Is Finger Ease bad for your guitar?

[Lewguitar]

I use Hopes or Parker & Bailey Lemon Oil. It's mineral oil (baby oil) with a lemon scent. Those two brands are labeled "non toxic & non flammable". I stay away from the brands that are toxic and flammable. The stuff you buy in the supermarket, like Old English or Formby's, is both toxic and flammable. You have to search for the good stuff. I buy Hopes or Parker & Bailey at McGuckin Hardware in Boulder. We use it for our furniture too.
As I said, it's baby oil (mineral oil) with lemon added. The lemon or citrus additive seems to pull the dirt out of the wood better than straight up mineral oil.

[grumptruck]

I used it for along time. John Petrucci Coats his fretboards with it to the point of it dripping. Not saying much there... He isn't a collector of guitars... he has the latest and greatest of his newest signature guitars... So they might be harmful and he doesn't care.

[GoDrex]

Martin Guitars uses 3 In 1 oil on their fretboards.

[Boogie Bill]

Martin Guitars uses 3 In 1 oil on their fretboards.

Where in the world did you hear that?

Bill

[B2D]

Double-check that lemon oil - most of it isn't "oil" at all, but lemon-scented naptha, which is basically lighter fluid and does nothing good for the long-term health of your fretboard.

This is what i use... http://www.kysermusical.com/product.php?productid=16151 it seems to work pretty well for keeping rosewood fretboards looking good. I only use it every few months or so.

I use naptha only when I'm working on another guitar and need to get some seriously built-up crud off the fretboard. Naptha just dries wood out, and that's not what you want with rosewood.

On the original topic, I used Finger Ease up until a few years ago and never noticed any ill effects.

[grumptruck]

I use dr. Ducks axe wax.

Per Lew's recommendation... to bad I am on his ignore list..

[beandip]

I use a citrus oil based clarinet bore oil. I don't use it for moisturizing or making my guitar easier to play. I do it because rosewood, being oily in itself, still has a tendency to dry out and I try to replenish oils lost to keep it at the natural state. A tiny bit rubbed in, let it sit for a few minutes, then wiped off.

As for finger ease, I don't like it nor to I recommend it. Anything that I can spray continuously on a guitar, I'm not a fan of.

[Jeffrec]

I use dr. Ducks axe wax.

Per Lew's recommendation... to bad I am on his ignore list..

I've been using Dr. Ducks for years. Great stuff. I also use Fast Fret on the strings (not the fretboard)

[DankStar]

Same here. That was the old formula (yellow can) and I still have 1/3 can of it left!

Finger Ease changed the formula and I could tell it was not quite as good as the old. I wrote to them about it and they said they changed it because of environmental issues.

The old stuff did not hurt my 77 Les Paul, the only guitar I owned at the time, one bit. We played places where fans would blow toward the stage and dry the neck sweat out making the strings drag. So all of us in the band used Finger Ease. If I gigged regularly again, I would probably use the new stuff.

Note: The trick is to use it sparingly and wipe a little off with a rag, spreading it out evenly.

makes me wonder - do they still make the fast fret with the wooden handle and the carcinogen-soaked sponge on the end? that stuff was super slick, but smelled like tumors. if you didn't wipe it off with that little rag, it would eat away your callouses.

[beandip]

makes me wonder - do they still make the fast fret with the wooden handle and the carcinogen-soaked sponge on the end? that stuff was super slick, but smelled like tumors.

Yup, sure do. I know a couple of old school 'grassers that swear by it.

[gOgIver]

Question about the Dunlop 65 String cleaner, read it "has teflon" in it. Is that okay for use on a board with a finish?

[Boogie Bill]

Question about the Dunlop 65 String cleaner, read it "has teflon" in it. Is that okay for use on a board with a finish?

I had not heard that. Can you tell me your source?

AFAIK, the 65 String Cleaner is just a light petroleum distillate.

Even if it does have "teflon", it should be fine for a guitar with a finished fingerboard.

Bill

[gOgIver]

I had not heard that. Can you tell me your source?

AFAIK, the 65 String Cleaner is just a light petroleum distillate.

Even if it does have "teflon", it should be fine for a guitar with a finished fingerboard.

Bill

Thanks. On the review section of this page, xEdGexMetalx compares it to Rem oil.

Dunlop Ultraglide 65

[Boogie Bill]

Thanks. On the review section of this page, xEdGexMetalx compares it to Rem oil.

Dunlop Ultraglide 65

I decided to send an e-mail to Dunlop about that. I'll post what they say.

Bill

[RavenMadd]

Had a friend that used olive oil? ........

[Zerberus]

String cleaners (apart from IMO being useless anyway) do NOT belong on non-metal fretboards.

Neither do Food oils (Olive, sunflower, canola, peanut, coconut, .....)

[B2D]

FWIW, for string cleaning only i recently tried the Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes for strings and was pleasantly surprised. They got some stuff off that my Dunlop cleaner did not.

[ErikH]

Ya know, I already mentioned that I use my own skin oil from my forehead during shows if my fret hand sticks. However, I never use those string cleaners. It's as simple as wiping down the strings after I'm done playing. After each gig, after each practice. I used to use Fast Fret but the last time I used it was back in the early 1990's.

Wipe your strings down after playing and you'll never need to spend money on string cleaners.

[Boogie Bill]

Ya know, I already mentioned that I use my own skin oil from my forehead during shows if my fret hand sticks. However, I never use those string cleaners. It's as simple as wiping down the strings after I'm done playing. After each gig, after each practice. I used to use Fast Fret but the last time I used it was back in the early 1990's.

Wipe your strings down after playing and you'll never need to spend money on string cleaners.

All I can say is that in my experience, using a string cleaner is better than simply wiping off the string with a dry cloth. Back in the '70s, I had excellent results with a product called "Tres Amigos" Lemon Oil, as a string cleaner; but they went out of business years ago. The best I've found since is the Dunlop 65 String Cleaner. I suspect that their Lemon Oil would work in this role; and the Duck's Ax Wax is also supposed to be a very good string cleaner, too.

I pour some on a rag, and wipe the strings down. It is especially effective in removing tarnish from 80/20 brass acoustic strings, helping them maintain their bright tone longer.

Again, I don't use Fast Fret, but my bassist does, and he swears by it.

Bill

[357mag]

Double-check that lemon oil - most of it isn't "oil" at all, but lemon-scented naptha, which is basically lighter fluid and does nothing good for the long-term health of your fretboard.

I picked up a bottle of FretDoctor which is only available by the guy who made it on his own site. Although you really don't need to be using it all that much.

No to naptha and I've been informed to say no to lemon oil as well.

The main reason you use Finger Ease is to reduce friction between the strings and your fingers to facilitate playing. Not for cleaning strings or your fretboard.