Sterling..Dirty looking maple fretboard

[bogwart]

Hi.
I bought a used Sterling Sub 5. The maple fretboard looks really dirty, but I think it is just the way the finish looks. I cleaned it but it still looks dirty. Is there any way to get it a little brighter looking?

maybe clean it?

 

[Gervais Cote]

De-natured alcohol works too

Wow, looks great, my favorite solution so far.

 

[Crackle]

The official MM procedure is the way to go:

Fretboard or back of the neck - I think it should be cleaned and treated the same.

 

[Mike Vee]

you can do a light sanding

 

[pie_man_25]

This is not going to sit well with the tone-wood folks.

Wait until you hear why he used Alder and ash instead of mahogany

 

[Baker69]

I use Casey’s Gunstock Wax on my SUB Ray 5 (neck and maple fingerboard) it works very well, in addition to cleaning the wood it gives it a nice sheen. My SUB Ray 5 has quite a nice grain on the fingerboard and the wax enhances it.

 

[TNCreature]

maybe clean it?

 

[Rayjay]

I had an EBMM Sterling with a dirty maple board. I cleaned it with Murphy's Oil Soap after a few decades and it made a difference. There was still some discoloration from the stains, but I like that.

 

[micguy]

This is not going to sit well with the tone-wood folks.

It’s well known that he did that change for visual aesthetics. Whether the sonic change is obvious or not is another unrelated matter.