Sweat and Unfinished F-holes

[SemiHollow]

I recently obtained a SE Custom 22 semi-hollow. Santana yellow, I love this guitar like crazy but I have a small concern. I have played two gigs with it, and they were sweaty gigs. The f-hole on the custom 22 is under my wrist/arm, and the interior edges of the f-hole (about 1/4 in.) are unfinished raw wood. Sweat definitely is going to make its way onto the raw wood, and I'm wondering if anyone else has worried about this. I have a full hollow body, but the interior edges of the f-holes are finished. I'm thinking I could paint some sort of clear coat carefully along the edge? Is sweat on raw wood as bad as I've read over the years? This is my first post, cheers everyone.

 

[László]

And here I thought this thread was going to be a dirty one.

Not much experience here, so do some research to make sure it wont affect your specific finish. If it were me, I'd consider using food grade mineral oil on a shammy and wiping the rim of the f-hole. You'll probably need 2-3 coats spread out over a couple days and allow it to fully absorb. I use it on my wooden chop blocks, cutting boards and wooden cooking utensils. It works great for keeping water and stains out of the wood and won't go rancid like olive oil etc.

You can probably use a regular rag for application, but the edges of the holes are probably rough enough to allow lint to stick to the wood. The reason for "food grade" is it doesn't have impurities

Do not use food grade mineral oil (or other food grade oils) on a guitar. Food grade means the digestible stuff can go rancid. It also can get very sticky, and tends to soften the wood.

It's fine for stuff you use with food, because you wash it. You don't wash guitars. As mentioned, it softens the wood, which is why it's fine with cutting boards. (Hopefully you rinse off your cutting boards after use).

When I was a kid I used some on the fretboard of a Martin and basically ruined it for months; the fretboard wood got soft enough to make dents in with slight fingernail pressure, and stayed that way until the stuff finally evaporated enough to remove the residue with regular mineral oil (naphtha), but the guitar was never the same.

It's not a good idea on guitars. Beware!

 

[Chicken hawk]

Do not use food grade mineral oil (or other food grade oils) on a guitar. Food grade means the digestible stuff can go rancid. It also can get very sticky, and tends to soften the wood.

It's fine for stuff you use with food, because you wash it. You don't wash guitars. As mentioned, it softens the wood, which is why it's fine with cutting boards.

When I was a kid I used some on the fretboard of a Martin and basically ruined it for months; the fretboard wood got soft enough to make dents in with slight fingernail pressure, and stayed that way until the stuff finally evaporated enough to remove the residue with regular mineral oil (naphtha), but the guitar was never the same.

It's not a good idea on guitars. Beware!

Interesting.

There are literally 100s of videos and articles about using mineral oil on fretboard and a few companies that make fretboard oil using a base of mineral oil in their product. Are you saying mineral oil in general or just food grade?

Also, I can't believe you don't wash your guitars

 

[László]

Interesting.

There are literally 100s of videos and articles about using mineral oil on fretboard and a few companies that make fretboard oil using a base of mineral oil in their product. Are you saying mineral oil in general or just food grade?

Also, I can't believe you don't wash your guitars

Just food grade.

The mineral oil for guitars is just scented naphtha. It's for cleaning, not conditioning, you then seal the fretboard with something else, if needed. It's totally different stuff, it's a petrochemical.

Naphtha is also the main ingredient in lighter fluid and dry cleaning fluid. It pulls oils to the surface, so don't leave it on long, it'll leech the oils out of the wood.

Calling both things by the same name is what confused me because as a kid what did I know? Not much. But they're completely different.

 

[Chicken hawk]

Just food grade.

The mineral oil for guitars is just scented naphtha. It's for cleaning, not conditioning, you then seal the fretboard with something else, if needed. It's totally different stuff, it's a petrochemical.

Naphtha is also the main ingredient in lighter fluid and dry cleaning fluid.

Calling both things by the same name is what confused me because as a kid what did I know? Not much. But they're completely different.

Thanks for learning me. Definitely useful information. I'm going to delete my post so it's not on the internet for some one to find

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Maybe try some wipe on poly, applied carefully.

 

[Rod/]

Maybe try some wipe on poly, applied carefully.

That’s what I would do…. Small rag….little dab will do ya or get a small Artist paintbrush and apply a few coats…..

 

[Sybo]

Or Tung oil with a small watercolor brush….

 

[Lewguitar]

The basic ingredient in Lighter Fluid, is Naptha.

I clean my fingerboard with Naptha but I think of it as being a solvent, not an oil.

After I've cleaned the fingerboard I do use mineral oil to oil it.

Mineral oil for bread boards.

Works for me.

 

[László]

The basic ingredient in Lighter Fluid, is Naptha.

I clean my fingerboard with Naptha but I think of it as being a solvent, not an oil.

After I've cleaned the fingerboard I do use mineral oil to oil it.

Mineral oil for bread boards.

Works for me.

I love ya, man, but mineral oil for bread boards is bad for guitars for the reasons cited in my post. Just as it allows the knife to cut all the way through because it softens the surface of the wood on the cutting board (you do see the knife marks very easily), it softens the fretboard. I found that it attracts dust and grime. Because it's digestible, it might get rancid, but since you (hopefully) clean your cutting board, it doesn't matter in that context.

Lots of chefs use beeswax on their cutting boards in addition to mineral oils.

You're right that naphtha is a good cleaning solvent, though.

However, if your system works for you - you've probably done it this way for many years - who am I to argue? Go for it. Plenty of guitar players use it, despite my very, very bad result using it as a young player.

I'd use boiled linseed oil (they used to condition fretboards and rosewood necks with it in Private Stock, followed with a sealer of some kind, maybe it was Behold, and still might, or the PRS Tung Oil).

But this is why I never buy used guitars any more. Ya just never know what the previous owner did to the darn things!

 

[Lewguitar]

I love ya, man, but mineral oil for bread boards is bad for guitars for the reasons cited in my post. Just as it allows the knife to cut all the way through because it softens the surface of the wood on the cutting board (you do see the knife marks very easily), it softens the fretboard. I found that it attracts dust and grime. Because it's digestible, it might get rancid, but since you (hopefully) clean your cutting board, it doesn't matter in that context.

Lots of chefs use beeswax on their cutting boards in addition to mineral oils.

You're right that naphtha is a good cleaning solvent, though.

However, if your system works for you - you've probably done it this way for many years - who am I to argue? Go for it. Plenty of guitar players use it, despite my very, very bad result using it as a young player.

I'd use boiled linseed oil (they used to condition fretboards and rosewood necks with it in Private Stock, followed with a sealer of some kind, maybe it was Behold, and still might, or the PRS Tung Oil).

But this is why I never buy used guitars any more. Ya just never know what the previous owner did to the darn things!

I've never experienced that softening you're describing. Haven't noticed any change at all.

This is the product I use:

https://imgur.com/L0JurDe

I did find this article on using the right oil. He says to avoid olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sesame oil, etc., because, he says, they have a shelf life and will go rancid. That makes sense.

Your Guitar is Not a Salad

If you're going to oils your guitar's fretboard, at least use the right kind of oils

www.guitaranswerguy.com

 

[László]

I've never experienced that softening you're describing. Haven't noticed any change at all.

This is the product I use:

https://imgur.com/L0JurDe

I did find this article on using the right oil. He says to avoid olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sesame oil, etc., because, he says, they have a shelf life and will go rancid. That makes sense.

Your Guitar is Not a Salad

If you're going to oils your guitar's fretboard, at least use the right kind of oils

www.guitaranswerguy.com

That's the type of oil that really did ruin a fretboard of one of my guitars. I could literally scrape a fingernail lightly across the board and wood came off. If that isn't happening to you, it's great, party, bonus!

 

[Lewguitar]

That's the type of oil that really did ruin a fretboard of one of my guitars. I could literally scrape a fingernail lightly across the board and wood came off. If that isn't happening to you, it's great, party, bonus!

If that's what happened, then that's what happened. All there is to it.

Thank goodness it's never happened to me!

From what I've read, NO mineral is derived from vegetable products: olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sesame oil...

Mineral oil is a petrol product regardless of whether it's food safe or not. And petrol products don't go rancid.

Correct?

 

[ViperDoc]

Salmon oil is high in Omega 3s. Smells great when applied, and even better each week after that.