The 5 Best Fretboard finishing oils (2023 reviews)

The daddario accessories fretboard finishing oil is long-lasting, rigid and fits well with your regular usage like a dream. It is great lemon oil for rosewood fretboard. It is used to hydrate dark wood, unfinished fretboards. It cleans the fret board and moisturizes it adequately. It only takes a little bit and some steel wool. It will clean dirt without lifting the finish. The nice thing it leaves no residue behind,it also reduces the accumulation of finger prints.

These two products will keep your instrument in excellent condition for years to come. It is easy to use. Just rub it on your guitar for a smooth and shiny finish. It is great for cleaning, polishing and conditioning / protecting the wood.

Why We Like This:

Perfect product to let your guitar shine
Has a nice scent to it, and remember a little goes a long way
Excellent wood cleaner and leaves a nice scent
Great, not greasy and does a good polishing

Best Runner up: Jim Dunlop Lemon Oil

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The jim dunlop lemon oil is specially designed for your daily usage and has plenty of most useful features. This bottle is BIG and has a built in applicator and colsure cap. It makes your guitar smell nice and has a great shine. The container has a fabric based top that makes applying the lemon oil to a fretboard similar to using some liquid shoe shine polish applicators. It is perfect for cleaning the freats.

The built in applicator is a nice touch. The amount that this bottle comes with is enough to clean all the guitars on the west coast. It is perfect for cleaning the fretboard and other wood grain on your instrument. This will last a LONG time.

Why We Like This:

Works well and has a nice smell
Lemon oil is excellent for cleaning off grime
Very nice for giving ebony and rosewood fretboards a deep look
Gives a long lasting "new" look to the fret board

Best For playing musician: GHS Strings Fretboard finishing Oil

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If you often find yourself scrambling for convenient and suitable oil, ghs strings fretboard finishing oil should be your first option for buying. String bending and note sliding feel much easier to perform with this product on the strings and fretboard. It works pretty well, and can extend the life of your strings. It really helps make shifting easier, and noticeably brightens the tone.

The Dunlop is also very easy to apply and has a built in applicator on the bottle like most Dunlop products. It'll reduce the noise your strings make when sliding up and down on the neck and it almost gives your strings a coated string feel. It is useful for keeping the strings clean, as well as oiling the fretboard at the same time. It will not dry out, and lasts for years.

Why We Like This:

Makes moving power chords and soloing so much easier
Works great and makes it more playable
Essential tool to extend your string life by 2x or so

Best For daily Use: Jim Dunlop Fretboard finishing Oil

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The jim dunlop fretboard finishing oil is capable of outshining several other oil featured in this list in overall features for the price point. The F-one is formulated using a complex mixture of the finest ultra refined tree and seed oils to clean, condition & protect your fretboard/fingerboard. It cleans totally and quickly, restoring the finish to its original luster. It can be used by high-end repair shops.

Why We Like This:

Premium quality cleaner and conditioner used by high-end repair shops
Natural oils ultra-refined to clean, condition, and protect
Of any lemon oil extracts, waxes, petroleum distillates, silicone, and water

Best scent: Colortone Fretboard finishing Oil

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Pure linseed and mineral oils have been traditional fingerboard preservatives, but they don't dry completely hard, often leaving a sticky playing surface. The Colortone fretboard finishing oil combines the nourishing benefit of traditional linseed with special dryers. The fretboard looks great and feels smooth, never sticky. The Fretboard finishing oil keeps new rosewood and ebony looking good, feeling new and playing great.

Why We Like This:

Preserves and beautifies fingerboards and bridges, leaving a smooth non-sticky feel
Restore a like-new appearance and smooth feel to sanded wood
Won't loosen or stain inlays, frets or bindings
Unfinished fingerboards and bridges benefit from special protection