Fret Doctor does an extremely good job explaining some of the horrible things that can happen to an instrument if it’s not properly cared for, and I highly suggest taking a few minutes to read his article if you are serious about caring for your guitar.
His website goes through the fret doctors thoughts on many alternative ways to clean or treat the guitar, perticularily products for fret board care, but these products mostly sound scary and almost horror story-ish like tung oil, or shellac. Luckily, he has researched the different types of oils for us, and has designed Fret Doctor, which is exactly the same as Bore Doctor, a formula made for wood wind instruments.
So, what does Fret Doctor do?
Well, his website explains.
- Restores the original natural colour (often darker) to the fret board, giving it life again.
- Replaces air pockets in the wood with the oil. The air pockets are caused by wood either cracking over time, or too rapid of a drying process in the construction stage of the wood. When Fret Doctor goes into those air pockets, it helps set the wood into a steady state that wont crack or twist.
- Repairs and protects small cracks or scratches.
- Preserve the wood and fine tonal qualities of the instrument.
I personally have not tried this, but after researching it, it sounds pretty convincing.
