On a painted finish bass I use non silicone polishing compound on scratches. 3-1 oil on strings. My black on black bass shines, strings stay clean and seem to last longer,,,no build up
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How to clean a bass
- Thread starter Raman
- Start date
Quicker with less fuss: Line 'em up in your driveway and hose 'em down. Then sun dry.
Basses are a little like warthogs, they don't have to be exceptionally clean to function properly.
Had an Olympic white P years ago, that's when I found out the more often I washed my hands, the less often I had to clean the bass.
I just use a guitar cleaner for the body like the Music nomad stuff. Food grade mineral oil for boards that require it like ebony. And flitz metal polish for frets occasionally. Use a metal fret guard. Also some fret erasers.
Seems like a lot of work for no gain.
I am hardly a rookie!
So, to avoid the issues with your procuct of choice, you do more unnecessary work, wear and tear on your assemblys ?
Forgive me if I miss the advantage of your "expert" advice.
I do a thorough wipe down of the bass and strings every time after I play. That way it stays clean.
^^^^
What he said. Body, strings and fretboard stay pretty clean this way.
If I am changing strings, I will seize the opportunity to clean between the pickups, near the mounting screws and the whole bridge + saddles.
Sometimes a piece of dry cloth is enough, sometimes I use a cue tip to clean hard-to-reach places in the hardware.
If I am not changing strings, I still do this as needed by loosening the string at the tuner just enough to get it out of the way; I do this one string at a time.
And Music Nomad's tool cleaning kit.
And Dunlop Formula 65 Cleaner Polish
And Dunlop Formula 65 Cleaner Polish
I clean my basses about as often as I clean my cats
I never “clean” my basses. I do a thorough scrape and scrub when a used neck arrives in the mail, but once I have a bass built, I just make sure I pick it up with clean hands. They might be a little dustier than usual these days from having less time to play, but even when I was gigging, my basses were never “dirty.”
People are going to tell you that you unequivocally MUST have a thin coat of lemon-flavored oil on your board at all times or it will splinter like a ship against the rocks.
All of them will be sitting on furniture made of wood, in houses made of wood, with doors and trim made of wood and they will never give any thought about why none of that stuff splits into pieces without regularly smearing lemon oil on any of it.
In all fairness, all of that stuff is painted or sealed, and a rosewood fingerboard is not. I would never say anybody has to oil their fingerboard, but I do like a small amount of walnut oil on it from time to time.
