Linseed oil on maple fretboard

Julian

It's a '59 with 4 knobs
Joined
May 3, 2021
Messages
170
Hello all,

I royally f*cked up. I conditioned my maple board once or twice using the old prs fretboard conditioner (one with the purple guitar on sticker), and later read that they were recommending against its use, specifically on maple fretboards.

1) Does this damage the integrity of the wood?
2) Does it cause staining?
3) Is there any way to remove it?
 
I'm not familiar with the conditioner itself but I found the one you're talking about with google. I would guess they say not to use it on maple boards for one of two reasons. Either A: Maple boards have been given a finish to protect them and the conditioner is going to be totally ineffective (and may damage the finish slightly depending on what is in the conditioner), or B: It has the potential to stain the wood a slightly darker colour. For now I would suggest wiping it off, potentially giving your board a further wipe down with a damp cloth and a little soap. Without knowing what finish is on the fretboard I would not recommend anything more aggressive than that.
 
Maple fretboards have an infused finish (though some are lacquered).

So you basically put whatever you used on top of paint. It probably didn't affect the wood. I'd use a very slightly damp cloth as Bookface suggests, but I'd skip the soap every time.
 
Ditto on the above. I generally never use conditioning agents on maple. Basically a damp cloth is all you need to clean them. Rosewood takes oils differently due the grain and the darker color.....and that they are generally never coated.

A minor PSA, never use pure lemon oil on anything that has to do with a guitar. Its rather acidic and can damage clear coats. I learned that the hard way many years ago.
 
I think I did this to a cheap squier I had back in the day. It didn't do anything harmful. But the conditioner kinda sat on the fretboard, it didn't get absorbed like ebony or rosewood and made it kinda slippery. Not a big deal. Dry it off. Lesson learned.
 
I fourth what others have said.

Most maple boards have some form of finish on them to stop our grubby fingers from staining the raw wood, as well as protection against moisture ingress.

Wiping it off will, I’m pretty sure, do the trick.

There are fretboard cleaners out there, suitable for maple boards, which will remove any oils, detritus left from playing.

Hope it all works out ok.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I can finally sleep easy now hahaha
 
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