Waxing fretboard?

[Donovan]

I've always done this, however I recently found that I am in the minority in this. I brought this up due to the new acquisition of a brand new Charvel ProMod SoCal with the unfinished maple neck. The neck, being raw and as I've found the Mexi Charvels lack some of the finishing quality of a US made custom etc.......... :think: the fretboard is a little rough. Now one thing that makes my older guitars so buttery to play is that even the ones I bought new, have a nice layer of hand gook and finger grime on the fretboard and the neck is hand oiled literally and ultimately smooth. For the last 10 years or so, if I get a new guitar or one that has been cleaned a lot the first thing I do to the fretboard is to rub a little candle wax between the frets then melt it on/into the wood with the heat from a lighter. This works on rosewood and raw maple not really needed for a smooth ebony board or a finished one.
What this does is jump starts the fretboard aging process and leaves the board and smooths out a raw fretboard. It adds a tad of lubrication and makes bends smother and just makes the board feel better in general.

Am I the only one that does this? Can you think of anything that would be harmed this?

[straycat]

First I have heard of this technique.
OOOO steel wool will smooth out a raw board easily be sure to blow off the steel wool particles then use gun stock oil and rub it in with your hands.
Let it dry overnight then a light buff and you are good to go for years.

[84sups]

Wax doesn't seem right to put on a fretboard.

[straycat]

I would think heat from your hand would soften the wax and make it get sticky feeling.

[Donovan]

I would think heat from your hand would soften the wax and make it get sticky feeling.

I get most of it off before restringing. It's not a thick wax layer on top of the fretboard. It's heated and melted into the board then wiped fairly vigorously so it's really just a hint on the board and the cracks are filled in a skad. The amount I'm putting on in the place is very minimal then as it's melted and buffed off just a hint is left but it's enough to feel.

[leftykingv2]

First I have heard of this technique.
OOOO steel wool will smooth out a raw board easily be sure to blow off the steel wool particles then use gun stock oil and rub it in with your hands.
Let it dry overnight then a light buff and you are good to go for years.

This is the way I do it as well and it's worked for me for years. I would't use candle wax on my fretboard and I've never heard of anyone else doing it either.

[xenophobe]

Waxing a fretboard isn't bad... I use caranuba wax on all surfaces of my natural finished CS Warwick Thumb bass. Works like a charm, but I haven't tried it on any of my guitars...

[RobRR]

I use Meguiars cleaner wax for quick fret polishings when they aren't too bad and don't need any abrasives... cleans the fretboard nicely too. I always hit the fretboard with lemon oil and a brush afterwards to remove any left over grime or residue. Been doing this for over 10 years without issue.

[Donovan]

I use Meguiars cleaner wax for quick fret polishings when they aren't too bad and don't need any abrasives... cleans the fretboard nicely too. I always hit the fretboard with lemon oil and a brush afterwards to remove any left over grime or residue. Been doing this for over 10 years without issue.

Cool. I like to leave the crud on my fretboard though. It makes a great lubricant and makes the neck feel more buttery in my experience. I have a couple of guitars that I've owned for 25 years and rarely ever clean the fretboard and they just sing and feel great. I do clean off the actual frets sometimes like you mention. It makes them smoother and gets crud off that sometimes causes dead sounding strings. I've used Meguiars on the paintwork before though. It does a good job of polishing the crap that is hard to get off the finish out.

[murkat]

While I was employed at the GCS, the Zakk Wylde LPC's fingerboards were treated with Johnson's Paste wax in a can...
Have some here at shop as well, but I have always use Scott's liquid gold to do up the boards.

[Donovan]

While I was employed at the GCS, the Zakk Wylde LPC's fingerboards were treated with Johnson's Paste wax in a can...
Have some here at shop as well, but I have always use Scott's liquid gold to do up the boards.

Good to know.. That I'm not crazy