National Electric Hawaiian

Mark MacKenzie · Post by **Mark MacKenzie** » 25 Nov 2008 7:48 am

I have cleaned up this EH and was wondering if I should leave the fretboard un-finished. It is soaked with lemon oil and nice and dark rosewood but I was wondering if I should put a finish on it. Maybe Tru-Oil? Should I avoid high gloss?

Other consideration is the binding was missing so I re-bound it with material from Elderly or somewhere that is bright white. I was hoping a finish would make it more yellowish, to look true to the guitar's age of 73 years.

Wow, 73 years. First time I did the math. Its a 1935 I think.

What do y'all think?

Mark

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 25 Nov 2008 12:47 pm

Mark! Where's da pics, Boss?

Mark MacKenzie · Post by **Mark MacKenzie** » 26 Nov 2008 8:36 am

Thanks, John.... Pictures as requested...

Mark

Hope this shows the unfinished fretboard. I had to scrap alot of crud off it.

So now wondering if it should be glossy.

Any preferences out there?

Thanks,
Mark

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 26 Nov 2008 8:55 am

I think GOOD lemon oil every time you change your strings would be the correct thing to do. You could burnish it. Let me see if I can find the thread on another forum where I described how to do that. The guy was very pleased with the results.

Found it! I'm jmiles over there:
http://www.guitarseminars.com/gs/viewtopic.php?t=2470

Mark MacKenzie · Post by **Mark MacKenzie** » 26 Nov 2008 9:31 am

Thanks, John. I think I will try that. Good, interesting link!

Mark MacKenzie · Post by **Mark MacKenzie** » 26 Nov 2008 9:35 am

Anybody know if these were finished originally?

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 26 Nov 2008 10:09 am

A friend of mine that builds and restores violins says that a good thing for fingerboards is "intestinal lubricant", i.e. the mineral oil that they sell in drug stores that is safe for people to drink. I've been using it for years on fingerboards, both rosewood and ebony. It is good to not let them dry out. Especially steel guitars, that never get hand oil on them. Just coat it up, let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes and then wipe off the excess. Seems to work fine.

Tom Pettingill · Post by **Tom Pettingill** » 26 Nov 2008 10:39 am

Mark, thats a sweet old National

I can't say for sure, but my best guess is that the fretboard was not originally finished.
For cleaning and conditioning a rosewood board, I've been liking the Ernie Ball Wonder Wipe Fretboard Conditioner. Its a blend of a bunch of different natural oils and comes packaged as a handy pre moistened towelettes.
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=421149

Rich Hlaves · Post by **Rich Hlaves** » 26 Nov 2008 10:53 am

I looked at one at the MOMM steel guitar exibit a couple of weeks ago. I believe the board was not finished. Mineral oil, lemon oil, Linseed oil, teak oil all work fine from my experience. That is one fine geetar!

RH

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 26 Nov 2008 11:02 am

I'm sure it wasn't finished when it was new. Rosewood is a very oily wood, and doesn't need a finish when used as a fretboard,

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 26 Nov 2008 12:23 pm

You have that guitar looking very nice!

Mark MacKenzie · Post by **Mark MacKenzie** » 26 Nov 2008 1:13 pm

Thanks Y'all! It sounds really good to my ears, too. Rick Aiello fired up the big horse shoe magnet under the blade pickup. Hat's off to him.

Cool thing about this guitar is that it is all metal so it is completely shielded. The blade pickup with the single coil doesn't hum a bit!

Thanks for all the good suggestions!

Mark

Richard Shatz · Post by **Richard Shatz** » 26 Nov 2008 5:53 pm

That thing is so sweet looking, i wouldn't use anything other than Maiden Oil. Very hard to find when you're my age.
But seriously folks, any kind of good wood oil will be fine on the fret board.

Jim Konrad · Post by **Jim Konrad** » 3 Dec 2008 10:01 pm

This is a very cool place.....

http://www.notecannons.com/

Lynn Oliver · Post by **Lynn Oliver** » 3 Dec 2008 11:57 pm

Real lemon oil (not lemon-scented oil) and citrus oil are both acidic and can corrode the fret wire, which is why Martin doesn't recommend using either one.

There are petroleum distillates in lemon-scented oil, which are OK in moderation, but "soaked" sounds like too much. Too much--over time--can undermine and loosen bindings and inlays.

In truth, almost anything used sparingly, with the excess wiped off, is probably fine if you like the way it looks. The best stuff I've found for fretboards on "regular" fretted instruments is bore oil, also sold as Fret Doctor.

I would not recommend putting anything on top of the lemon oil that would seal it in. Let it bleed off for a while.

Danny Bates · Post by **Danny Bates** » 4 Dec 2008 1:12 am

I have the Dobro version of that guitar... Mine looks everyday of 73 years. I love it. I'd like to get Rick to recharge my magnets. Was it a hastle to take apart?

My fingerboards are unfinished.

Justin Hughes · Post by **Justin Hughes** » 4 Dec 2008 6:09 am

I agree with Lynn. Avoid lemon oil. The other oils suggested should work fine. Once or twice a year, depending on use, I use rubbing alcohol and a cotton rag to clean the dirt, sweat, buildup from the fretboards of my guitars. I let them air dry, lightly coat them with oil and let them sit for an hour or so before wiping off the excess. Works well for me.

Mark MacKenzie · Post by **Mark MacKenzie** » 4 Dec 2008 6:22 am

Danny, mine has easy access to the electronics. Back plate has three screws. The magnet is horse shoe shaped, not to be confused with the Ric horse shoes. The two ends rest in contact with the blade which goes through the coil and the blade is adjustable in height. The magnet is held in place by a little bracket and screw.

Short answer is that the magnet can come out without disturbing anything else.

Its really a pretty ingenious pickup and would be easy to replicate in a home made guitar.

Since my coil was missing, I re-wound a new one. I used #42 wire. I tried #38 which was recommended but it was too large to fit.

So the #42 wire wound to around 7 kohms sounds really good. Brighter than some might like but full thick bottom end.

The magnet was very dead according to Rick and he juiced it back up. Huge improvement thanks to Rick Aiello!

Mark

Mark MacKenzie · Post by **Mark MacKenzie** » 4 Dec 2008 6:30 am

Jim,

Thanks for the great link!

Mark

Lynn Oliver · Post by **Lynn Oliver** » 4 Dec 2008 9:25 am

Justin Hughes wrote:I agree with Lynn. Avoid lemon oil. The other oils suggested should work fine. Once or twice a year, depending on use, I use rubbing alcohol and a cotton rag to clean the dirt, sweat, buildup from the fretboards of my guitars. I let them air dry, lightly coat them with oil and let them sit for an hour or so before wiping off the excess. Works well for me.

Alcohol can damage some finishes, especially those found on vintage instruments, so be careful when using it. I would suggest starting with a damp cloth, and if something stronger is needed go to quaternary ammonia (Formula 409) sprayed on a rag. If that still won't remove all the crud, then use naptha (lighter fluid), with proper ventilation.

Justin Hughes · Post by **Justin Hughes** » 4 Dec 2008 1:39 pm

Alcohol can damage some finishes, especially those found on vintage instruments, so be careful when using it.

Good point, Lynn. Thank you. That said, one of my main guitars is a recent Korean Epiphone Sorrento. I took 400 grit sandpaper and steel wool to the whole thing and gave her a nice coat of Rustoleum flat black. It's the guitar equivalent of the beater pickup truck. With all the bourbon and blood this thing has seen rubbing alcohol is the least of its worries!

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 4 Dec 2008 6:59 pm

Justin, it sounds like your Epi has "character"

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National Electric Hawaiian

National Electric Hawaiian

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