Guitarists: What's the best way to clean grime off of the fretboard?

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― 57 7th (calstars), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean, that black stuff that accumulates near the frets. I don't want to use water, and I don't want to scrape - maybe just a damp cloth with alcohol?

― 57 7th (calstars), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I use really fine steel wool (like 600 I think) and then use generic lemon oil afterward.

― andy, Monday, 22 November 2004 21:46 (twenty-one years ago)

rubbing alcohol & q-tips unless you are worried about the alcohol damaging the wood. use your normal oil afterward though.

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:53 (twenty-one years ago)

You can also use lighter fluid, like you would use to start your barbecue grill. That's what I usually use.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't clean it off, that's the rock!

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 22 November 2004 21:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Q-Tip dipped in Naptha to loosen the dirt, then scrape it off w/ something that won't damage the wood. I use a little plastic scraper that is too soft to scratch wood but rigid enough to get the grit off. But get Naptha... it's a better cleaner than alcohol or other solvents when it comes to wood. I guarantee it's what the local guitar techs are using if you take your guitar in for a professional set up.

(Here's the Naptha: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Fretting_tools:_Fret_installation/Behlen_Naphtha_Solvent.html)

Fine steel wool is used for cleaning too, but it's not what I'd use for heavy gunk near the frets... even fine guage steel wool can scrape more than you'd like off of the wood if you're using it to get all that grit off. Steel wool is for a light once over, mostly for fret care (not fretboard care). I put a few drops of oil on the steel wool before going up and down the fretboard (in the direction of the board) to polish the frets. Wipe off the excess when done, and be careful not to get down too much into the wood since you'll be leaving streaks going up and down the fretboard which, if too deep, make it hard to bend strings. I only do the steel wool thing about twice a year.

If you wipe down the strings with a clean cloth every time you're done playing, considerably less stuff builds up on the frets. Strings last longer that way too.

― martin m. (mushrush), Monday, 22 November 2004 22:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh... note that you DO NOT WANT STEEL WOOL ON A MAPLE FRETBOARD. Maple boards are finished rather than bare wood, and you don't want to touch them with anything that will sand the finish down even the slightest bit. If you want to steel wool the frets to keep them rounded so you don't have to recrown as often, I'd use masking tape to cover the board between the frets before you sand.

Naptha's fine to dissolve that dirt on any kind of fretboard though.

― martin m. (mushrush), Monday, 22 November 2004 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

There are folks who will tell you to steel wool every time you change the strings though... but they also say don't oil but a couple times a year.

― martin m. (mushrush), Monday, 22 November 2004 22:18 (twenty-one years ago)

use an acetylene torch and a belt sander

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 22 November 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

martin what about grime on the body itself? From arm sweat, etc. Can I use some Naptha on a cloth and get rid of that as well?

― 57 7th (calstars), Monday, 22 November 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah... Naptha is actually a solvent for cleaning crap off of metal and most [guitar] finishes. It's safe enough for wood to be used cleaning the junk around the frets, but really it's for cleaning the fret itself and finished areas of the guitar.

I actually use a guitar polish (or just warm water) to clean arm sweat grime off of my guitars' bodies. I forget what it's called, but I think the polish I have is branded by Martin Guitars even though it's probably the same stuff as any generic "guitar polish." Naptha would work fine though.

― martin m. (mushrush), Monday, 22 November 2004 22:26 (twenty-one years ago)

An old toothbrush works good on the fretboard, too. I do use alcohol as well but it's said to dry out the rosewood, hence a little lemon or orange oil afterwards. Leave the crusted blood on, though.

― andy, Monday, 22 November 2004 22:47 (twenty-one years ago)

but it's said to dry out the rosewood, hence a little lemon or orange oil

It's true... alcohol is terrible for rosewood or other unfinished woods. The problem with alcohol followed by oil is the stress on the wood from drying it out and then oiling it again. Especially if you clean often and thus oil often. (Over-oiling a fretboard can cause problems too, like frets popping out of the board.)

― martin m. (mushrush), Monday, 22 November 2004 22:57 (twenty-one years ago)

i use my mouth
and wire

― ke[hm (kephm), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 04:53 (twenty-one years ago)

grime buildup on a fretboard can be a sure indication that a guitarist's licks aren't tasty, nor are his scorching leads white-hot enough.

― contribute, Tuesday, 23 November 2004 10:55 (twenty-one years ago)

15 posts in and not a single gag about Wiley yet...

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 23 November 2004 11:01 (twenty-one years ago)

i've never cleaned my fretboards, ever. i didn't know people did that.

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 11:18 (twenty-one years ago)

wtf? guitars need cleaning?

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 11:22 (twenty-one years ago)

er.. xpost

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 11:22 (twenty-one years ago)

but if i'd clean one i'd just use a toothpick and scratch out the grime

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 11:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Your tongue, like Jimmy and Gene Simmons.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 11:28 (twenty-one years ago)

The guitar guys at sam ash in NYC had never heard of Naptha (???), so I got this Dunlop-brand cleaner (I thought they only made golf clubs and tennis balls, hmm) and it did the trick with some q-tips.

― 57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 15:20 (twenty-one years ago)

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