Recommendations for cleaning spray?

[MovingPitchers]

So I realized both my basses' rosewood fretboards are getting kinda nasty and I want to clean it but not sure what to use.

I have a leather fabric spray that I might use unless it's bad for the rosewood and will destroy my basses....

Any suggestions? any regular household products that are good?

 

[huckleberry1]

Murphy's Wood Oil Soap & a bristle brush

 

[sharkbait130]

I've always used Lemon Pledge on mine

 

[davidjackson]

Stop! That's where the funk is! Don't clean it all off.

All those years of sweat, grime, skin and gunk are what give your bass mojo

 

[bass geetarist]

This stuff:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You can get it in a kit with some guitar polish and polishing cloths

 

[JaminTravis]

I strongly advise against commercial polishes, especially things like Lemon Pledge!

Most of these products contain solvents like formaldehyde that aren't really even safe to breathe, so why would you want to use them on your precious instruments? They will eventually break down the finish on your bass, so stay away from them!

 

[funnyfingers]

I strongly advise against commercial polishes, especially things like Lemon Pledge!

Most of these products contain solvents like formaldehyde that aren't really even safe to breathe, so why would you want to use them on your precious instruments? They will eventually break down the finish on your bass, so stay away from them!

Most? But I guess not Pledge, right? lol

Invalid Link Removed

 

[fhm555]

Whenever I get too much gunk on my bass neck I just take it off and put it in the dishwasher.

 

[JaminTravis]

Most? But I guess not Pledge, right? lol

Invalid Link Removed

Right. but it does have Polydimethylsiloxane, which is silicone-based. Not something I'd want on my bass. To each their own, but I don't like using products with ingredients Ican/t even pronounce.

 

[Hopkins]

Just get a terry cloth and some soapy water and clean the gunk off. There is no need to oil the board with anything, in fact to much oil will soften the wood and sometimes cause the frets to lift.

 

[soflbass]

This is a good article:
Link Removed

 

[GlennW]

To each their own, but I don't like using products with ingredients Ican/t even pronounce.

That's why I never bothered to learn those scales with the weird names.

 

[RSBBass]

You never want something with silicon in it on your instrument. Future repairs or refinishing can be a nightmare as nothing will stick where the silicon was/is.

 

[Stumbo]

You never want something with silicon in it on your instrument. Future repairs or refinishing can be a nightmare as nothing will stick where the silicon was/is.

Plus you'll be absorbing it through your fingers.

Here's a thread on the topic: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f18/fret-doctor-review-thread-comments-tb-ers-732016/#post14625430

 

[Pilgrim]

No silicone. Ever. Anywhere.

Damp cloth, and rub.

 

[Major Softie]

I don't like silicone either. As a woodworker, I view silicone polishes as just a way to make future repairs (as RSBBass says) a "nightmare." Most modern spray furniture polishes do have silicone in them.

I guess I wash my hands more or don't play enough , cause my fingerboards just don't get really grimey. When I buy a used bass that's really gross, I use the previously mentioned Murphy's Oil Soap (you cut it with water) and use it very gently with a fine woodworking grade 3M pad (they are much finer and more gentle than the green ones you get for scrubbing dishes). Then I treat it with lemon oil (Old Masters). I only go through all that for one that is really really gross, and who knows what other crud was put on it in the past that contributed to the buildup.

Certainly, any of the products put out by companies like Gibson/Fender/etc. should be appropriate.

Edit: Oh, and, NO, don't use your "Leather Fabric Spray" on it. Who knows what's in there. There's a chance that it could work fine, but also a chance that it contains something you really don't want in the wood. It sounds like an odd product anyway, since leather cleaning and fabric cleaning usually involve very different chemistry. Usually leather cleaning and rejuvenating products contain lanolin, and that's not something you would want on fabric (or on wood).

 

[JaminTravis]

You never want something with silicon in it on your instrument. Future repairs or refinishing can be a nightmare as nothing will stick where the silicon was/is.

Bingo.

 

[JaminTravis]

That's why I never bothered to learn those scales with the weird names.

Haha, this gave me a good laugh.

Music theory is a beast. I've been playing bass for 15 years, and I took music theory in my senior year of high school, but I never really caught onto much of it. I know my time signatures, key signatures, the types of notes, and the circle of fifths. I primarily just play by ear and feel.

 

[onefallinghope]

Mineral oil?
(Most available "lemon oil" is just scented and colored mineral oil)

A washcloth dampened with water gets the job done for me most of the time. I skip oils.

 

[96tbird]

If its that dirty, it will have plenty of finger oil embedded in it already. Just clean as described and wipe it down good in a longitudinal direction after each future play to remove dirt and distribute the finger oils you have just laid on it. Then only occasional cleaning right against the frets shall be necessary, if you wish.