Cleaning Fretboard??

[RobertC]

Hey guys i a urban camo with ebony frettboard what os the best stuff to use on it to clean??

[rockinhockey]

Probably steel wool.

[WhiteNoise]

Cool, fellow UC owner !

I always wipe away the grime with a wet cloth and maybe a toothbrush if it's a lot and later when dry I use Kysers Lemon Oil and oil the fretboard. Lemon oil works wonders for ebony boards.

[DUKE]

the mystic woodz should be able to clean itself...

but if not, clean it with a cloth then lemon oil.

[ESPVIPERCAMO]

lemon oiled mine today and its beutiful

[Yo Daddy]

Fret Doctor is by far the best product I've used for fretboards so far.

[ibanezaholic]

Dr Ducks Axe Wax should do its some lemon oil with a fancy name but it works realy well.

[flakelorenz]

So we're all agreed on lemon oil?

It does work wonders it's like a new board after you've cleaned it well enough. You'll probablies have to take the strings off though

[Yo Daddy]

Fret Doctor is not lemon oil.

http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

[Armitage]

Here's my usual post;

The fretboard on most guitars is unfinished, and allows moisture in and out due to changes in the weather, changes of location (basement, bar, theater, indoors, out etc) making the wood expand and contract which causes cracks, bowing, and the frets to stick out the edges, ouch. The less change, the better for your guitar and it's setup. Oh, and remember you are not Feeding or Nourishing anything... that is dead.

"Real" Lemon Oil is the industry standard for cleaning fretboards, (it has nothing to do with lemons BTW, it's a petroleum product, it's just yellow and has a tart smell). It cleans grungy fretboards well, but many strip the natural oil out of the wood. It replaces the oils with it's own that may later evaporate leaving the wood drier then it originally was. It's poisonous, and some brands are flammable. Most lemon oils are simply low grade Light Mineral Oil and a splash of naptha, and many times a lemon scent because people expect a lemon oil to smell of lemons.

You can buy a "Real" Lemon Oil made from lemons too, at a health food store, but you wouldn't want that on wood. It's a different thing altogether, it's a powerful degreaser and it's corrosive. You can see how people get confused when there are two unrelated Real Lemon Oils out there. Specially when the one you don't want is made of real lemons.

Light Mineral Oil works great, (most lemon oils are 99% mineral oil) while not as good of a cleaner, (it doesn't have the solvent) it's much better for the wood. It's clean and pure, it's inert, doesn't evaporate go bad or smell, heck some people drink it as a home cure. Luthiers at Hamer, Martin and PRS recommend it over Lemon Oil (I was there, I asked). You only need to use a little. The best place to buy it is your local drug store. Really. The stuff for sale for human consumption is the purest/highest grade. They usually have to order it; it's worth waiting one more string change to do the job right. Dr Duck's, Gibson's Fretboard conditioner, bore oil, Fast Fret, Fender and Dunlop's fretboard stuff is all low grade Light Mineral Oil with a light solvent added, and that is the most expensive way to buy it!

I'll use lemon oil on a guitar that got really grungy, or if I bought it used, for its solvent properties, or I'll use a touch of Naptha if it's really filthy, and I'll usually wait until the next string change to put on the Light Mineral Oil. And I only do that a couple times the first year, then once a year or every couple years on most of my guitars. Once or twice a year while touring or heavy gigging. That's all you need with Light Mineral Oil. You don't want any oil to absorb too deeply either; it's just a surface protectant. You could imagine how much oil would be leaking out the bottom of a '59 Les Paul with 50 years of oil soaking in. You don't want to over oil it either, you can make the fretboard punky and soft. That'll kill the resonance of the neck and make the wood pull out when you get a fret change. The oil is just there to slow the effect of temporary humidity changes from affecting the wood, to keep the wood flexable and to keep the board clean. I also wash my hands before I play most of the time. With over 60 guitars, that's a lot of strings to change, so I do my best to keep them alive if I can.

I've seen a bunch of guys use goofy things. Some work, some LOOK like they work, and some cause problems later. Vegetable oils go rancid over time, 3inONE is a light mineral oil but has lots of other crap in it (solvents) that may loosen inlays, it stains and it smells. Silicone/Armor All etc. looks great but contains silicone and that makes refinishing impossible... Linseed and Tung Oil dry hard; they're a finish... Linseed can feel gummy once it gets warmed up by your hands too. Tung Oil on the back of an unfinished neck is great though. If you're going to use Linseed, (it smells) you want Boiled Linseed Oil. Be careful that Boiled Linseed Oil rags have a habit of spontaneous combustion i.e. they set themselves on fire after sitting a while.

Again, Some product sales claims that lemon oils, bore oil and mineral oils don't soak in deep enough... when in reality, you only want a barrier for humidity reasons and you don't want a product that'll keep soaking in... for years.


Here's what the Tox Health Data Base lists for ingredients for a few "name" Lemon Oils.

Note: No Lemons involved.


========
Ingredients
========
Cas: 8042-47-5
RTECS #: PY8047000
Name: WHITE MINERAL OIL
% by Wt: 99.0
Other REC Limits: NONE RECOMMENDED
OSHA PEL: 5 MG/M3
ACGIH TLV: 5 MG/M3
Ozone Depleting Chemical: N
------------------------------
Name: VOC = 13 G/L
% by Wt: NA
Other REC Limits: NONE RECOMMENDED
OSHA PEL: NOT RELEVANT
ACGIH TLV: NOT RELEVANT

And another...

========
Ingredients
========
Cas: 64475-85-0
RTECS #: PY8240000
Name: MINERAL SPIRITS; (ODORLESS MINERAL SPIRITS (HEAVY NAPHTHA))
OSHA PEL: N/K (FP N)
ACGIH TLV: N/K (FP N)
Ozone Depleting Chemical: N
------------------------------
Cas: 64741-88-4
RTECS #: PY8040501
Name: MINERAL OIL, PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, SOLVENT-REFINED (SEVERE) HEAVY
PARAFFINIC; (HEAVY PARAFFINIC PETROLEUM OIL)
OSHA PEL: N/K (FP N)
ACGIH TLV: N/K (FP N)
Ozone Depleting Chemical: N

And another...

========
Ingredients
========
Cas: 75-28-5
RTECS #: TZ4300000
Name: ISO BUTANE, 2-METHYLPROPANE
Other REC Limits: 1000 PPM
OSHA PEL: 1800 MG/CUM
ACGIH TLV: 800 PPM
Ozone Depleting Chemical: N
------------------------------
Cas: 74-98-6
RTECS #: TX2275000
Name: PROPANE
Other REC Limits: 1800 MG/CUM
OSHA PEL: 1000 PPM
ACGIH TLV: SIMPLE ASPHYXIANT
Ozone Depleting Chemical: N
------------------------------
Cas: 64742-48-9
Name: ISOPARAFFINIC HYDROCARBONS (NAPHTHA PETROLEUM), HYDROTREATED HEAVY,
NON AROMATIC HEAVY NAPHTHA) ISOPAR G *93-3*
Ozone Depleting Chemical: N

[monty]

Fret Doctor is great for sure :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/living2win/gear/fd/62bdb0e2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/living2win/gear/fd/14bb2079.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/living2win/gear/fd/27f2ce8a.jpg

[Jafis]

Fret Doctor rules.

[Billybobtexas]

I use a soft rag, terry cloth, and lemon oil, rub each fret till its nice and smooth (you can tell) look at it in the light at an angle for grime. Yes it will take some time and work. Then a clean dry cloth and wipe, polish all the execess oil till its nice and smooth. (make like you're jacking the neck hehe)

Everyone that plays my guitars asks me how I get the necks so smooth, especially the Wolfgang. (unfinished necks rock!)

WARNING: I do not recommend using steel wool... why? its really ment for unfinished necks (oil), but further more!! The bits of steel wool WILL find themselves into your pick ups and cause high pitch squeals and other odd things and high volumes. It's probobly extremly difficult to keep the steel out of your pick ups because the residue is so tiny (and pickups are magnets). I used to polish my Wolfgang's neck with steel wool the super high grade stuff its like EEEEE (5 e's??) from a wood finishing shop. and it make the neck like glass I loved it... definatly a way to do it... but risky on the pickups. tape the body up in a plastic bag maybe and dust the shit out of the guitar with c02 before you try this.

Aside from all this... the steel wool will irreprably scratch out a nice shiny finish on the guitar body if it even comes in quick contact with it... so, lots of drawbacks to the wool.

The oil works just as great, just need more elbow grease.

http://www.paulalderete.com/images/myguitar.jpg

[FloydNL]

I just use the same stuff I use for my Ec-1k VB. Old toothbrush and Dunlop 65 does wonders!

[Downfall]

I use the GHS Fast Fret after I played and basically soak the guitar in the stuff directly after playing and calling it a day, It's really nice to pick the guitar up without having the strings grinding against your fingers on the first set of trills.

Armitage, I'm intrigued to read about the light mineral oil, do you have any pictures of any fretboards that you have just put this oil onto?

[KH Guitar Freak]

Armitage brings out a very good point, go with whatever these guys have to say...

I use lemon oil and they work well, but they kinda make the fretboard ending up dry looking after wiping them down...

I shall look into some mineral oils...

[marauder]

Fret Doctor rules.
It sure does.

I ordered some of this on Sunday, and it arrived in the UK today.
I've treated 2 rosewood boards so far and they look like new and feel great.
Can't recommend this highly enough, it may seem expensive, but you hardly use any to treat a full board.

[DUFF]

I use Big Bends fretboard conditoner, it's just light mineral oil with no solvents. It was what was recommended by one the customer service guys at ESP. You can order it at www.bigbends.com for $5 a bottle. Just remember a little goes a long way.

[cfhmachado]

Whats the the best tung oil to use and how do you apply it,(steps would be great)i just got a face eraser and it has an unfinished neck.Or would it better too use the bore oil by fret doctor.I,m talking about the back of the neck.

[DUFF]

Bore oil would probably be the best for the back of an unfinished neck.

[tmoori]

what do you guys clean maple fretboards with?

[flakelorenz]

A very soft of microfiber cloth... i don't know if there are any products for maple boards

[Mister Guitar Himself]

I've red you need to wax maple fretboards or something like that..

[Legato Mutato]

Gibson Luthier's Choice.

Flitz on the frets.

[ESPKH4Builder]

i bought some planet waves hydrate for 4 bucks today and cleaned my viper and damn the stuff works good, i gotta try frett doctor though