Oiling up a 650D

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Wed May 24, 2006 2:29 pm

I'm getting ready to put new strings on my 650D so I thought I'd take the opportunity to give the guitar a good oiling. I have the correct abrasive pad and the tung oil. Just looking for a little advice. I'm assuming the oil goes over the entire guitar, fretboard, neck and all. Do I have to be careful around the frets, chrome and nut? I would think it would be impossible not to get oil all over everything. Thanks in advance

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:40 pm

I would forego the abrasive pad and just use a clean soft cotton cloth to rub the oil into the finish of the guitar. Do the neck and fretboard as well. If it were me, I'd remove the control plate and slip it to one side as I worked some oil into the finish under where it attaches.

Wipe some into the finish; get a nice coating of oil all over the wood. Then wipe it off after a few minutes with another, clean dry cloth.

Wipe off the frets and wipe the TRC, pickups, etc, free of any oil you may have gotten onto them. When your cloth comes up nice and clean, just buff the whole guitar a bit and screw the plate back on.

I say take off the plate simply because it's chrome and it's tough to get the oil off the chrome 100%. It will hang by some wires; just work around them. Treat them gently, though...

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:48 pm

Wow...advice from the expert. I feel so special

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help. How long after oiling should I wait before restringing?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:07 pm

Just wipe it till it feels nice and dry (non-oily or sticky). It should buff up a bit, too as the oil dries.

Then string it up, right away.

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:43 pm

Paul, is the RIC cloth okay for this type of job, or should I use the same type of terricloth "disc" I use with Zymol?

blueflamerick · Post by **blueflamerick** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:37 pm

Paul, do you recommend pure tung oil, or a turpentine mix? I imagine that a pure tung oil application would take a day or two to dry.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu May 25, 2006 3:32 am

I'd recommend thinning it a bit with mineral spirits before rubbing it in. I don't use turpentine because of the fumes and the inhalation danger.

You can use the guitar as soon as it feels non-sticky (remember to wipe it down after oiling). You can also build up coats, but don't go to extremes.

It's hard to give drying times, because each case is a bit different and there are so many brands of tung oil. Some have driers added, others don't.

You could try a test piece to evaluate drying times. If things are going too slowly, visit your local art supply store and buy a small bottle of "Cobalt Drier". It'll be in the oil paints section. Add a few drops of this per ounce of tung oil, and a bit of spirits, too. This will make a blend that will dry quicker.

I like Minwax Tung Oil. It's ready-blended and also has some wax added to the blend. I also like Watco's Danish Oil (natural color version), another popular blend. Both can be found at paint stores and home centers.

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Thu May 25, 2006 7:23 am

I borrowed the tung oil from my parents. Evidently it's quite old because it's hard as a rock.
Rats....I had the guitar all prepped to go too.
My wife had bought some for me a couple months ago but all they had were the large cans that cost like $15 so when I saw the can over at my Mom's house I had her take it back.

EDIT:
BTW, this is the Minwax brand. Can this just be reheated to melt it? On second look it's not hard as a rock, just very congealed maybe and maybe just on top.

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Thu May 25, 2006 11:43 am

Never mind.....I heated it at a low temp and it melted.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Thu May 25, 2006 11:52 am

I'll be very interested to hear how it goes, Rob. I haven't seen the need to attack my 650D yet but it's in the wind, I reckon.

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Thu May 25, 2006 4:49 pm

Well bud, it went OK I guess considering I didn't really know what I was doing. I don't have a nice workshop so I had to lay it on the floor on towels, the stuff is very tacky so it's not real easy to wipe off. It's probably a good idea to remove the control plate like Paul suggests but then of course it's a pain in the butt watching out for that so it doesn't ding anything. I wrapped mine in a towel. I removed the TRC also. I always worry about removing screws though. You never know when you're going to strip some threads or lose a screw or something, but it went OK. The tung oil gets on the chrome so that's kind of a pain also. But it looks real nice. I did end up using the abrasive pad but just ever so lightly. Anyway, overall I'm very happy. All I've got to say is that you've really got to love your guitar to go to all that trouble

On another note, and I'm very embarrassed to admit this, this was the first time I'd ever strung a guitar. I felt like a total moron! I have fat fingers to begin with and I see about as well as Vince the Mole on the old Deputy Dogg cartoon so it was quite an adventure. The wound strings aren't too bad but the others were brutal. Talk about a humbling experience

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu May 25, 2006 6:18 pm

The stuff was sticky because it was old and you rejuvenated it. Chances are that it was barely usable.

I'd advise fresh stuff and a bit of mineral spirits next time, or for anyone who's going to be doing this in the future. Goes on and buffs easier.

Glad it worked out OK for you, though, Rob!

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Thu May 25, 2006 6:28 pm

Oh, wonderful....I could have gone without knowing that

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri May 26, 2006 3:57 am

Well, I hate to sound like a smart@ss, but...would you put old, corroded strings back onto your guitar?

Finishes are tricky and involve (as you found out) chemistry, a certain amount of care and patience, and a good deal of preparation, and that includes boning up on what you are about to do.

Chances are, if the guitar doesn't still feel sticky after a few days, you are OK. If it does continue to feel sticky, just wipe it down with some mineral spirits and re-do it, this time with fresh materials. No biggie.

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Fri May 26, 2006 5:48 am

No you don't sound like a smart@***...just someone who knows what they're doing

It never was sticky. Just a little tacky (and maybe that's not the right word) during the wiping down phase. Once it was wiped off it felt fine, and it looks and feels fine now. It's like when you wax your car and there's that slight friction until it's wiped off. I thought I boned up pretty well but I guess Murphy tried to get into the picture, as usual. Thanks for your assistance though. I really appreciate it.