How do I go about waxing my bass?

I've seen loads of people use boiled linseed oil,did Roger Sadowsky mention any particular type of wood that lemon oil has this effect on buster?
 
Buster Mudd said:
I always used to use Lemon Oil on my fingerboards, until I came across this passage posted by luthier Roger Sadowsky back in 1996 on The Bottom Line:

"I have always found lemon oil (as in
Old English) to make boards dry out faster than if left alone. After
24 years of this, I still like linseed oil the best. "
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It becomes a matter of preference in the end. I personally prefer utilizing Lemon Oil on my fretboards while Mr. Sadowsky prefers Linseed Oil. I do respect his opinion, but I stick to the Lemon Oil because it has worked perfectly for me always.
 
Be careful with linseed. Many furniture, gunstock & cabinet makers stay away from linseed oil due to the fact that in many cases it never cures (dries) completely and leaves the surface gummy.

Dan Erliwine, a guitar tech who has written several books and who I respect a lot, uses the lemon oil.
 
Malk said:
am i the only one using olive oil? :shock:
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Don't mean to offend you. I totally respect your decission on using olive oil, but you set me up for this joke: "Are you making some sort of salad?"
 
hahah man i tried to take a bite but that fingerboard is harder than my teeth :(
 
Malk said:
am i the only one using olive oil? :shock:
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Add some balsamico vinegar and a few basil leafs ... there you go ... a perfect Warwick caprese. :lol:
 
odominguez said:
Malk said:
am i the only one using olive oil? :shock:
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Don't mean to offend you. I totally respect your decission on using olive oil, but you set me up for this joke: "Are you making some sort of salad?"
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Makes perfect sense if you boil the strings as well, called efficency, two jobs, half the time :lol:
 
anyone any comments on applying wax with the hand rather than a cloth - seems easier to me (especially under the strings - yes i'm lazy), or am I overstepping the mark and entering a whole new world of unnatural instrument bonding - perhaps there's another forum for this post? :oops:
 
G'day Walter.
I've used my hands to apply wax but I found doing it this way makes it a bigger job than it needs to be.The cloth soaks up excess wax as you apply it making the buffing step alot easier & quicker.Applying the wax with your hand puts a bit too much wax on making rubbing it off alot harder.I usually wrap the cloth around my finger to get wax under strings & all the other small spaces & found that buffing it off vigorously & working some friction into the dried wax makes for a very desirable effect.
Good luck matey.
 
With the weekly wax, do you need to remove the strings?

I had originally planned a thorough wax with each string change, but after reading these posts this doesn’t seem to be frequent enough. Is it a problem if you get a bit of wax on your strings, and just wipe them clean?
 
I just wipe them clean with a clean dry cloth - same goes for any hardware that the wax gets onto. I use the "wrap the cloth around your finger" method for waxing under the strings... and an extra special waxing when I change the strings...

... but then again... I have developed a bit of a waxing fetish!
 
I'm just wondering, I've just bought a second hand warwick, and there is a patch that is a lot lighter than the rest.

I'm wondering if I need to re-oil this section at all?

I was thinking about using acetone to remove all of the wax/oil and start again.

Can anyone recommend a good 'natural' oil to use?
 
thumperton said:
G'day Walter.
I've used my hands to apply wax but I found doing it this way makes it a bigger job than it needs to be.The cloth soaks up excess wax as you apply it making the buffing step alot easier & quicker.Applying the wax with your hand puts a bit too much wax on making rubbing it off alot harder.I usually wrap the cloth around my finger to get wax under strings & all the other small spaces & found that buffing it off vigorously & working some friction into the dried wax makes for a very desirable effect.
Good luck matey.
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Thanks Thumperton - mine's a new $$ - the natural finish swamp ash body feels quite 'dry' so I guess a bit of excess ain't gonna hurt - as the base layers build up (in time) I can see a little going a long way.
 
fompsweeva said:
I'm just wondering, I've just bought a second hand warwick, and there is a patch that is a lot lighter than the rest.

I'm wondering if I need to re-oil this section at all?

I was thinking about using acetone to remove all of the wax/oil and start again.

Can anyone recommend a good 'natural' oil to use?
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Hi fompsweeva!

I assume you're talking about a natural finish rather than a coloured oil finish? I think people have used stuff to remove the wax and start again - a bit outside my experience, but someone will reply, I'm sure. I think Thumbin has done some of this, so try sending him a PM.

For refinishing - some have used linseed oil or tung oil, but most of us just use the Warwick wax, which gives an amazing finish when you've built it up a bit!
 
i've got a stained finish. the top part of my corvette that i rest my forearm on is more glossy cosa the body oils. how do i go about fixing this?

i've alo got splats of cement on my neck as i was fixing back my broken jan2. can i just sand it out and wax it?

my bass didn't come with the warwick wax as mine has a stained finish. is there any other kind of wax other than warwick's that will work for my neck?

also, the tropical climate i'm in tends to give the neck some problems. should i apply something to the neck to keep it dry and then wax it?

gee i do have a lot of questions... thx for the help guys!
 
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