fretboard cleaning

sonic assassin · #1 12-17-2008, 05:22 PM

not interested in cleaning the body at all, but some of my fretboards are a mess. i cleaned the maple on my OLP with murphys oil soap a couple weeks ago and it was great, but idk if it was the RIGHT thing to use.

so what do i use on rosewood and ebony?

one of my guitars has visibly thick muck on it (i bought it this way), and my acoustics are getting a little grimy.

ive heard lemon oil. but for the life of me, ive never seen the stuff. i happened to have a huge bottle of murphys laying about. im also broke, so not looking for "jacks super fretboard cleaner for pros at 50 bucks a bottle" as im sure someone has tried to take advantage of us that way.

and while im on my acoustics, my gold grovers are a little tarnished. what do i take to those? its not about the look, they just feel weird when im tuning.

thanks everyone

John Wentzien · #2 12-17-2008, 05:37 PM

Lemon oil and 0000 steel wool.

wilser · #3 12-17-2008, 05:45 PM

you can get formby's lemon oil at walmart.

Disraeli Gears · #4 12-17-2008, 05:57 PM

Don't clean it. The dirt keeps the funk

pin_head_47 · #5 12-17-2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilser

you can get formby's lemon oil at walmart.

+1... There have been many discussions on lemon oil around here, and alot of the stuff you find isn't even real lemon oil. I use Formby's too, it's great. If it's really mucky, some naptha and a toothbrush will help alot... but don't go overboard with the stuff, and don't forget to oil afterward or the fretboard can dry out.

fretless_guy · #6 05-10-2010, 09:56 PM

I realize that this is an old thread, but ....

I'm trying to clean a 21 year old Pau Ferro fingerboard. I went over it last night with Hawes' Lemon Oil to clean and Gibson Premium Fretboard Conditioner to moisturize it. I thought it had done a good job,but when i looked at it again this morning I noticed that you can see light brown streaks directly under where the strings would sit. The rest of the board (i.e. in between the strings) is a lot darker.

I've just spent 45 minutes on the first fret using mineral spirits/steel wool and Hawes' Lemon Oil with a Scotch Brite pad and it still doesn't look clean, although it does look better. Should it be this hard to clean or am I really missing something here?

fretless_guy · #7 05-12-2010, 06:26 AM

Anybody?

mikeyswood · #8 05-12-2010, 07:07 AM

I use a dilute acetic acid to clean finger grime from my boards.

fretless_guy · #9 05-12-2010, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyswood

I use a dilute acetic acid to clean finger grime from my boards.

Thanks Mikey. Is that something that I can easily find? How dangerous is it to use, both in terms of user safety and possible damage to the bass?

PaulNYC · #10 05-12-2010, 08:48 AM

acetic acid is vinegar

fretless_guy · #11 05-12-2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulNYC

acetic acid is vinegar

hmm, I don't know. That sounds a little too dangerous.

I should really lean to google before I ask.

PaulNYC · #12 05-12-2010, 08:58 AM

No danger at all. Liberally sprinkle in your eyes before going to sleep, and you'll have a rest like you've never had before

mikeyswood · #13 05-12-2010, 08:59 AM

Household vinegar is 3-5% acetic. I like to use a 10% solution. The stuff you have in your house will be good, just use some extra elbow grease.

Also - Make sure that you are using white vinegar and not malt or apple.

fretless_guy · #14 05-12-2010, 09:03 AM

I'll give it a try. Hopefully it works better than the mineral spirits. I thought that would have done the trick.

mikeyswood · #15 05-13-2010, 06:44 AM

Mineral spirits are best at removing oils. You will want the acetic to cut through the "grime" and then follow up with the spirits.

fretless_guy · #16 05-13-2010, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyswood

Mineral spirits are best at removing oils. You will want the acetic to cut through the "grime" and then follow up with the spirits.

Ok. I went at it for about 30 minutes with 10% acetic acid and a Scotch Brite pad this morning. It took a little more off, but still took a lot of elbow grease. I'll try it again tonight and follow it up with some mineral spirits.

I'm starting to wish I knew how to do fret work. I'm sure pulling the frets and taking a sanding block to the fingerboard would be a whole lot faster.

mikeyswood · #17 05-13-2010, 08:41 AM

Are you sure you had 10%? I am unaware of any store-bought 10% as I usually have to dilute from glacial.

fretless_guy · #18 05-13-2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyswood

Are you sure you had 10%? I am unaware of any store-bought 10% as I usually have to dilute from glacial.

The bottle said Cleaning Vinegar: 100% white vinegar, 10% acetic acid. I assume that's the right stuff.

tjclem · #19 05-13-2010, 08:55 AM

I guess it is just me but that board looked cool the way it was....t

pedroims · #20 05-13-2010, 08:58 AM

I use windex and an old toothbrush for really dirty fretboards, after that I use a fretboard conditioner: orange oil for maple or dunlop fretboard conditioner.