cleaning the fretboard

[hieronymous]

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!

[jazzyvee]

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.

[lbpesq]

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

[growlypants]

Yeah, just lemon oil (used twice a year) works well for me, but I may not "gunk" things up quite as much as you!!

[xlrogue6]

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.

[pauldo]

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[hieronymous]

Thank you everyone! I guess it's a trip to Ace Hardware for the Scotch-Brite!

[Pete si]

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

[lbpesq]

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

[hieronymous]

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!