fretboard cleaning - Page 2

barrybass33 · #21 05-13-2010, 08:02 AM

another cheap fix for cleaning rosewood type boards is mineral oil...

and you can get in any drug store for about $1 or $2 works great.

fretless_guy · #22 05-13-2010, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjclem

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

Ya. I could have just left it and I'm sure the only person it would have bothered would be me. The "dirty black" board suited the gloss black finish. But I made the mistake of looking at some pics of older US Spectors. I think the dark brown Pau Ferro boards look great. I can tell from the small clean spots that this is going to be well work the effort.

fretless_guy · #23 05-13-2010, 08:09 AM

Even on really dirty boards like this one, how easy is it to get the grime off? I'm kind of getting the impression from a few different threads that a good scrubbing with a tooth brush is usually all it takes. I'm basically wet sanding with a scotch brite pad and it's barely doing anything. Hopefully some of the suggestions of different clean solutions will help.

astrah · #24 05-13-2010, 02:12 PM

If you are trying to even out the color of the fretboard, you may be pursuing a futile effort. Looking at the photos, it does not look bad at all. In fact, with as much effort as you have already exerted, I think it may not be grime at all. Was this hanging or exposed to direct sunlight for an extended period (like years?). If so, it could be the natural photo degradation of the wood has simply aged and darkened it where the strings were not shadowing on the fretboard. If that is the case, it is now just the natural character of the instrument, and on a classic piece like that, is appreciated as natural aging. I had one that exhibited that characteristic as well.

lowendgenerator · #25 05-13-2010, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrah

If you are trying to even out the color of the fretboard, you may be pursuing a futile effort. Looking at the photos, it does not look bad at all. In fact, with as much effort as you have already exerted, I think it may not be grime at all. Was this hanging or exposed to direct sunlight for an extended period (like years?). If so, it could be the natural photo degradation of the wood has simply aged and darkened it where the strings were not shadowing on the fretboard. If that is the case, it is now just the natural character of the instrument, and on a classic piece like that, is appreciated as natural aging. I had one that exhibited that characteristic as well.

I was thinking along the same lines...It may not be funk at all, but a stained area of the wood. I've come across a few fretboards that have the same discoloration you've described, and there wasn't much to be done without resorting to drastic measures.

Bassamatic · #26 05-13-2010, 03:17 PM

My top-end luthier told me to clean the fingerboards with naptha and then re-oil. I use Tung Oil (Not the Tung Oil finish).

fretless_guy · #27 05-13-2010, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrah

If you are trying to even out the color of the fretboard, you may be pursuing a futile effort. Looking at the photos, it does not look bad at all. In fact, with as much effort as you have already exerted, I think it may not be grime at all. Was this hanging or exposed to direct sunlight for an extended period (like years?). If so, it could be the natural photo degradation of the wood has simply aged and darkened it where the strings were not shadowing on the fretboard. If that is the case, it is now just the natural character of the instrument, and on a classic piece like that, is appreciated as natural aging. I had one that exhibited that characteristic as well.

I thought of that. However, up into the higher frets the dark areas are only between the G and D strings ... i.e. in the areas where a player is more likely to play more often.

Either way, I've already started and I can't just leave the job partially finished. Well, I could, but it would really bug me.