fretboard cleaning

[copper blue]

what's the best thing to use for cleaning rosewood? I took ownership of a Fender ******** yesterday and I want to give it a thorough cleaning when I change strings tonight..

[MCChris]

what's the best thing to use for cleaning rosewood? I took ownership of a Fender ******** yesterday and I want to give it a thorough cleaning when I change strings tonight..

Lemon oil.

[AdmiralB]

If it's really cruddy, naptha will clean it up good (lighter fluid). Use a credit card to scrape the schmunda off, then dry the board and apply some oil...'lemon oil' isn't, really. I use woodwind bore oil; linseed oil works too.

[tomteriffic]

What Admiral B said. +1 for bore oil.

[Ethan]

My tech at work told me to use naptha, but a good buddy of mine used linseed oil on my old Jackson with a great result (ebony fretboard). I think the thing with linseed oil is though, that you have to make sure you clean the excess oil off real well.

[AdmiralB]

Linseed oil is a preservative, not a cleaner. Rosewood doesn't really need oiling unless you've cleaned it with something astringent or solvent. Ebony does need oil, once a year is fine. Don't overdo it, because too much can contribute to loose frets.

[Jeff R]

I use peanut butter, smooth not crunchy. Poe taught me that trick.

[Armitage]

I use Lemon oil to clean a dirty fretboard, then the next string change or so I use Light Mineral Oil.

Kim Keller (of Hamer) recomends Light Mineral Oil for fretboards.

[gwayne]

What Admiral B said. +1 for bore oil.

Word!!

Just want to add that bore oil will darken the board slightly, so keep that in mind when using. One of my baords looks like ebony now and I use the bore oil very sparingly and wipe it off quickly.

[thecajunboy]

I'd take the neck off and buff it with 0000 steel wool. It'll polish up the frets nicely and more than likely dig out most of the crud. I'd stay away from the naptha and andy solvents, as they might affect the finish on the back of the neck if it gets there. If it's really cruddy, I'd still do teh steel wool trick, but I'd soak it first with Gerlitz Guitar Honey, or some other fingerboard product meant for oiling them. These are safe for the finishes and provide lubrication and a medium to transfer the grime from the wood to the rag that you'll keep wiping it up with as you go. Now of course you've got some differing opinions here, so you'll have to sort through them and see what you feel most comfortable with and what makes the most sense. As for linseed oil, Dan Erlewine recommends it, but not for cleaning. And he only recommends a specific kind, of which I can't recall, and it's not the one you get from Joe the Nimrod down at Home Depot. I've even steam cleaned a board once. It was on a '66 Jazz Bass that I hade picked up and needed to pull the block inlays out of to do some repair work. I used a household iron to produce the steam and as I was going I noticed how well it dissolved years of somebody else's finger grot. I did the entire board and oiled it afterward. It was a thing of beauty.

Good Luck

[madhatter]

I'm half Italian so my boards stay greasy enough. I do have a bottle of mineral oil that I picked up at one of those kitchen specialty shops in the mall which is used on cutting boards.

Regarding linseed oil, I believe its the raw kind thats recommended as opposed to the boiled variety.

[silentman]

I use lemon oil or lately I have been using the Dunlop 65 guitar care kit. It's got a cleaner in it and also an oil.

[MCChris]

I don't know why I chimed in. Cleaning fretboards, like intonation, is for pussies.

[Brownsound]

Gerlitz Guitar Honey...specifically designed to clean and condition fretboards. I use it and its the absolute shiz, I used to use a very good quality of lemon oil...not anymore.

[guitfiddler]

A little turpentine on a cloth works great, won't hurt anything, incl. adjacent finish. Like Hoppes no. 9, you'll either love the smell, or detest it. Personally, I don't mind either in small "doses." Turpentine has been the universal wood cleaner since the 1800's.

But if you were born after 1970 or so, you likely won't know what turpentine is. It's one of those green and white rectangular metal pint cans that was on your Dad's shop shelves in the cellar. I follow up with a liberal application of Gibshit "Luthiers Choice" fretboard conditioner, containing lemon oil.

[DavidE]

I've had a little bottle of lemon oil that's lasted me 10 or probably more years that I use for rosewood or ebony fingerboards once in a while.

[sirDaniel]

I don't know why I chimed in. Cleaning fretboards, like intonation, is for pussies.

I knew you'de jump in somewhere....

Damn, where's that pic of your studio's pristine shimmer and shine when I need it...

[kurtsstuff]

I use pennzoil 30 wt along with 80 grit paper on my belt sander set on high speed...cuz you don't want to spend too much time doing it..

[Rocktuna]

You guys got it all wrong you never put oil on a fretboard just spill some beer on it and wipe it off with your sleeve. You can use imported if your high brow.

PS: never change the strings either.

[savethematches]

So my method of rubbing alcohol applied with Q-tips isn't good?

[Cheap Chick]

Who cares about cleaning it.. is a ********* a tele or a strat?

[copper blue]

neither....

[Kurt L]

+1 on the Guitar Honey. I like it much better than anything else I've tried.

[mykel]

neither....

jazzmaster? thought you were talking about a jazzmaster or jaguar before. nels cline and all...

michael

[copper blue]

getting warmer...