How To Clean, Oil & Condition Your Guitar's Fingerboard

[@royhsieh4307]

i always trust a guy with shiny head when he teaches us how to make our guitars shiny.

[@vsnakepit]

Hahahahah Omg! You made my day 😂

[@henri.stach1208]

I bet he oils his head every day

[@sheepkillindog]

Consistency

[@davidnee]

Mr. Clean!

[@cashway0420]

He's definitely got more of a gloss finish than a satin finish on that dome

[@grzegorznt666]

It's nice that Gibson places their own product but just the same give you the tips how to get substitute for it. It's professional approach IMHO...

[@jonnyz5772]

i appreciate advice from a Gibson factory luthier rather than a random blogger - thanks, Gibson!

[@fretboarder4752]

Why doesnt gibson treat their fretboards when they come off the line at final setup? i see so many guitars even customshop in stores with really dry as sticks boards..

[@seanbarrett1678]

YES! I have four different Gibsons and each one comes brand new with dry as straw fretboards!

[@matthewajello1299]

@@seanbarrett1678 that’s more or less the dealers fault, the temperature change and the guitar sitting in the store dries it out

[@seanbarrett1678]

@@matthewajello1299 ehhh, perhaps. But my last guitar was made in January and I got it in April so there wasn’t really much time for it to dry out. In any event, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Changed strings, oiled it up and it looked and played fantastic.

[@fretboarder4752]

@@matthewajello1299 so how is the guitar in the video the same as i see in stores and its still in the factory..

[@nickjackson6375]

My 2019 was dry as a bone.

[@PaulKirtley]

Useful, clear, well-produced video. Thank you.

[@vivien1252]

That's a great video. Short, useful, straight to the point, full of pro tips. We need more of this.

[@spideymarino]

Great. Looking forward to the next episode. Thanks.

[@collisw8302]

To the point and incredibly helpful. Cheers Jim!

[@matthewtucker1699]

I love that shirt, I have the white/blue vintage style one but this one would be cool as well Gibson please sell this one too

[@emilioperez8739]

Always love the look of freshly oiled fretboard on my 2018 Traditional. Really brings out the Honey Burst 🤘

[@fawkesandhound]

I like the Dunlop lemon oil, which is ironically not a lemon oil but it’s $5 and made for fretboards so whatever.

[@danielktdoranie]

No “lemon oil” is actually made from lemons, just scented my man.

[@falafeldurum2095]

best "lemon oil" I've ever tried, agree

[@BillyE5150]

None of it really is. It’s just lemon scent.

[@RaccAttacc01]

My favorite is Music Nomad F-One mineral oil. Safest choice for rosewood. Edit: I see you are a man of culture as well. Nice pfp

[@williamsporing1500]

Same…I’ve used Dunlop for years! Don’t use it on maple!!!

[@Panhead49EL]

Mine plays like butter.....because that's what I use on my fretboard. Mmmmm, butter.

[@expocat11]

Haha

[@relevantinformation6655]

Butter is excellent on a toasted finish neck 👍

[@fadeskywards1245]

Mmmmm bu'uh 🇬🇧

[@joshuadcosta5602]

@@fadeskywards1245 wi sum ‘oast an’ crumpe’s

[@cjgreen4331]

lol

[@justinshirley2254]

Thanks again for information Iwasnt aware of.40 years or so of playing and I'm still learning new stuff.Even if I've forgotten more than someone else knows that doesn't mean that they don't know something I don't.

[@christopheraaron2412]

Play the guitar for a long time but never actually took the time to clean it correctly. This is a thorough excellent video at any rate at some point in the future I am going to do it right because my guitar looks like it's been used as a colostomy bag

[@batteryacid1]

colostomy bag is crazy 😂😂😂😂

[@andyr8625]

I love my new Gibson LP,it demands proper care...I wished I'd bought one long ago,truly the best guitars made,period.

[@erichemard7066]

You wouldn’t have said this about 8-10 years back…I don’t know what was up with Gibson but their QA was garbage. I sold all my newer LP of that era and went PRS. Great to see Gibson back in the game, since then I added 4 LP back to the collection…theres still ground to cover but so far 98% of the LP I bought are on point. Don’t be afraid to check out epiphones inspired by Gibson line, freaking killer guitars.

[@alternatune]

THANK YOU for being honest about the lemon oil! I don't recall ever seeing a manufacturer "spill the beans" about their lemon oil product. I know it's a little thing, but witnessing honesty from a major guitar company on KZbin is refreshing as hell....lemony fresh. 😄

[@wrcz]

I didn't even know lemons had oils in them Maybe it's made of Don Lemon...

[@fequalsma8428]

I like listening to him. I personally like Music Nomad F-One Oil compared to any lemon oil. It’s more natural and doesn’t dry up as quickly. I’d like to hear the master luthier talk about pickup height adjustments.

[@stanislavmigra]

Im not a master luthier, but with pickups height I go as follows: too low and you loose strength, too high and you loose dynamics. Find your happy medium ;)

[@davidyoung3974]

Yes, definitely, I agree with you, I use the same stuff as you do. Anything with lemon oil must have some kind of acidity in it, which isn’t going to be any good for the fretboard over time.

[@Gibson45er]

F One oil is magic.

[@StrGzr101]

You answered some of my nuanced questions. Many thanks.

[@irf888]

Strange, someone from Gibson told me several years not to use any type of oil on the fingerboard, he said they always use Gibson pump polish. Wish you had consistent recommendations. And same goes for pickup heights, different recommendations depending on who you ask. Learned to trust my own judgement now. Regards.

[@ultantierney8562]

I was talking to a luthier with 50 years experience a while back. He said rosewood should never be oiled, it contains sufficient oil naturally. He reckons he's seen many fretboards ruined by being oiled. Lot's of conflicting advice out there..

[@irf888]

@@ultantierney8562 Thanks for the reply. I’ve been using the Gibson pump polish on everything now; metal work, fingerboard and body. It works great. Even cleans the pickup covers really well too. Not fond of oils on a guitar any more.

[@DelScully]

@@ultantierney8562 if you want to clean your guitar, use some oil, it will add a bit of shine (making you think its darker and hydrated) but really the only thing that will hydrate your frretboard is the humidity in your room that the guitar is in. If your guitar is in a room with at least 45-60 (50 the best) humidity then you dont got to worry about a thing!

[@wrcz]

@@ultantierney8562 It probably depends... if you live in a very dry climate, I can see it being more necessary

[@williamcammer9211]

Thanks for the tip on the Scotch-Brite pad

[@hawg427]

I use one of those dry to lightly rub the back of my neck to get the stickiness off and the neck plays much smoother.

[@BlibbertyBlobberty]

Imagine if Gibson actually did this BEFORE their guitars left the factory...

[@21sungalute.42]

If they did that you can be sure they'd charge an extra $200 or $300!

[@McDagger90]

Yeah man agree with you there. A LOT of the gibson's I see have super dry fretboards

[@yakfisher79]

I played a brand new ES-335 on Saturday. I had been looking forward to playing it for some time. When I finally got it in my hands I didn’t even want to go plug it in. The fretboard was so dry that when I would bend the strings my fingers sort of skipped across it making an audible sound. There was no smooth bending at all. I ended up not buying it and being disappointed. I didn’t know at the time what the cause was. After watching this video I bet this would not have happened if the fret board had been conditioned.

[@gerdpfeil]

@@McDagger90 That a guitar leaves the factory with a fretboard as dry as possible is actually what you want. If the guitar was manufactured in a moist environment and the fretboard dries out later, that's where fret sprout comes from. That is, if the fret sprout isn't due to the factory cutting corners by selling you guitars with at best half-baked fretjobs.

[@tunesmith7437]

heh heh.....

[@graedwolf380]

This is top notch advice! I also love those "Pro tips". You can tell those simple solutions come from years of experience. Thank you so much for this videos !

[@Harp_and_Guitar_Moving_Forward]

Keep it clean, keep it lean. My acoustic and electric just got back from the lutheir. He was very impressed with the gibson acoustic. Good work fellas

[@eddddddddddededf]

Thank you...Just got my first Les Paul

[@tobiascree6799]

great videos, Jim Decola.Thanks Gibson

[@alexanderdeclercq982]

Thanks, and i just love my LP standard.

[@peteralerich5085]

I polish my frets with Simichrome metal polish. I use one of those metal fret guards you can buy from Stew Mac and a little dab if Simichrome. The rag will turn black but the frets will be super smooth. Been using it on all of my guitars for forty years. Excellent stuff.

[@jorgearcecofre8024]

Best video I found about this topic

[@Guitar_Doctor]

That’s why all the Gibson’s I’ve bought new have dry fretboards

[@northernlefty5412]

How about Gibson ships their guitars without crazy dry fretboards for a change?

[@american_psycho1147]

Never would have thought of using baby oil on a fretboard but if Jim says it's good then I'll try it. He certainly knows what he's talking about and I trust him

[@ratsneststudio6963]

Well if it is safe to use on babies

[@solan417]

I think Jim needs his own youtube show !!!

[@darphbobo55]

I could listen to Jim Decola all day lol

[@Tonetwisters]

My brother was a Gibson dealer in Tallahassee back during the early '70s ... We would use boiled linseed oil or Watco furniture oil back then. I still have the can of linseed oil! But I graduated to Formby oils later on for my personal guitars, which was excellent. Unfortunately, Formby products are no longer made. Fret Doctor made a pretty good oil.

[@jessehutchings]

Thanks for the educational video! I requested a new guitar fret board be treated before shipping out bc I've heard they foreign manufactures can be dirty and wanted to review the process of what was actually done for it. Looking forward to a squeaky clean smooth fretboard

[@fivemountains2224]

Thank you very much, I now know how to take care of the fret-board !!

[@liamfolan607]

This guy is one of the best guitar builders thanks for the video

[@JohnGalt539]

Re-wet as needed was the advice I got from my father on my wedding day.

[@FreedomIsntFree-gd2hg]

😂....you doughnut...

[@joeyvanostrand3655]

Also, don't let an awkward fart (or queef) ruin the moment. Keep on truckin'.

[@maksimsmuizininks2365]

Thanks a lot, very informative and concise!

[@darrenlock]

That was Mark Agnesi’s toothbrush...

[@bkozlo09]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@milesoneal3939]

Bobby at Clark Music in Atlanta turned me on to using clarinet bore oil years ago. It works great on rosewood, etc. Nomad F1 seems to work well, too.

[@tardwrangler]

Respect for giving alternatives

[@penguinista]

Thank you! Excellent video.

[@mikebrookfield]

Good work Gibson!

[@conorbuescher5755]

Great tips and advice, thanks.

[@jeffreyhughes9162]

90s Gibson fretboards are so beautiful. The figuring in the rosewood is almost like looking at a flame top. The post 2000 boards seem to be more bland and uniform. I also barely need to ever oil my 90s fretboards.

[@OrangutanTradeSalesmen]

Just got a 97 Sg special. The rosewood fretboard has a crazy striped wood grain texture. It's awesome

[@svgitana2499]

I don’t know why but I love this video! 😊 I’ve watched it about a thousand times! lol

[@jasonsapp792]

Great video.. thanks Jim DeCola!

[@gabrielgordillo8610]

Gibson Tv podrían subtitular sus videos al español y otros idiomas para que mas gente del resto del mundo pueda entender sus videos, Fender lo hace. Saludos!!

[@bamber119]

Thats a great and all but how often should you do this?

[@bisonfacelove]

usually about every six months, or whenever you see fit

[@theotherside001]

Thanks Jim !

[@martin.ilek_bassplayer]

Thanks for the great video!

[@kingsleyzissou5881]

thanks, and what a beautiful SG

[@2550marshall]

Funny all these complainers about how dry the boards are when new. I have owned a Fender and PRS that were dry new as well. My wild guess would be they either don't because they don't know exactly the final destination of the guitar or they like to allow the user to define how much they want. Thanks Gibson, for allowing me to make my own decisions.

[@northernlefty5412]

thanks for the choice? Yeah, cause we all want dry brittle fretboards that look and feel like shit. Ive played cheap Fenders and Ltd guitars with properly conditioned fretboards and the two PRS I own had adequately conditioned fretboards from factory. Gibsons are notorious for dry as a desert fretboards and it doesn't do the buyer any favors

[@jeremywindham1373]

Very good information to know

[@The_Lord_Of_Confusion]

cool, thanks for the education!

[@jerryjin3427]

Can I change the inlays (superglue the new inlay and pore fill the tiny gaps around the dots) after I oil the fretboard? How long should I wait before the fretboard is dry enough for the pore filler and the glue to sit?

[@R4N2Jz]

Great tutorial thanks!

[@craigpetterson3962]

Thank you.

[@michaelp9061]

I just did it on my epiphone. Instant smoothness.

[@bimwopbarn47]

super good, thanks

[@bobbichn6629]

I followed a similar process but then upon playing started getting white residue I’m assuming from scratching up where I oiled. Assuming I didn’t let it sit long enough and didn’t dry thoroughly so hopefully today I follow this and it goes better!

[@MrKeerazy]

Nice! Keep them coming :)

[@TheMoneyMakingMentor]

Great job

[@agustinmariapardo9832]

Hello, how do you maintain and clean an ebonol fretboard? Waht do you recommend?

[@themismatchlounge]

Legend has it that Jim uses Gibson Fretboard Conditioner on his head every night before bed

[@jefftracystoutenburg5315]

That is a beautiful guitar

[@raulromo7930]

amazing series, would be nice to hear JIM talk on how to set pickup heights and also how to make a full setup for our Gibsons i currently own 4, so i will be pretty useful

[@edreed5571]

Doubt

[@cvfunnsixspeed9213]

He has a video on that.

[@bonniedust3452]

Good info. You even hold your little finger up on the headstock like I do.

[@InfamousPeanut]

Thumbs up for outright stating 'They are all mineral oil products.' Thank you Gibson for taking a stand and being honest.

[@JustinWilliam82]

That's it boy, get in there nice & deep like..

[@impetiousdoom]

Great video thank you 😎

[@jp3rd516]

Good stuff, but my new Les Paul has a richlite fingerboard. Should i use lemon oil for that or clean it the same way?

[@wonderwalls3565]

Question for the master lutheir: how to keep the Gibson in tune?

[@larryburwell8550]

Jim, ive watched your factory tours and videos for several years and you do a great job i must say. ive played les pauls since my first standard in 1976, a tobacco sunburst. i use lemon oil on my les paul fretboards for ever. i have a question!!! my les paul 1976 has sunburst back, sunburst neck and headstock. why did gibson stop doing this. ok expense but why not keep the beauty like it was. ive got many les pauls my latest 50s reissue has plain back and is just so plain. whats the chance of the sunburst backs and neck and headstock in the future?????

[@michaelrichardson2359]

Hi Mr. Decola, I’m using your video as a guide to oil down my fretboard. It hasn’t been done since I bought my Epiphone Dot back in 2010 from a pawn shop in Queens N.Y. I like the idea of your leather cut out to protect the body, but for now I’ll use masking tape over the pickup and around that area. I’m using Dunlop 65 fretboard lemon oil, a toothbrush to get in between the frets and a microfiber cloth to wipe on and wipe off. My one question is; do I oil down the fretboard before polishing the frets, or polish the frets first before oiling down the fretboard, or does it matter? Thanks for your video, I’ll recommend it to my friends who are anxious to see how this project turns out so they can do the same.

[@STBRetired1]

I wonder if we should "oil" a wooden guitar bridge? It looks pretty dry on my new cheapie Mitchell Auditorium Acoustic-Electric. How about misting some kind of oil inside an acoustic-electric guitar. Perhaps a lemon oil? Would that keep the wood healthy and prevent hazing?

[@WysteriaGuitar]

I've never oiled the fretboards of my guitars as I do not feel it's necessary as long as they are properly humidified. Of course my hands do not sweat acid like some people so I'm pretty easy on my boards. Thoughts? Is this really necessary?

[@rocketgamer1351]

Nice video man, I had a question can we put mustard oil?

[@markej4801]

Excellent explanation of the how and why of this important function. How often should this be performed? Thanks!

[@antoinebrodeur8357]

I do it each 6 months

[@Synathidy]

Never. I've never oiled my LP's rosewood fretboard once in 15 years. Still feels and looks new. I just wipe it down with a clean, dry cloth.

[@graemero5532]

Cheers Gibson

[@11ccom]

Good stuff.

[@lzm82]

Hopefully someone can help me out; what should be the correct sequence to clean? a) fret wire polish b) fretboard cleaner c) fretboard conditioner also, does the same steps apply to richlite or HPL fretboards?

[@richardpchaseii5084]

Does this apply, irregardless of whether the fretboard is rosewood, maple or ebony?

[@DanielpaulZ]

Good video. I'm Not Sure where I can find a synthetic steel wool in my area. Is a scotch bright sponge instead ok? ( those sponges used for washing dishes)

[@Peter-pv4fx]

What is the black fretboard wood on an 78 Les Paul Custom? Is that ebony? And would I also be able to use the Gibson fingerboard oil for that?

[@JanisKlinnert]

I have a Gibson les Paul custom with an unlaquered maple fretboard. How do you clean and condition those? Everybody sort of has different advices and I really don’t wanna ruin my beautiful guitar! Thanks!

[@ephesusofficial1347]

This is necessary but you should do it from the factory also. My sgs fretboard was dry as hell.

[@redrock1963]

Yes my wife is the same....that's right, she's an sg. Ahh......I know what you were thinking.....dirty !

[@JanLawicki]

My brand new gibson had the driest fretboard I've ever seen. Why???

[@amol2086]

This is business :|

[@1peanut]

what to use on Ebony fretboard ?

[@sgoldman9732]

Great !!thank You ,can You talk about pickups height ?

[@gibsonguitar]

It’s coming

[@sgoldman9732]

@@gibsonguitar thank You !!

[@shadrickambojnon2528]

Can i use VS1 bro any advice from a great player thank you

[@biffy18]

Can you use Refined linseed oil?...I am also an Artist who has that around...Also can you use food grade salad bowl oil? I'm nit trying to cheap out but i have bith in my possession

[@victorbalta1402]

You should do another video on polishing the rest of the guitar and hardware maintenance

[@ssalvaterra]

Needed this!

[@richpeltier9519]

Should I clean the frets before or after the fretbaord?

[@guitarz]

Gibby's tone oil... yeah baby!!!

[@immanuelsembiring2366]

I have a Gibson guitar with a rosewood fretboard, I want to clean the fretboard from stubborn sweat crust, but I don't want to clean it by scraping with a cutter blade, or with sandpaper or with steel wool or with Scotch Brite... because I don't want to damage the wooden surface of the fretboard... In your opinion, with a liquid that is safe for wood and a soft cloth, can I clean the fretboard so that the stubborn crust can be removed?

[@Fuaarrkk]

Is it ok to use 100% argan oil? That’s what I’ve been using and it seems to be great.

[@shanecollins1726]

I use murphy's oil soap.....on the body of my guitar.... will this work on my fret board as well....it works, wonders for shine n cleaning.....