Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

This has been a source of some agony over the years for me and I am on a campaign to see it removed from ALL guitar cases in the world.

This product is 100% silicone !!!

Nothing will remove this stuff!

Paint will not stick to it ,so touchup work is a nightmare
Refinishing has the same headache!
Inlays and frets come loose and can be removed using your finger nail!
It soaks into the wood and migrates...It causes binding to not stick if it comes loose.

It also soaks into the pores of your skin....Anyone heard about silicone breast implants and leakage?

I for one do not want to have this stuff in my body....and not on any of my guitars.

When asked to repair a guitar ,I always look inside the case pocket for this stuff.
If I find it I will NOT usually work on it .Sorry ,but I don't need the headache.
If I am asked to refinish /touchup a guitar and immediately get the silicone reaction....then I hand it back to them and say..........Sorry ,and here is your bill anyway for my time .

DON'T USE THIS Stuff on guitars.PLEASE!!!!!!

Silicone does have it's place ,just not the way perscribed by the makers /sellers /and distributers of this product.

By the way....I find this stuff pooled under frets along with lemon oil all the time .

All of these cases have loose frets .....ease off on the oiling of the fretboards and stay away from F.-E.

Just wondering; do you not recommend conditioning of the neck with lemon oil at all? I never use Finger-Ease but I have a '97 PRS and a '70 ES 335 that the rosewood has a tendency to look and feel very dry unless I apply it about once per month. I don't soak the fret board with it but just wipe it on until it has a slight luster. But, if from your experience it is more detrimental than good, should I do it less frequently or not at all?

From the book---"Understanding Wood Finishing " by Bob Flexner .....

Lemon Oil is an oily mineral spirit solvent with a lemon scent added.This is a very short lived maintenance product.It is a furniture polish that will help to pick up dust and add tempoary shine/luster to a dull surface,and help to reduce scratching ...until it evaporates-which it does within a few days.The fresh lemon scent is in large part it's appeal.

Part two-If lemon oil were really made from the tiny amount of oil in a lemon,not only would the price be EXORBITANTLY high ,it would sky rocket every time there was a freeze in Florida.

Now to directly answer your question ...from my personal experience,I used to apply this stuff to EVERY guitar with a rosewood or ebony fretboard every time one touched my bench .
I stopped doing this about 6 years ago after I removed the frets from an SG -Gibson and poured out the goo from the fret slots.I don't know what all was put on that particular neck but I only apply "Old English" Scratch cover to any guitars and I do it sparingly.

MYTH: furniture polishes replace the natural oils in wood (or feeds the wood)

FACT: There are NO natural oils in common furniture woods and they don't need feeding.Only a few exotics,such as rosewood and teak,contain oil and the oil in these woods doesn't need replacing(especially not with petroleum oil)In fact,the oil in these woods causes problems for the finish .In any case the purpose of the finish is to keep liquids,such as oil,soft drinks,persperation and water out of the wood.If your finish is in good shape,furniture polish should not be able to get to the wood at all.

In the caes of Gibson and Martin (etc.) instruments that do not have finished fretboards...the oil from playing it should be all it needs .

I "lube" my own guitars twice a year at best .Once when I turn on the furnace and at the end of the cold season when I clean my fretboards and restring them and then I apply scratch cover to them.They look good for about 2 weeks and then I get the same old look that I had before.

It's really only a 'Placibo' for guitarists.

MOST fretboard treatments are a waste of time and money.If you want to give it that 25 year old oily smooth look ...try this .

One coat of 'OLd English Scratch cover' ,and one coat of Johnson&Johnson Paste Wax (yellow tin ) then rub out and this looks and feels great .

Last as long as the wax and won't hurt anything.