fretboard cleaning
David Stoodley
In response to the following question, this is what I learned...
>
> I would like to clean the rosewood fingerboard on my guitar. Any
> suggestions??? A friend of mine just wipes it vegetable oil. Is that a
> good idea or is there another/better way???
Thanks Folks
==================================
From:da...@amdahl.com
> Use 4-ought (0000) steel wool and lightly buff the frets and
>fingerboard. Then lightly dampen it with lemon oil and let it soak
>for 15 minutes. ...
I've heard that over-oiling a fretboard actually weakens the wood,
increasing problems with loose frets, and making future refrettings
more difficult. The procedure above would seem to be a good one
for removing heavily built-up crud, but for normal maintenance,
a dry cloth, maybe a little spit now and then....
Danny Smith
========================
From:mheu...@earthlink.net (Mark Heustis)
Use 4-ought (0000) steel wool and lightly buff the frets and
fingerboard. Then lightly dampen it with lemon oil and let it soak
for 15 minutes. Then, wipe clean. Be careful not to get the little
steel wool filings on the magnetic pickups. A better alternative to
the steel wool is to use some of those super-fine 3M wood refinishing
pads (no metal). The neck comes out better than when you bought
the guitar. I've sold many guitars and everyone always commented
on how good a condition the fretboard was in.
==========
From:jor...@aol.com
Most furniture lemon oils are mostly mineral oil with just enough lemon
oil (actually citrus peel oil from the orange juice industry) to make it
smell good. Which is actually good because lemon oil is a much better
solvent than mineral oil and could loosen glue around inlays or frets if
you used 100% citrus peel oil.
I agree that for this application you should stay away from oils
containing silicones.
****** Regards, JACK ******
===============
From: dre...@zot.io.org (Daniel L. Dreibelbis)
actually, as one who works in a hardware store, I would suggest
trying to go to as pure a lemon oil as possible for cleaning, as
many furniture-grade lemon oils are "cut" with silicone additives
that can leave a buildup on the fretboard. A good one that I suggest
to customers is Circa 1850 brand, as it's pure with no silicone -
you can get it in as little as 250ml, and it'll last you a long
time. Any hardware or paint store should carry this product.
(oh yeah, and make sure it's the lemon oil! Circa 1850 brand
uses the same or similar label on a number of their products - I'm
sure you won't want the Heavy Body Paint Stripper.....)
=====================
From: skub...@aol.com
The Guitar Player Repair Guide by Dan Erlewine recommends cleaning a
rosewood fingrboard with a rag dampened with lighter fluid (naptha) to
remove heavy dirt, followed by a gentle buffing with #0000 steel wool on
the wood and frets. Rub with the grain on the wood and across on the
frets, particularly along the edge where much of the dirt collects. Lemon
oil should be applied OCCASIONALLY if the wood seems dry. Wiping the
strings down after playing is obviously a good idea, too.
Michael(NJ)
=======================
From: Pat Ward <pw...@fia.net>
I use Lemon Oil, it's a good wood preservative.
Pat
======================
From: jor...@aol.com
I would be afraid that vegetable oil would go rancid after some time... a
little furniture lemon oil with light rubbing with the 0000 steel wool
will make it like new.
****** Regards, JACK ******
==================
From: abo...@linex.com (Andre Bolen)
Before you go putting Lemon Oil on your fingerboard, you might want to
seek out a classical music shop and buy a small bottle of the oil that is
recomended for old string instruemnts.
The problem with Lemon Oil is that it really doesn't do much to the
wood-- it's just a surface coating that evaporates. Smells nice though,
if you like that sort of thing.
======================
From: Thomas....@cs.cmu.edu
Yes, don't use vegetable oil. It gets tacky after awhile. I always use
lemon oil (you just need a dab). I don't even use the steel wool (you get
little bits of SW all over the place). Just rub hard with an old t-shirt
or
sock (pre-washed, of course), and you'll be able to remove all of the grit.
Works great for me (use on ebony too!).
For maple finger boards, I use standard guitar polish and also rub hard to
get the grit off.
--Tom
================
From: digit <di...@agt.net>
I stumbled on a fantastic solution to this and grungy unfinished maple
neck cleaning... Fast Orange hand cleaner. Great feel, non-toxic, non-
abrasive, doesn't leave whiskers on yer pickups, smells good, and re-
stores unfinished maple to *like new*... try it... you'll see. Use
the non-grit lotion kind... available at any hardware, Wal-mart, etc.
--
"===" TEFKAMB (The Engineer Formerly Known As Mike Baker)
== mailto:di...@agt.net
=== http://www.agt.net/public/digit/digit.htm
=======================
--From: jor...@aol.com
<<<I stumbled on a fantastic solution to this and grungy unfinished maple
neck cleaning... Fast Orange hand cleaner. Great feel, non-toxic, non-
abrasive, doesn't leave whiskers on yer pickups, smells good, and re-
stores unfinished maple to *like new*... try it... you'll see. Use
the non-grit lotion kind... >>>
You have to be careful with this type of cleaning solution. It is a
water-oil emulsion, which means it might have up to 80% water in it....
not to mention a large amount of detergent that can attract dirt & gunk if
left on a neck.
I'm sure it cleans very well, but for a wood neck, a TINY bit of lemon
furniture oil and a clean rag or 0000 steel wool will do the job.
--
If you're not the lead dog, then the view is always the same!
| David Stoodley \ dsto...@calvin.stemnet.nf.ca |
| Inglis Memorial High School \ ph. (709) 258-6311 |
| Bishop's Falls, Nf A0H 1C0 \ fax (709) 258-5943 |
George Kirk u
To clean my fingerboard I use this stuff Gibson makes called Fingerboard
Conditioner. Works like a charm...I just clean in between string
changes...all the strings come off and I put some of this on a
cheesecloth and rub it hard into the fingerboard...you'd think the board
was new, I was VERY happy with the results.
I also purchased some GHS Fast Fret a few weeks ago. I had known about he
product for years, but never got around to using it...All I can say is
TRY IT. Cleaned my strings like you would not believe, restored a good
bit of the tone, and made em feel slick...although some players might not
like that.
Anyhow, just some suggestions from personal experience.
george