Guest mgoetting Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 What do you suggest to clean the fretboard? Is it necessary to clean it really? What oils work? Doesn't the oil from your fingers do the job if you play it regularly? I know this is largely opinion, but that's what a forum like this is for. Thanks.
Patrick Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 What do you suggest to clean the fretboard? Is it necessary to clean it really? What oils work? Doesn't the oil from your fingers do the job if you play it regularly? I know this is largely opinion, but that's what a forum like this is for. Thanks. Mark: (It is Mark, isn't it?) If you're playing your guitars . . . all of 'em . . enough for the natural oils and emolients of your finger tips to effectively condition your rosewood and ebony fret boards, then you've got far more playing time than most. Actually, I don't think it's possible. Fret board cleaning and conditioning is, in my opinion, not only necessary to maintain a healthy board . .. it's also a significant part of good guitar maintenance ettiquette. Depending on how much you play, but definitely with each string change, you probably want to buff your finger boards down with a clean piece of 000 guage steel wool . . . then either vacuum the board or blow it off reall good with some forced air. Then, there are a varity of good wood conditioners on the market. Pick any of 'em . . . they all work. Aaron Cowles . . . whom I trust implicitly with all of my guitars, sometimes mixes Guardsman furniture polish with a wood conditioning oil. The Guardsman really enhances the depth of color of the ebony wood . . . (I don't think I'd use it on any of my rosewood boards). If you don't periodically clean your finger boards, and you play the same guitar often . . . you'll start to see a build up of . . . . . MUNG!!!!!
Guest mgoetting Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 Mark: (It is Mark, isn't it?) If you're playing your guitars . . . all of 'em . . enough for the natural oils and emolients of your finger tips to effectively condition your rosewood and ebony fret boards, then you've got far more playing time than most. Actually, I don't think it's possible. Fret board cleaning and conditioning is, in my opinion, not only necessary to maintain a healthy board . .. it's also a significant part of good guitar maintenance ettiquette. Depending on how much you play, but definitely with each string change, you probably want to buff your finger boards down with a clean piece of 000 guage steel wool . . . then either vacuum the board or blow it off reall good with some forced air. Then, there are a varity of good wood conditioners on the market. Pick any of 'em . . . they all work. Aaron Cowles . . . whom I trust implicitly with all of my guitars, sometimes mixes Guardsman furniture polish with a wood conditioning oil. The Guardsman really enhances the depth of color of the ebony wood . . . (I don't think I'd use it on any of my rosewood boards). If you don't periodically clean your finger boards, and you play the same guitar often . . . you'll start to see a build up of . . . . . MUNG!!!!! How about something to prep the board and loosen dirt prior to the steel wool? I have used a dry soft toothbrush to help lift off the grime by the wires where the steel wool can't reach. Any other ideas on this. Also some simply use linseed oil.
Patrick Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 How about something to prep the board and loosen dirt prior to the steel wool? I have used a dry soft toothbrush to help lift off the grime by the wires where the steel wool can't reach. Any other ideas on this. Also some simply use linseed oil. Yep . . . both are good ideas, linseed oil is fine. If you live in a dry area, such as Arizona, or your home is a relatively dry environment . . . think forced warm air heat in the winter. . . then you need to be especially cognizant of the condition of your finger boards. If you haven't already experienced it, try to ask a guitar tech if he could show you an example of a too dry ebony fret board. I guess you could even visit a guitar shop where a guitar has been hanging high up on the wall, near all of that dry air that is at the top of the room. Take a guitar down, one that has been up there for a while, and look at the board. When I bought my new Super Eagle from a shop in Philadelphia, those were the circumstances. Up on the wall for about 9 months. The board was so dry it looked grey instead of black. When my guitar tech saw it, he spewed off some Italian curse words that I had not yet heard. WOW!! It really became alive with ebony character after he treated it.
Blunote Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 When I bought an H150p last month, i noticed the fret board felt rough and uneven. A tech had also advised buffing the frets. So for this guitar: I removed the strings cleaned the fretboard with naptha (lighter fluid) taped off the pups with masking tape, buffed the rosewood and frets with 0000 steel wool vacuumed the fretboard & pups to remove metal filings Applied lemon oil (Gibson Fretboard Conditioner) Fretboard now feels smooth, like it should have when it came from the factory.
Patrick Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 What Bluenote and I both forgot to mention, is make sure that you don't leave an excess of oil on the board. If conditioning the board is new to you, here's the process to follow;; remove strings;; . . . clean the board thoroughly using the methods described;; . . . buff the board and frets, bluenote is correct about the 0000 gauge. I said 000 gauge, but it should be the 0000, then make sure you get all of the metal particles off the board, blow with shop air or vacuum;; . . . . then run 1 or 2 (depending upon how dry the board is) lines of conditioner right down the center of the board;; . . . . using a non linting cloth, something like an old tee shirt, spread the conditioner evenly over the whole board . . . leave it alone for about 15 seconds, giving the wood a chance to "take a good long drink" . . . then remove ALL of the excess conditioner/oil. What ever you can get off of the board with a clean lint free cloth needs to be removed. The wood only needs what it drank.
jazzrat Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 I would suggest an extra step if you use 0000 steel wool.... tape off and cover your neck pickup. Those metallic fibers are notorius for making your pickup look like it's wearing a sweater.
smurph1 Posted July 7, 2010 Posted July 7, 2010 +1 on the Lemon oil..I also use Virtuoso cleaner every other string change..My hands don't sweat much, so your mileage may vary..
Jazzpunk Posted July 8, 2010 Posted July 8, 2010 I would suggest an extra step if you use 0000 steel wool....tape off and cover your neck pickup. Those metallic fibers are notorius for making your pickup look like it's wearing a sweater. I just watched a great video of Roger Sadowsky cleaning and setteing up Jimmy Bruno's guitar and he made a point about this issue as well. He said that it will eventually cause distortion in the pup! Before removing the masking tape from the pup, he vacummed up the steel wool 'dust' and than used an air compressor to blow off any remaining particles that may have been missed. Afterward, he went over the fret board with boiled linseed oil. Looked great when he was done!
Guido Posted July 8, 2010 Posted July 8, 2010 Don't use any oils like lemon oil or linseed oil. Those oils don't penetrate the wood. But that's what you want to prevent the fretboard from drying out. The one and only stuff I use is Fret Doctor! You can read on the HP why not to use just oils and what the difference between oils and Fret Doctor is. There were already several threads to this topic and a lot of people recommended Fret Doctor. That's how I learned about it. And all I can say is, that it's working great! Guido
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