How to Oil a Guitar Neck
- 1). Determine whether your guitar fretboard is unfinished. In general, dark necks made out of rosewood and ebony are unfinished, while lighter necks made out of maple are finished. Take your guitar to a music store if you can't determine if your neck is finished. An employee there should be able to tell you if your neck is finished or not. Do not oil finished guitar fretboards.
- 2). Buy a type of lemon oil-based conditioner specifically made for guitar fretboards. These products can be bought at most music stores and generally cost less than $10. By using one of these guitar-specific cleaning oils, you drastically cut down the risk of damaging your fretboard.
- 3). Remove your guitar's strings. It is impossible to properly oil your fretboard with the strings still on.
- 4). Apply a small dab of oil to a clean cloth and rub it into your fingerboard. Add more oil if necessary to coat the entire fingerboard. The oil should not lie in pools on your guitar neck. If this is the case, you are using too much.
- 5). Let the oil set on the guitar neck for about five minutes.
- 6). Use a clean cloth to wipe away all of the oil. If done properly, this will clean your fretboard very well.
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