synergy.

(Message edited by edwin on January 22, 2012)

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