Blind-Summit
THE GUITAR PLAYERS COMMUNITY

Dunlop Formula 65 Lemon Oil

Guitar fretboards are a mecca for the dirt and grime from your fingers. Washing your hands before playing, and wiping the strings down after playing will help to reduce this, but sometimes you need to give it a proper spring clean. Dunlop has a product just for this purpose.

This isn’t supposed to be a guide on how to care for your guitar fretboard, but for the purposes of explaining this product, I will cover the basics.

Background

Guitar fretboards are primarily made from rosewood, ebony and maple. These woods are dense and aside from maple, they are left untreated. Maple is normally finished with a very thin covering of varnish or lacquer. Maple is much lower maintenance because of this coating. You can normally use a clean cloth to wipe away the grime around the fret wire, or you can look for a product specifically for maple fretboards. So, for rosewood, ebony and other untreated woods, you should only use a good quality lemon oil.

They Say

"Fretboard 65 is specially formulated to clean away grime and return your guitar’s fretboard to its original luster, quickly and easily. Apply a thin coating using Dunlop’s Dab-O-Matic applicator top, work the gunk free, and wipe clean. It’s that simple. And once the dirt is gone, Fretboard 65 will help keep it away by providing an invisible sealant against stains and moisture. Player tested, tech approved—Fretboard 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil will clean up the mess that the music business leaves behind."

Lemon Oil

Pure lemon oil is contains around 90% of a compound called d-limonene, found in the skins of lemons and oranges. It’s is a strong solvent - meaning that in this form it has the ability to break down glue, paint, grease and wax. Using this on a guitar fretboard could do some bad damage.

Don’t use any products containing silicon or wax. Silicon can damage the wood over time and are best avoided. Wax will block the surface of the wood, and actually encourage more dirt. Furniture polish sprays are also best left in the cupboard. Apart from the fact they they often contain silicone, they can leave a bad finish on the wood. Why risk it?

Dunlop 65 Lemon oil is an evolution of two products; 01 Fingerboard Cleaner and 02 Fingerboard Deep Conditioner so it will clean first and nourish the fretboard afterwards.

How it works

Firstly, you will need to remove your old strings to get proper access to the fretboard. This may also be a good time to fix any problems with worn frets - if you know how to do that.

Unscrew the cap and turn the bottle upside down and give it a bit of a squeeze to get the solution onto the brush applicator. Work parallel to the frets and apply a very fine layer all over the wood, right up to the edges of the fret wire.

I like to leave the solution on for a few minutes so that it can start to work out the grime from the wood. 5 minutes or so should do. Then, take a soft cloth and wipe off each fret thoroughly. You can use your nail, or the edge of a plectrum under the cloth to clean right up against the fret wire - normally where the worst gunk is!

Go over the frets again with a clean part of the cloth, and make sure they are as dry as you can get. Pop on some new strings and you’re done.

In Summary

This is another great product from Dunlop. It smells great and you can see that after it has soaked into the wood - that it looks much better - like your fretboard has been cared for properly. You don’t want to do this each time you change your strings (a good wipe down with a cloth is enough) but it’s worth doing every 8-10 months. Your mileage may vary depending on a number of factors such as how much you play the guitar and the conditions that you store your instrument in. Over-use can cause damage to the wood and may also loosen the fret wire.

The applicator brush isn’t brilliant at getting right up to the egdes of the frets, and also a bit of a task to use it anywhere above the 15th fret. Nothing that you can’t fix with a cloth and a bit of elbow grease. It may be worth buying a toothbrush to help clean off any stubborn grime.

The bottle is 4oz (118ml) and will last you ages. It cost me £5 and I highly recommend it.

Buy this now from: amazon.co.uk