Do You Oil Your Fretboard When You Change Strings?

[Hunter]

Well, do you?

I do, but I might be crazy. None of my guitarist friends, even my band teacher, who plays guitar, and has for quite a while, doesn't. So, can you tell me if I'm crazy?

[thegarehanman]

Every few months I use a damp nail brush and some dish soap to clean the board while the strings are off, then I oil it. I don't oil it every single time I take off the strings though.

[Curtis P]

i oil mine every string change, as well as a small polish

Curtis

[sashimimi]

Yep, lemon oil every time if I have it.

[Primal]

Only once every 2-3 string changes (i.e. twice a year or so -- I play bass). Oiling too much can supposedly be bad, but I suppose if you use lemon oil, it won't hurt it since it evaporates out of the wood fairly quickly.

[Mickguard]

Oil? What's that?

[Nitefly SA]

if i have a bottle of lemon oil on hand/ near by, i'll oil the neck but i won't go out of my way to oil it, no voodoo here

[soapbarstrat]

I'll clean it with a little naptha once in a while, and put a light coat of wax if I do fret-work, and sometimes a steel wool buffing, but have no use for soaking the wood on my guitar with some gummy oil, tone deadening substance.

[Alarung]

Every couple of months, maybe 3x a year.

Certainly not every string change.

[monkey69962000]

my bridge on my semi-hollowbody would move if i took off all the strings at once. so its really hard to oil it.

[croaticum]

I never oiled my fretboard but every once in a while i take 1/4 of a fresh lemon and rub it over the fretboard thatway i get my whole neck cleaned.

I rub it over the neck let it "work" for a few mins and then just wipe it off with a cloth. Thatway i dont have to clean it to often and wood stays clean longer.

[GMan123]

Everytime, with the Dunlop Fretboard cleaner/oil stuff.

[Mattia]

Honestly, I've never, ever oiled a fingerboard in my life. Partly because I can't be bothered to get a hold of any. Clean 'em up with naphta if they're really grungy, and then just play the suckers. Finger oil does the trick just fine and dandy.

[TenderSurrender]

I dont very often clean my fretboard... usually after 2 or 3 string changes, ill completly clean the fretboard and oil it up, but not EVERY time i change the strings

~~ TS ~~

[GodBlessTexas]

I clean mine about once every 6 months for the guitars I play often, and I change strings on them at least once a month if not more often. I use bore oil instead of lemon oil when oiling.

GBT

[Calum_Barrow]

Never done it yet to any of the guitars I own. I clean the fretboard and re-setup every time I change my strings, but I don't use any oils. You only need to put lemon oil on your fretboard once every one to two years anyway. Also, I think people seem to be a bit obsessed with the stuff.