DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

[Leo Chang]

Hi all,

My DK-2 fretboard looked a bit dry, so I took the opportunity of a string change to wipe some lemon oil on it...I didn't use a lot, and I wiped most of it off right away.

The cloth (white) came away a dirty black... is this normal?

I was playing it just now, and my finger tips are now black (VERY black) from contact with the fretboard... this has never happened before, although my finger tips do occassionally become slightly black (but not *this* black) after some of my other guitars.

And now the fretboard looks dryer than before (the pores are much more obvious now, whereas before it looks more ebony-like)

What should I do now? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[Widowmaker]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

I use linseed oil. I have seen that 'black fingertip' phenomenon before. Here's what I do.
1. Using a Q-tip, wipe linseed oil on the board. Work it into the grain really good.Let it sit for a few minutes.
2. Scrub the board with an old toothbrush. Don't worry you won't hurt anything.
3. Wipe off the entire board *one fret space at a time* with a well-used terry cloth towel. Let it sit for several minutes-you'll see some oil pop back up. Wipe again.

This should take care of it. I think the black residue is some kind of factory dye for rosewood/ebony to even out the color but I'm not sure on that. If it's a new guitar I'd doubt that its dirt.

[stevieb91]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

The black stuff is primarily composed of sweat,skin cells,dust,steel particles,and your skin's natural oils.I clean mine with a soft tooth brush and rubbing alcohol,but I only do 3 to 5 frets at a time so I can get lemon oil on them before the alcohol can have any effect on the board.I use flanel for my polishing cloth...I am sure there are as many techniques as there are guitar players,so review the advice and see what suits you best....

[Lucky]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

Leo, I just conditioned my new DK2's board with a little lemon oil a couple days ago. I wouldn't worry, you probably just had a really dirty fingerboard....also make sure that you thoroughly wipe off any excess oil. I let a light coat soak in for about five minutes and clean it off really well.
If you don't like the lemon oil, I've heard that bore oil works well.

[Leo Chang]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

Thanks for all the advice [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I was playing it again today and the degree of "black-ness" is normal now (ie, hardly any), which is weird... Anyway, the next time I re-string, I'll use the toothbrush method to clean it first.

Now I am more concerned about how dry the fretboard looks. After the lemon oil, the pores of the rosewood looks much more obvious now... is that because lemon oil evaporates and dries out the wood? Or did it just clean up the dirt so now I can see the pores that were covered up?

- Leo.

[Widowmaker]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

Maybe both. How old is the guitar?

[VitaminG]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

if you've just wiped the oil on and off, you've probably just loosened up the residual crap on the fretboard. All the black crap is washing out of the wood grain and exposing just how dry the wood is. Lemon oil is good for cleaning the fretboard, but it does need to sit for a little while to rehydrate the wood. Let the oil soak for a few minutes before you wipe off the excess. I usually let a guitar sit for 10-15 minutes before thoroughly wiping down the board.

[LexLuthier]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

Just don't let the oil sit of the fingerboard for too long, it can seep down into the fret slots and loosen the frets, especially on import guitars where the frets aren't in there very good in the first place.

Wipe on, wipe off, Daniel-son. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: DK-2 fretboard maintenance?

one of the board's oldest tacked tech threads oughta help ya.. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]