Ebony FB cleaning / plastic repairs

[jjk2007]

Hey fellow TBers. Just got my "new" Peavey TL-Five in today and had a couple of questions. It's in really excellent condition for being some 21 years old, but I wanted to know the best way to clean the ebony FB. I saw some old threads about using naphtha, but I was wondering if there are any other cleaners out there that would work better? (the thread I found was from 07) The other question was about the plastic cover for the battery and the best glue to repair it. It's the small thin piece that the release tab locks to. It' cracked on one side and if the other side goes, then no cover. I'll try to get a pic of it in here later.
Thanks!

[john grey]

IF you can't find the cover, I see two choices. CALL Peavy & ask if they sell repair parts (explain the issue) there may even be a substitution. The other solution is to use a common chromed screwed cover (like EBMM battery housings). It's clean, simple and neat. Battery life on average can be as long as 6 months if you unplug the unit, etc. So you don't need access every day.
I say CALL because a human is often not tossed side; Emails occasionally don't get answered if you have the wrong person or dept.

Cleaning a fret-board generally depends on what's making it dirty. IF it's just finger crap, even simple mineral oil should loosen it up and not complicate fret insertion. IF it's really serious garbage; naptha shouldn't ruin anything but I would use caution and wipe horizontally and not contact the fret tang. Use what you need in any event and don't pour a cup of it all over, etc..... It should be fine.

[jjk2007]

Originally Posted by john grey

IF you can't find the cover, I see two choices. CALL Peavy & ask if they sell repair parts (explain the issue) there may even be a substitution. The other solution is to use a common chromed screwed cover (like EBMM battery housings). It's clean, simple and neat. Battery life on average can be as long as 6 months if you unplug the unit, etc. So you don't need access every day.
I say CALL because a human is often not tossed side; Emails occasionally don't get answered if you have the wrong person or dept.

Cleaning a fret-board generally depends on what's making it dirty. IF it's just finger crap, even simple mineral oil should loosen it up and not complicate fret insertion. IF it's really serious garbage; naptha shouldn't ruin anything but I would use caution and wipe horizontally and not contact the fret tang. Use what you need in any event and don't pour a cup of it all over, etc..... It should be fine.

Hey, thanks John. I'll probably go the mineral oil route. I don't think it's as dirty as it is just a little dry. As far as the battery compartment, I was thinking the same thing. I only need to open it twice a year or so. I can probably glue it and make it work fine.

[staindbass]

i think the mineral oil will work fine, ebony is so dense that nothing should be in the grain, as there is not alot of depth for the grime to sink into. (unlike rosewood!) i used to use naptha, but it draws the oils out of the wood, and it looks drier when your done and have to add new lemon oil. a deeper clean would be boiled linseed oil. lemon oil seems to "dry". but the linseed is thicker and keeps the fretboard shine longer. johnny a. staind

[El Barbero]

If the fb is jaust a little dry have a look at Planet Waves Hydrate. Roger Sadowsky recomends it so it should be good stuff.