Good and safe product to clean dirty guitar fretboard?

[rio]

So I realized something tonight. I have not cleaned my L5 since I got it last year. It didn't look super gross but I realized after a couple hours of practice right now that my fingers kind of smelled - not awful, but a little weird. I shined a flashlight on my fingerboard and found this.



There is actually very nice wood under there (not a surprise but last time I checked it looked uniform with that kind of matte look which was all gunk I guess). I am also wondering now if I cleaned the body how it would look.

There are so many guitar cleaning things that I don't know where to start. I keep my guitars pretty clean and always wash my hands before playing, and other vintage guitars I have gotten were very clean so I haven't encountered this much build up before. Bonus points if I can get it off of Amazon or even something at the grocery store.

Regarding the body, there are dings and nicks so I has to be something that will not damage the finish or wood since there are very small spots that the wood is coming through.

Paul


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[LtKojak]

Saliva.

And no, I'm not joking.

Lighter fluid also works OK, just not as good as saliva, and costs a lot more.

HTH,

[helios]

Someone here a while ago suggested this product so I got some and I like it. My fretboard technician uses it as well after all repairs:

[rio]

That seems like killing two bird with one stone since it should hydrate the neck too. I assume that both the saliva and lemon oil are not for the body though?

Also I don't doubt that saliva will work but I would be grossed out touching my own dried saliva every time I play.


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[cosmic gumbo]

Be careful, the funk is in the dirt.

[Jim Soloway]

That's just getting started. I've never voluntarily cleaned a fingerboard.

[docbop]

In my playing days I kept a old toothbrush in my case and every now and then would brush around the frets, then put some lemon oil on. These days my repairman about once a year when my guitar is in he will oil the fretboard and the bridge foot so they don't dry out being I live in the desert. He uses walnut oil and says any of the nut oils work well and are very cheap.

[GNAPPI]

That's just getting started. I've never voluntarily cleaned a fingerboard.

I clean every used guitar I buy with lemon oil because I have no idea where the PO's hands were before he played it. :-)

[Doublea A]

Someone here a while ago suggested this product so I got some and I like it. My fretboard technician uses it as well after all repairs:

I have used this product as well. It works very well but just changes the smell from weird to lemon.


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[Jabberwocky]

I have hair growing on my palms...from playing used guitars.

Naptha for cleaning. Do not squirt naptha directly on the fretboard but on the cleaning cloth instead. Condition fretboard with bore oil for woodwinds. Gotta give walnut oil a trial. How about almond oil or coconut oil? My friend uses Graham Oil Paint with walnut oil as a medium.

[skykomishone]

Gorgomyte fret and fingerboard cleaner and conditioning cloth. I don't remember how I came upon it, but it works incredibly well. I cut a small piece, about 2" square, and use that about once a year. It does the job. I typically will take a paper towel and wipe any residual away afterwards.

[Max405]

Simplegreen in the fretboard removes gunk. Then apply liberal amounts of lemon oil. I use the music nomad f one conditioner.
I got the SimpleGreen idea from Ronaldo. That's what he uses. It is not lacquer friendly though. It leaves spots that have be polished out.

[Longways to Go]

+1 on lemon oil

also I use fine steel wool on the frets. It's kind of a pain because it sheds and you have to tape around the body and especially the pickup, but it does a great job of polishing and removing residues.

My once a year or two fretboard treatment is steel wool first, then lemon oil. I apply the lemon oil with a Q-tip and remove the excess with a paper towel.

[vinnyv1k]

F-one's main ingredient is peanut oil that will attract gum. Lemon oil contains citric acid. Citric acid will soften wood fibers over time. The best stuff I have found is Roche Thomas fingerboard oil or Gerlitz. Both available cheap from Amazon. No need to use harsh chemicals. Both of these oils will remove the gunk and condition your fretboard. Use a blue shop paper towel with the oil and a little elbow grease.

[MaxTwang]

I also use naphtha to clean the fingerboard of a used guitar followed by Dr. Duck's Ax Wax on the fingerboard ("Contains no wax, no abrasives, no silicones, and no synthetics"). The body gets cleaned with Virtuoso Cleaner then Virtuoso Polish.

Until a used guitar get's a "Silkwood Shower" I unbox and handle it using this

[mr. beaumont]

Does "lemon oil" really contain citric acid?

Actual lemon oil wood, but most of what is sold as lemon oil is just a mild mineral oil with a lemon scent.

[john_a]

I've used a variety of fretboard treatments over the long haul, including many that I now know are not ideal.
Nothing with water, nothing with alcohol. Nothing with silicone, or detergents, and none of the "furniture polish" mystery blends.
Also avoid anything with oils that can get rancid (duh!) or build up.

Before applying any fingerboard treatment, you really want to get it as clean as possible, as the final stuff you put on will most likely have some ability to disolve muck (good) but then sink that muck contamintated solution into the wood deeper than it was (bad.)

I'm on board with VM&P Naptha (Varnish Makers & Painter's) as it is a clean version of naptha, better than using a lighter fluid (which is naptha that is not necessarily as clean, just sold as a fuel.) A very small amount of naptha on a cotton rag, rub off the crud until a second clean rag stays clean. Do not overdo it with the solvent, you use it to loosen the dirt and you do not need it to soak in.

For my own guitars (solid bodies or archtops), I prefer ebony fingerboard as it feels and sounds best for me, and the tight grain can be burnished to a high lustre that seems to stay cleaner too. And I am pretty sure my strings last longer without getting fouled by a dirty fretboard.
I'm prone to do the fret level, re-crown, and fingerboard maintenance all together if it's needed, like it often is getting a new "used" guitar. But it can turn into a lot more work once you take that "cleaned" fretboard and choose to hit it with any abrasives, because almost any grit below the super-fine low micron stuff is going to show sratches. And a lot of that scratching appears cross the grain, as the frets being in the way makes it near impossible to go along the grain. I don't use steel wool here, my choices are among the very fine scotchbrite pads (7445 white cleaning, 7448 gray ulta fine) and the excellent 3M polishing papers. I get those 3M papers by the sleeve, but if you want to sample them it is easy to find the Zona branded assortment "37-948 3M Micro Graded Wet/Dry Polishing paper" set for a reasonable price.

I use both the scotchbrite and the polishing papers with a rectangular pencil eraser as a sanding block, as you can make them to fit between frets. You do have to work thru to the finest grits or it will show, so don't just grab some 600 grit and think it will be sufficient. When you get to the final sheets, you are actually burnishing the wood and it takes a shine. After that final burnish, you need to get the fine dust completely out before any fingerboard oil goes on, so back where you started with the naptha and clean cotton rags, only know you are removing ebony and abrasive dusts, not the original crud.

Finally the fingerboard oil can go on, and here's what I now use: Alisyn Fingerboard Oil
This stuff is made by PhDs at Aerospace Lubricants, Inc. who happen to be musicians too. They have developed a whole line of specialized musical instrument lubricants, including bore oils, but their fingerboard oil is distinct from the bore oil.

It gets applied very sparingly, so the smallest bottle sold will last forever. Don't let any excess soak into the fret slots, be neat and wipe it off with clean cotton rag.
Here's a pic of recrowned & polished frets, and burnished ebony on my PM2 that was a bit dirty when I bought it. You can see the reflection shows the ebony is clean, tight, and very level, with good DOI.
John

[339 in june]

Lemon oil, yes !
But on a clean fretboard
So elbow oil before, with steeel wool or what ever you like to clean the fretboard, and then : LEMON OIL, for sure

[helios]

I haven't tried it, but Amazon reviewers seem to rave about it:

Amazon.com: Music Nomad MN105 F-ONE Fretboard Oil Cleaner and Conditioner: Musical Instruments

[rio]

I actually just ordered a set of guitar cleaners from Music Nomad because they had same day shipping on Amazon (which is addictive when you have Prime...blows my mind to be able to get stuff shipped to me on a Sunday and have here the same day. It is a gloss finish, a polish and the F-one oil. I am going to use a 3M pad to get the dirt first and then try the F-one on the fretboard. If it is drastic I will post results after I get back tonight from a rehearsal.


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[neatomic]

lemon oil is just petroleum based mineral oil with synthetic lemon fragrance added..there's no actual lemon involved..just scented mineral oil

you can still find food grade mineral oil around...it was used by old jazzers who drank it before going on a drinking binge, with the idea being that it coated their stomach lining...it's also marketed as a laxative

the secret to fretboard care is to use the products gingerly...never just pour them on


i've been using a dash of 91%+ iso alcohol on towel to wipe down the board, followed quickly with a light oil rub... for years!!...works like a charm

the high alcohol percentage means less water, and therefore evaporates quickly and cleanly...the oil then renourishes and deepens the lustre of the wood

only caveat may be with ebony boards that have been dyed..but even then, minimally or not at all...


i remember reading years ago that bassist extraordinaire stanley clarke used aftershave (aqua-velva) to clean his board...the alcohol cleaned it, and he liked the scent..haha...not recommended, but...


cheers

[cosmic gumbo]

This works so well, I have some in my gig bag at all times.

[jazzbow]

Scrape off gunk with soft wood stick


Start to heave and wretch.

Then polish......

[entresz]

I always have found I have more 'gunk' on rosewood fingerboards than ebony or maple, do other people have the same experience? My Gretsch G400 has an ebony board, it gets played a lot but only needs cleaning occasionally. My Les Paul Recording with a rosewood board however, despite being played a similar amount to my Gretsch gets awfully gunky on the fretboard.

[vinlander]

Had good success with Gorgomyte, 1 square inch do a whole fretboard, it cleans and polishes without saturating the board with too much oil.