I've now seen two "lessons" online regarding the cleaning of a double bass. Both recommended their "trusty" lemon pledge for cleaning the fingerboard. Seems kinda wierd to me. Can anyone support/oppose this recommendation?
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Double Bass Lemon pledge?
- Thread starter chadspivey
- Start date
Meh. Play it safe and get Kolstein's bass cleaner. Either that or a microcloth napkin and a little water should work fine.
If Lemon Pledge has lemon oil in it, might be good. That's what guitar fingerboards are treated with many times.
I used to use lemon pledge on everything until it softened the nitro cellulose finish on my 1964 Gretsch. It was noticably duller looking after using the pledge. Might just be that finish, I don't know.
That's the lemon oil building up on the nitro. Your luthier might be able to buff that out. Don't use Lemon Pledge for CLEANING.
I use just a *little* rubbing alcohol on a cotton rag, being careful not to get any on the finish of the instrument.
Hdiddy's advice is best.
I use just a *little* rubbing alcohol on a cotton rag, being careful not to get any on the finish of the instrument.
Hdiddy's advice is best.
I would oppose this, based on anecdotal information from those who know better than me. Obviously, just because its online doesn't make it true (sic). Good for you, for asking. Searching the threads here will yield extensive discussion on bass cleaning.
Never heard a luthier or any kind of wood finisher endorse Pledge. Apparently creates residue, making life bad later for anyone working on the instrument/woodwork.
I've never used more than a towel with maybe a few drops of water. On occaision I might take a little steel wool to get the grime off the finger board.
You know, when it builds up under the strings, on the bridge and at the end of the fingerboard. I use a Scothbrite pad to srub it off the strings. But what about the the wood parts?
This is the instructions I use.
"FINGERBOARD: Should be wiped clean at the end of every playing session and whenever it feels sticky or dirty. A clean cotton cloth is best. No polish or oil is needed, though an occasional rub with linseed or mineral oil will help the fingerboard remain beautiful and impervious to moisture. 4/0 steel wool can be used to rub in the oil; it will also remove most residues present on the board. Any oil should be wiped off after 2-3 minutes, and the fingerboard and strings buffed with a soft cloth." http://www.newstandardbass.com/care.htm
"FINGERBOARD: Should be wiped clean at the end of every playing session and whenever it feels sticky or dirty. A clean cotton cloth is best. No polish or oil is needed, though an occasional rub with linseed or mineral oil will help the fingerboard remain beautiful and impervious to moisture. 4/0 steel wool can be used to rub in the oil; it will also remove most residues present on the board. Any oil should be wiped off after 2-3 minutes, and the fingerboard and strings buffed with a soft cloth." http://www.newstandardbass.com/care.htm
Lemon oil is good for the finish and wood, it just has to be the kind they use for furniture. The kind that doesn't have silicone or other additives that my mess with the finish and also prevent any refinishing that might need to be done. You could probably find out whether pledge has silicone, I kind of think it would but I have never actually looked at it.
I think that hdiddy has it right with his second suggestion. All you need is a microfiber cloth. Very cheap from Amazon. I used Kolstein's, but, frankly, I have no idea what's in it and, at least in my experience, it didn't store well. The liquid separated and some kind of black gunk (mold?) started to appear. The Strad recently had an interesting article discussing all of the crazy gunk that people put on their instruments and the author's suggestion was to use a microfiber cloth. It's safe and cleans incredibly well. Moreover, the cloths work fantastic on strings too.
I know that the reason I use lemon oil isn't to clean, its too keep the wood from drying out and to protect the finish. same reason people use it on furniture.
When I'm packing up, I run a hand towel up the board under the strings as far as it will go; I then wrap it around the neck before putting the bass in its case.
+1 on every point. Given that you are an accomplished craftsman with wood, people ought to listen to you!
Eli_Upright12 ---- sorry buddy but your wrong about lemon oil. If you think "Pledging" up any instrument with lemon oil does anything to moisturizes or help the wood, I recommend you read Bob Flexner's book "Understanding Wood Finishing - pages 250-252
The FACT is that Lemon oil doesn't do anything to the wood!!! It doesn't even touch or moisturize the wood in any way. The only thing lemon oil does is shine the finish and provide very very very little scratch resistance. Truth be told there is actually NO lemon oil in these polishes at all. The only thing these polishes have is a lemon or orange scent added to a petroleum-distillate base. So if you think rubbing crude oil is good for your finish in anyway - go right ahead..
People using pledge on there instruments watch way to much TV...
The FACT is that Lemon oil doesn't do anything to the wood!!! It doesn't even touch or moisturize the wood in any way. The only thing lemon oil does is shine the finish and provide very very very little scratch resistance. Truth be told there is actually NO lemon oil in these polishes at all. The only thing these polishes have is a lemon or orange scent added to a petroleum-distillate base. So if you think rubbing crude oil is good for your finish in anyway - go right ahead..
People using pledge on there instruments watch way to much TV...
thanks for the info, I ws just going on what my luthier suggested to me, but the point of my post is that I dont use it as a cleaning agent.
Thanks for all the replies. I think i'm gonna stick with just using a cotton cloth, maybe using a couple drops of water from time to time.
Rubbing Alcohol. You can either use it with a towel or washcloth or when things get really dirty use it with fine steel wool. Ebony is a really hard wood so a soft cloth is not necessary.
I moisturize with mineral oil. It doesn't collect dirt like lemon oil and doesn't start oozing out of the fingerboard on very humid days.
All that said I usually just rub it down really well with a towel after the gig. I only do the other stuff if I have to.
I moisturize with mineral oil. It doesn't collect dirt like lemon oil and doesn't start oozing out of the fingerboard on very humid days.
All that said I usually just rub it down really well with a towel after the gig. I only do the other stuff if I have to.
I'm a little bit confused, as far as I can tell my bottle of lemon oil just lists it as mineral oil with scent.
