Neck crud remover?

[hamerhead]

Lighter fluid? Simple Green? Straight ammonia?

Gotta de-crud the Gretsch neck. What is it that doesn't eat away the good parts?

[Uncle Thor's Hamer]

On the fretboard or the back of the neck?

I'd start with a damp or slightly wet and slightly soapy dish towel. If that doesn't take it off, Dunlop 65 cleaner on everything but the fretboard. Acetone works on my Ovation acoustics and solid bodies without disolving the finish, but I would be extremely careful to test before using any petroleum type of product on any painted or finished surface. Acetone will disolve plastic binding!!! Rubbing alcohol should be totally safe for the painted or finished surfaces, but I'd test it first just to be safe.

For the fretboard I use Clayton's Lemon Oil which is a real lemon oil, not a lemony scented mystery product. Plain old mineral oil is fine for fretboard, too.

I've never needed anything more than that to get crud off of my guitars. I don't use steel wool on the fretboard in order to keep from getting iron filings stuck in the wood or migrating to the pickups.

[Studio Custom]

The Dunlop 65 kit has a fingerboard cleaner and a seperate conditioner. Add a toothbrush and you're all set.

[cynic]

Two words: Naph Tha

Wear a mask and gloves.

[Caddie]

Dawn Liquid Detergent. It gets crude oil off otters & pelicans & seagulls. It gets burned-on spaghetti sauce off a pot. Can it possibly harm the 14 coats of clear lacquer on our beloved Hamers? or even a greasy, grungy old Gretsch. Remember, save the grunge. Put it in the "Lard Can" with the bacon grease. Thanksgiving Day dinner is approaching!

There ya go Mr. Hamerhead!

Cheers!

caddie

[Sugartune]

Naptha!

[ZR]

I also use an old credit card to remove stuff near the fret w/o scratching. I finish up with 2 grades of synthetic steel wool w/o iron in it. to polish things up.

[murkat]

Naptha for cleaning

Polish for polishing

never anything water base on lacquer, it will fog it. (depends on the type, composition of the lacquer)

[dragan]

I still use 0000 stl wool on the fret board ( rosewood & ebony, all I own ) , for electric guitars I cover the pickups with blue painters tape . when done cleaning board & frets, I wipe the neck & guitar down with a little polish on a rag & put another layer of tape down so any filings are trapped between tape layers before removing the tape.Ive been using this method forever without any problems , but its not needed very often maybe once a year / guitar, if that often . I just wipe the board down with a little spay polish on a rag at string change other than that. seems like the guitars that get played a lot need the board cleaned more than the frets and visa versa, Good info on the back of the neck , Ive got a LP that seems to always feel sticky on the back of the neck, I take it thats were to use the naptha ????

[Hamer Dave]

Why's it seem whenever I use naphtha on these older guitars, they get foggy on me? They end up looking worse! I have to rub that shit out with a Mcguires/Mothers cleaner forever it seems. I assume the naphtha is loosening up years of 'furniture polish' that should never have been put on it for decades?!! Figured naphtha would work more effortlessly. Please confirm/clarify.

[Teh]

I use 0000 steel wool on the fretboard -- cleans up the gunk and puts a shine on the frets. Go with the grain. A little credit card action right at the frets to scrape up the crap right at the frets. A little lemon oil or mineral oil on a rag to clean up residue and give the fretboard a fresh look. Don't drown the board in oil -- A little goes a long way. As for polish, I use Virtuoso polish on the lacquer finished ones, and Turtle Wax Express Shine on the UV cured poly finish. Never use Pledge or other polishes with silicone as it will cause problems if you need to do finish repairs.

[chromium]

I usually give the steel wool a squirt of lemon oil (or naptha) and run over the whole board (with the grain as mentioned) and wipe it down with a cloth afterward. Cleans off any goobs and leaves it looking nice.

Also, a strip of masking tape over the neck pickup helps keep any steel whiskers from gathering...

[tommy p]

Why's it seem whenever I use naphtha on these older guitars, they get foggy on me? They end up looking worse! I have to rub that shit out with a Mcguires/Mothers cleaner forever it seems. I assume the naphtha is loosening up years of 'furniture polish' that should never have been put on it for decades?!! Figured naphtha would work more effortlessly. Please confirm/clarify.

I have also never had any luck with Naphtha. I can work with it until my hand is sore, and It seems to get nothing off for me. (insert joke here)

I use 0000 steel wool on the fretboard -- cleans up the gunk and puts a shine on the frets. Go with the grain. A little credit card action right at the frets to scrape up the crap right at the frets. A little lemon oil or mineral oil on a rag to clean up residue and give the fretboard a fresh look. Don't drown the board in oil -- A little goes a long way. As for polish, I use Virtuoso polish on the lacquer finished ones, and Turtle Wax Express Shine on the UV cured poly finish. Never use Pledge or other polishes with silicone as it will cause problems if you need to do finish repairs.

+1 on lemon oil and especially the Virtuoso products.

I also use lemon oil on rosewood and ebony fretboards with great results. I just use a paper towel and get a ton of gunk off. I push it as close to the frets as I can with my fingernail and it seems to work fine. I use Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish on guitar bodies and get amazing results. I have a LP that I used Pledge on until I knew better. Naphtha did nothing for it - I experienced the same cloudiness that Hamer Dave did. Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish made it look like glass.

[Armitage]

http://www.sanger.dk/

Problem solved.

[murkat]

Good info on the back of the neck , Ive got a LP that seems to always feel sticky on the back of the neck, I take it thats were to use the naptha ????

sometimes. If the Lacquer has been subjected to less Lacquer freindly polishes, it will soften the lacquer, making it feel sticky, etc.

Why's it seem whenever I use naphtha on these older guitars, they get foggy on me? They end up looking worse! I have to rub that shit out with a Mcguires/Mothers cleaner forever it seems. I assume the naphtha is loosening up years of 'furniture polish' that should never have been put on it for decades?!! Figured naphtha would work more effortlessly. Please confirm/clarify.

see below \/

Never use Pledge or other polishes with silicone as it will cause problems if you need to do finish repairs.

This is what happens when you buy a used guitar. what its past, is unknown.

[Hamer Dave]

Good info on the back of the neck , Ive got a LP that seems to always feel sticky on the back of the neck, I take it thats were to use the naptha ????

sometimes. If the Lacquer has been subjected to less Lacquer freindly polishes, it will soften the lacquer, making it feel sticky, etc.

Why's it seem whenever I use naphtha on these older guitars, they get foggy on me? They end up looking worse! I have to rub that shit out with a Mcguires/Mothers cleaner forever it seems. I assume the naphtha is loosening up years of 'furniture polish' that should never have been put on it for decades?!! Figured naphtha would work more effortlessly. Please confirm/clarify.

see below \/

Never use Pledge or other polishes with silicone as it will cause problems if you need to do finish repairs.

This is what happens when you buy a used guitar. what its past, is unknown.

So, to get past the cloudiness, and fogginess from naphtha, switch over to a cleaner (like virtuoso, etc.?), and rub, rub, rub your ass off til it clears up? Is there not an easier way? Pleez, I hope there would be.

[ARM OF HAMER]

I used the "ZYMOL" Cleaner/Wax on my Hamer Sunburst which is Black and it shined it up like a new penny,not to mention all the playing staining and crud it took off. Black shows every flaw and this product cleaned it,nourished the nitro finish,and gave it beautiful patina.Just use a very little like a small drop and work it a small area flipping your cloth after it loads with the grunge.This product IS the best I have used hands down and I have used every guitar and car care cleaner,wax,and detail product though the years on my classic cars and guitars. I had just a touch of fog/hazing on the back of my Black Sunburst and when I used just a drop of this Zymol to clean the guitar it came right out and has not returned. Use a nice clean multi-fiber cloth to get the best results. You can buy the "Zymol" at "Wally World" for a little over $15.00 for a huge bottle that will last you forever.This stuff is killer!

[murkat]

I use Zymol here, on the polish buff wheel for final buff out, works very well, lacquer friendly.

Hamer Dave, the only thing I can think of for the cloudy ness,

break it all down, buff it out.

But, the lacquer may be already tainted with whatever it was subjected to in it's past...

It's a 50/50 chance that a 4 stage buff out could do the trick for you.

[dragan]

So what is the finish on a72 lp deluxe ? And what would you use to remove the "sticky " feel ? Edited to say,it was bought used a couple of years ago so I don't know what had been done to it ,I believe it sat under a bed in the case for almost 40 years

[ARM OF HAMER]

The neck on my Black sunburst was kind of tacky when I got it.................not much but I could feel it and see that it was dirty. After the Zymol treatment its now as smooth as a babys butt..............you could see the guitar get cleaner and more beautiful with each treatment.Necks can be tough though to clean......... Pledge,Fast Fret, Finger Ease, some players put baby oil on the fingerboard[One guy I know who is a great player swears by it] all this stuff gets on the back of the neck ofcourse and after a while YUK! I use only a tiny bit of real lemon oil once a year on my guitars. Cleaning same thing.........I'm so careful with my guitars so..............

[mudshark]

...go to 40 second mark

[Hamer Dave]

I use Zymol here, on the polish buff wheel for final buff out, works very well, lacquer friendly.

Hamer Dave, the only thing I can think of for the cloudy ness,

break it all down, buff it out.

But, the lacquer may be already tainted with whatever it was subjected to in it's past...

It's a 50/50 chance that a 4 stage buff out could do the trick for you.

I hear ya Jay. Trying to take the easy way. I suppose it's inevitable. Always nice to break it down to buff, and clean it right.

[ptm1diver]

I've always found 36 grit sandpaper soaked in gasoline works wonders, but only if you are in a garage band. 😎. Just remember, no smoking, unless you want that roasted neck and eyebrow look., and you want to be the next contestant on Untold Stories of the ER.

On a serious note, if there is one for me, I like Virtuoso Cleaner.

[Hamer Dave]

I picked up the Zymol. Great for clean/newer guitars. Not so keen on it's performance on the old gunky guitars. Though it made it look better on an early 70's Gibson, it didn't look right, and I'm sure it didn't clean it so much as, kind of mask what was needed to be removed. If that makes any sense. Just didn't look right. Those old guitars look 'odd' with that kind of oily gloss for lack of a better term. There is coconut oil, or something in it. Have to look at the label again.

I want to try the Virtuoso cleaner and see how that would work.

dave

[stobro]

I had pretty good luck cleaning up a couple of old upright basses (a '34 King Mortone and a '49 Kay) with Naptha plus a bunch of products from Howard:

Restor-A-Shine Fine Polishing Compound

Restor-A-Shine Super Fine Burnishing Cream

Feed-N-Wax Wood Polish & Conditioner

Orange Oil Furniture Polish

Lakland recommends using the Orange Oil for cleaning fingerboards and the Feed-N-Wax for conditioning ebony and rosewood boards after cleaning.

The up-to-80-years of accumulated gunk eventually got cleaned up from these basses, but it took a lot of time and effort to get it done.

I've used Zymol on my car and it works well there. To me, it smells like bananas.

[DaveL]

If you're using the 0000 steel wool, these work nice... have bought a handful of things from this seller, ships very fast.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fingerboard-protector-fret-guards-for-guitar-and-bass-fret-dressing-Set-of-2-/121202925858?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1c3841e122