Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

fretboard cleaning


Recommended Posts

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...