Alembic Guitars Club

Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Troubleshooting => Topic started by: hieronymous on December 07, 2021, 05:03:29 PM

Title: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: hieronymous on December 07, 2021, 05:03:29 PM
Hey everybody, haven't been around here much lately, but I'm still lurking, and recently got my Stanley Clarke Signature Squared out to change strings and play a bit. Noticed that the fretboard is pretty dirty between the frets - probably from the oils in my hands and dirt. I've done the lemon oil thing on the fretboard twice a year, never really pay attention to whether that process (rubbing it on with an old soft t-shirt) actually cleans that gunk off or not.


Is there something else I could/should be doing? I see some people talk about Scotch-Brite pads. Should I do something to the frets too? The frets don't bug me, I don't even notice.


I know this has been discussed before, but I haven't found answers to these specific questions.


Thanks!
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: jazzyvee on December 07, 2021, 10:28:00 PM
Hi Harry, hope all is good. The cleaning  process of oiling the fretboard I do also about once or twice a year and usually after being left overnght I use a microfibre cloth to clean the fingerboard including the frets rubbing it quite heavily to get rid of that finger gunk. That works for me and things come up looking nice and clean.
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: lbpesq on December 07, 2021, 11:45:37 PM
Hi Harry.   I use a small piece of Scotch-Brite and lemon oil to clean gunky fretboards.   I put a drop of LO on the pad, use some pressure to clean off the gunk, and wipe it off with a soft cloth.  I then re-apply oil, let it sit for 5 minutes, and wipe off any that hasn’t been absorbed. 

Bill, tgo
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: growlypants on December 08, 2021, 06:35:59 AM
Yeah, just lemon oil (used twice a year) works well for me, but I may not "gunk" things up quite as much as you!!
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: xlrogue6 on December 08, 2021, 09:42:51 AM
White Scotchbrite (the least abrasive variety) with lemon oil is good. For really stubborn gunk naptha (AKA lighter fluid) carefully applied is a good solvent that won't hurt the finish.
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: pauldo on December 08, 2021, 10:25:34 AM
<like>
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: hieronymous on December 08, 2021, 10:30:21 AM
Thank you everyone! I guess it's a trip to Ace Hardware for the Scotch-Brite!
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: Pete si on December 11, 2021, 12:17:42 PM
I’ve used a Mr Clean magic eraser with no I’ll effects.
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: lbpesq on December 11, 2021, 02:35:08 PM
I’ve used a Mr Clean magic eraser with no I’ll effects.

That LAST thing I would want to do is erase the magic from my Alembics!

hehehehe

Bill, tgo
Title: Re: cleaning the fretboard
Post by: hieronymous on December 13, 2021, 01:14:26 PM
So I got some Scotch-Brite and went to work - I think it was a success! I also oiled the fretboard and put the old strings back on, been playing it a little bit. New strings maybe sometime soon.

I realized that maybe now is not the best time to have done this, since it's so cold and damp - not sure why I was bit by the bug to do the lemon oil thing, maybe it was seeing that crud on the fretboard. But looking back at my notes, I think the last time I did it was back in April so at least I'm not over-doing it.

I’ve used a Mr Clean magic eraser with no I’ll effects.

That LAST thing I would want to do is erase the magic from my Alembics!

hehehehe

Bill, tgo

LOL Bill!