Cleaning and keeping maintenance of my bass

[bigos123]

Hi
I have a ibanez bass (SR300EB | SR | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars) with fingerboard made out of Jatoba wood. I read that lemon oil will be good to use but it's never mentioned if it's safe to use it on that kind of wood. It's always said that it's good for rosewood and ebony and bad for maple but never any other kind of wood. I also have an acoustic with an Ovangkol fingerboard. Will it work with that too? What about cleaning the mat body. Are there any special cleaners for that? Thank you in advance for your help.

Edit: I have the black version not the red one if it matters

 

[202dy]

Paint is best maintained by wiping with a soft cloth. Use a guitar wax/polish if you like. Same goes for the neck.

Oil on a poly finish is unnecessary. It will make a big mess. Usually, on your clothes. And the bag or case.

As far as the fingerboard goes, oil it if you like with whatever you like. Make sure the oil will not turn rancid.

There is much debate on whether or not to oil. Search this forum and you'll find many opinions. Decision is yours.

 

[JRA]

welcome to TB!

if this is a new ax: you should be practicing with it. you won't be ready to think about oil on the fingerboard until you can play wayne shorter's pinocchio at 240 BPM. good luck!

 

[Turnaround]

Matte finishes are best maintained just by wiping them off with a soft dry cloth after you use them. Most guitar polishes will tend to put a bit of shine on that lovely matte finish.

You could use my secret recipe - something I used on many poly finishes for years when I was cleaning the finish in the presence of the customer. Here's how you make it:

1. Get about 1 quart of clean water, about room temperature. If you are fussy, use distilled water or even better reverse osmosis processed water (de-ionized).

2. Add 2 drops of blue food colouring. You can use a different colour if you wish, but blue is the coolest

3. Mix well. Attach a label to the container that has an exotic name - "Double-Distilled Horn Toad Serum" , "Parisian Elixir", "Herrmeister Violundguitarrenlosungsmittel"

If you wish to simplify this recipe, don't worry about the room temperature, the food colouring, or the label. The food colouring is only there to impress the customer. As is the label.

De-ionized water is an excellent cleaner and will have no ill effects on the finish of the OP's bass. If there are "greasy" patches where skin oil is not removed by water alone, a drop of dish-washing detergent in the water will help.

But you don't need to get fussy about de-ionized or distilled water. Tap water will do.

Wipe off the fingerboard regularly to remove finger grease. If it builds up scrub with a rag dipped in water that has a bit of dishwashing liquid in it. Rub dry immediately - do one fret position at a time - clean and dry. If you want to improve the appearance of the fretboard a bit of mineral oil is good, or pick a brand of fretboard conditioner you like (they're almost always mineral oil at a higher price).

 

[testing1two]

+1

There are many viable solutions for oiling a fingerboard, but one golden rule applies: don't put too much oil on the fingerboard. This means a) don't use a lot of oil* and b) don't apply it too often.**

*in fact, use as little oil as possible and wipe off the excess
**in fact, 1 or 2 times per year is more than enough in all but the most dry conditions

 

[Arie X]

not an endorser of water and soap mixtures on any instrument myself for cleaning purposes. success (avoidance of damage) depends highly upon lack of user error and an awareness of what they're doing -but people do what they do.

for your bass, any of the name brand preparations will suffice. Dunlop 65 is a popular choice.

for your acoustic, i really like Martin Professional Polish and Cleaner. it's light, has minimal odor, and has a very wide working latitude.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Contrary to popular belief, oiling the fretboard isn't necessary:

oil vs. water

 

[4stringfarley]

I'll use a little Old English lemon oil every few months on my non coated fretboards. High heat and humidity in my living area can cause havoc to wood, and it gives it a nice look to it. I'll normally just clean my poly finishes with a quick wipe down, if they're super nasty a little bit of Zippo fluid or rubbing alcohol, they both evaporate pretty quickly. I even go so far to put a coat of Ren Wax on them every so often as well. I have a lot of period correct furniture in my 1850s home so I've gotten into the habit of keeping anything made of wood as nice and protected as possible.

 

[Arie X]

Contrary to popular belief, oiling the fretboard isn't necessary:

oil vs. water

well fwiw, science is science not opinion poll. insects and molds aside, dried and neglected woods need help. woods kept in good shape don't. water won't rejuvenate wood because it's dead by the time it's turned into a guitar and is no longer capable of converting soil nutrients into sugars to feed itself. all it will do is cause it to swell and possibly warp. oils provide a moisture barrier preventing the wood from reacting unfavorably to environmental changes.

sometimes the skin oils shed by the average player aren't enough and the the wood still needs help. well thought and sensible applications of the correct products can help the wood achieve equilibrium.

there is a case for using DI water for flushing out glue joints on historic instruments needing repair, but this isn't something required by the average owner.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I repeat, you don't need to oil it, except to make it look pretty.

It does nada for protecting it or nurturing it.

 

[Arie X]

what would you say to the case of antiques in a museum; historic furniture, antiquities, etc.. are you stating that those are un-preserved woods? and nothing is needed to protect them?

 

[Turnaround]

not an endorser of water and soap mixtures on any instrument myself for cleaning purposes. success (avoidance of damage) depends highly upon lack of user error and an awareness of what they're doing -but people do what they do.

for your bass, any of the name brand preparations will suffice. Dunlop 65 is a popular choice.

for your acoustic, i really like Martin Professional Polish and Cleaner. it's light, has minimal odor, and has a very wide working latitude.

FWIW, with modern day poly finishes, you could probably soak it in a tub of water and it wouldn't hurt it. Not that I recommend sitting your bass in the bath - soaking in water is not so good for the electronics. And you really don't want the water getting to the wood that isn't protected with the poly.

Some years ago Dunlop admitted that Dunlop 65 is about 5% silicone. Someone I know has it in writing from Dunlop. It was a surprise to me. I had word from a Dunlop distributor who was in direct contact with the plant that it was about 90% mineral oil. So what's the other 5%? CBD?

LATE EDIT: Dunlop 65 is a line of products. The one I am talking about here is the fretboard cleaner/conditioner.

 

[Arie X]

"FWIW, with modern day poly finishes, you could probably soak it in a tub of water and it wouldn't hurt it. Not that I recommend sitting your bass in the bath - soaking in water is not so good for the electronics. And you really don't want the water getting to the wood that isn't protected with the poly.

Some years ago Dunlop admitted that Dunlop 65 is about 5% silicone. Someone I know has it in writing from Dunlop. It was a surprise to me. I had word from a Dunlop distributor who was in direct contact with the plant that it was about 90% mineral oil. So what's the other 5%? CBD?"


yeah, i just get concerned when people slop on too much water. tends to get down into pick-ups, around nuts and frets and under bridges to do harm.

silicone huh? certainly not something that i'd want on an acoustic guitar of quality but on an encased in plastic electric is a different matter though. thanks for that info!

 

[Turnaround]

yeah, i just get concerned when people slop on too much water. tends to get down into pick-ups, around nuts and frets and under bridges to do harm.

I should have mentioned how I use my secret recipe. I would put a couple of drops of it on a fingertip covered with a clean microfibre cloth. Rub that on, covering a few square inches at a time, then immediately dried off. Not enough liquid to flow anywhere.