My oud is need of a light cleaning and a string change, and I realized I am seeing conflicting information on how to take care of my oud.
I have a beautiful Dimitris oud (that I should post a picture of soon).
I was told by Dimitris recently NOT to use oils and instead to use an instant-drying cleaner. Unfortunately the chemical he showed me was Greek and i
don't know the American equivalent. I saw a recent post about using instrument oils, and even mineral oil. Which is correct? I am inclined to take
Dimitris' advice as he made my oud, but I am not sure what to use. I have been avoiding cleaning it as the conflicting advice has me worried about
damaging my oud.
Thanks everyone!SamirCanada - 5-18-2017 at 09:25 AM
I use pure lemon oil for years. no issues and I find it smells nice and penetrates the wood to protect from drying out.
The thing is however is you want to avoid getting any of it on the bare face wood. It will stain it forever.
so if you have an fingerboard on top of the face area its delicate. almoos - 5-18-2017 at 03:14 PM
Samir could you please tell me if this is the right product for the pure lemon oil
My oud is need of a light cleaning and a string change, and I realized I am seeing conflicting information on how to take care of my oud.
For me there are 2 steps in work:
-- First cleaning means for me to remove dust and dirt. this can be done physically with a pulling blade or a knife if ther is a lot and hard and
dry dirt. The second step is then to use finegrade sandpaper to make smooth surface.
After that procedure the fingerboard is clean.
Also you can use alcohol or may be aceton, but oil is not a cleaning fluid.
-- the second step then is to protect again the fingerboard. Now here is oil needed. There are a lot of variety's which can be used:
- I use a ground oil which is highlyfluid. I use this one. Fluid oil avoids too much remains on the fingerboard and makes it sticky. Let the oil go into the wood for 1-2 hours and then
remoove the rest. You can polish it with a cloth or if you have it with a mashine.
This is how I work now for nearly 40 years now on lutes, guitars and the aoud.
I agree with Mathias, if it's very dirty you need something more to clean such as scraper, alcohol etc... Dr. Oud - 5-25-2017 at 07:41 AM
Cleaning the fingerboard and face can be done with alcohol on a soft cloth or paper towel. This will remove dirt and some oils. I've been using tung
oil to seal the fingerboard because it is supposed to harden the wood after curing. It is slow to dry so take a little longer to apply. If the face
looks too dry it can be sealed with a thin coat of egg white, wiping off the excess and letting it dry.
