On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 16:40:58 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

There's been a friendly debate going on in alt.guitar.bass about what sort
of treatment is best for guitar fingerboards, many of which are rosewood.
I've heard lemon oil (which I know is just "flavored" mineral oil) can
actually cause drying out (which I don't understand), and a host of other
theories. I'm interested in opinions from this crowd. The goal is to apply
something that'll remove normal hand dirt, and then leave the fingerboard
somewhat moisturized, but not VERY oily.



well rosewood is pretty oily wood to start with. unless you are
keeping the guitar in some harsh conditions or are cleaning it
regularly with acetone I don't see the need to add oil at all.
depending what kind of instrument this is the finish may affect the
sound, and I'm by no stretch qualified to recommend anything to help
there. as far as cleaning it, something like murphy's oil soap is
probably about right. a film finish like laquer should make it easier
to clean, but again may affect the sound....