What Should I clean my upright fingerboard with??

MattyBass · #1 10-11-2009, 05:14 PM

Hello all,

Just got my first Double Bass after 14 years of electric..
and I am already in love...

Just wondering what you guys use to clean the fingerboard...

and also what you use on the body itself...

Thanks everyone...

MattyBass

JtheJazzMan · #2 10-11-2009, 06:07 PM

Methylated spirits on the fingerboard and strings. You may want to check with others before putting metho on non-steel strings. I dont think you should put harsh cleaners on gut for example.

Just a slightly damp cloth to clean the body, picks up the dust and rosin powder on the body.

mje · #3 10-11-2009, 06:20 PM

Also known as denatured alcohol.

ForestThump · #4 10-11-2009, 06:22 PM

Believe it or not I use lighter fluid on a velvet rag to clean the ebony fingerboard on my cello. Works great!

Marcus Johnson · #5 10-11-2009, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForestThump

Believe it or not I use lighter fluid on a velvet rag to clean the ebony fingerboard on my cello. Works great!

"Forest Thump"

drurb · #6 10-11-2009, 07:12 PM

Believe it or not, I wipe down my strings and fingerboard fairly often while playing and have not needed to use spirits, methylated or otherwise, on my strings or fingerboard.

hdiddy · #7 10-11-2009, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drurb

Believe it or not, I wipe down my strings and fingerboard fairly often while playing and have not needed to use spirits, methylated or otherwise, on my strings or fingerboard.

+1. Same here. Just use a microfiber cloth. Actually I don't wipe down very often but when I do I just use cloth. Anything stubborn will come off with a little bit hot air, I mean breath.

jacochops · #8 10-12-2009, 05:12 PM

0000 steel wool. Works great on the board, and takes off rosin nicely. Can even clean rosin off strings. I follow it with a microfiber cloth, and it should be clean as can be.

hdiddy · #9 10-12-2009, 05:23 PM

overkill.

JtheJazzMan · #10 10-12-2009, 06:06 PM

lol! I reckon.

Steel wool is abrasive enough to sand buzzes off the FB on my top string

jacochops · #11 10-12-2009, 06:25 PM

Guys, we're talking about 0000 steel wool, not the more abrasive kind. I custom build concert snare drums for orchestras and wind bands. I use 0000 steel wool as the FINAL stage of sanding before I put on finish. It is NOT overkill. If you can take the buzz out of an ebony fingerboard, you're talking about a MUCH more abrasive steel wool. There is absolutely NO way you're going to take off that kind of wood with 0000...you'd have to go through one HELL of a ot of elbow grease.

I repair instruments for band directors, and I use the stuff on brass tuning slides, polishing valves, etc. If it will work for that, it'll work on a slob of ebony.
If it polishes glass without scratching, it's fine to use on fingerboards, and yes, strings. Ask your luthier...I'd be suprised to see them NOT using as the final polish on your board. Not overkill.

JtheJazzMan · #12 10-12-2009, 06:53 PM

Fair enough, but still, how does steel wool remove skin oils?

Thats why I like the alcohol because it dissolves grease and dead skin without needing friction, and evaporates without leaving any residue.

mjt0229 · #13 10-12-2009, 07:24 PM

I put lighter fluid on a cello once, too, but I wasn't cleaning it.

hdiddy · #14 10-12-2009, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacochops

Guys, we're talking about 0000 steel wool, not the more abrasive kind.

Yes we are all familiar with what you're talking about.

Last I checked, wood is not the same as metal.

And last I checked, polishing is not neccessarily the same as cleaning.

I've used #0000 to remove the varnish off the back of a neck to make it smooth and silky, not to clean it. I've used #0000 wool to polish a fingerboard dressing job after using a planer on it - just to smooth the wood. I've never needed it for anything else, cept maybe to remove rust off of drumset hardware.

I've also used to to rough up a thick lacquer varnish so it doesn't look so dorky - but found out quickly that it just leaves an ugly scratchy mess.

IMO, if I got ebony dust coming off my bass when I'm trying to clean it - I think I'm doing something wrong

jacochops · #15 10-12-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdiddy

Yes we are all familiar with what you're talking about.

I don't think you ALL are, as referenced by JtheJazzMan's previous post. 0 steel wool will pull out some wood off an ebony board, hence his comment "Steel wool is abrasive enough to sand buzzes off the FB on my top string".

Last I checked, wood is not the same as metal.

And last I checked, polishing is not neccessarily the same as cleaning.

I agree...wood is not the same as metal, but ebony does clean and polish similarly with the 0000 wool. It WILL remove rosin from fingerboards as well as strings (I can only speak for spiros)....SAFELY. I've done it literally a hundred times on both my bass and others. Whatever oils from your hands/fingers you transfer to a piece of ebony will get picked up and removed by the wool.

I've used #0000 to remove the varnish off the back of a neck to make it smooth and silky, not to clean it. I've used #0000 wool to polish a fingerboard dressing job after using a planer on it - just to smooth the wood. I've never needed it for anything else, cept maybe to remove rust off of drumset hardware.

Yup...it DOES work well for that!

I am a Pearl artist, and my kit, as nice as it is, does like to oxidize on the chrome after handling a lot. When you made the back of your neck "smooth and silky", you are actually removing a tiny, itty bitty amount of surface wood with the wool, and with it, whatever gunk you have built up.

I've also used to to rough up a thick lacquer varnish so it doesn't look so dorky - but found out quickly that it just leaves an ugly scratchy mess.

Yup...it does have a slightly abrasive quality....akin to 1200 grit. 1200 grit paper will do the same thing to a thick gooey sprayed finish.

IMO, if I got ebony dust coming off my bass when I'm trying to clean it - I think I'm doing something wrong

I agree...if you were getting a ton of ebony dust while cleaning/polishing with 0000 wool, you were either in "bionic man" mode, or you grabbed the wrong wool!

No reason to get offended, BTW. Just trying to help. If you'd like to talk further, let's take it to PM.

hdiddy · #16 10-12-2009, 08:28 PM

Not offended. I just find it funny.

Gearhead43 · #17 10-12-2009, 11:32 PM

Crisco, what else?

padmavyuha · #18 10-13-2009, 01:02 AM

I hear orange juice is good

.

standupright · #19 10-13-2009, 01:03 AM

water and a clean cloth

standupright · #20 10-13-2009, 01:05 AM

i'm getting the feeling after reading this thread....that some of you guys use a firehose and burlap after taking a dump