Dry imitation rosewood fingerboard on kit guitar
I built a guitar kit from pitbull guitars recently. The imitation rosewood fretboard has seemed dry no matter how much lemon oil I put on it. Does anyone have any experience sealing imitation rosewood? Will polyurethane or tung oil finish take when I've already soaked it in lemon oil?
I know rosewood/imitation rosewood is traditionally oiled not finished, is there a reason for this other than preference? I prefer maple necks anyways so I wouldn't mind it being finished.
Has anyone found a solution for dryness on that period of kits with fake rosewood? I only got it because the kit I wanted (30" scale bass VI) didn't come with another option.
Posted Mar 7, 2020, 6:47 PM UTC
11
You are using the wrong kind of oil. There are two types that you can use: "drying oils" and non-drying oils. Drying oils don't actually dry like lemon oil does. They form a film that hardens with oxygen: e.g. linseed, walnut, tung oils. Mineral oil and a few others never dry, but make a nice finish for some types of wood. I used it on a non-figured maple neck and look and feel are great. The two don't play well with each other. Pick one and stick to it.
I'm not sure how urethanes hold up, but the tung should be just fine. Lemon oil evaporates leaving little residue, but it's there. You might overdo the first coat and wipe as much off as you can, in hopes that what oil is left soaks into the new oil and is wiped away. If it no longer smells lemony at all, I wouldn't bother.
Oiling brings out the figuring and flame of the wood. I would never varnish a neck because I don't like the feel when playing, but that has nothing to do with rosewood. I suspect that it's purely preference and tradition.