ampage Tube Amps / Music Electronics	For current discussions, please visit Music Electronics Forum.

ampage archive

Vintage threads from the first ten years

Re: How to clean a fretboard?

6/17/2003 4:36 AM
Andrew	Re: How to clean a fretboard? I tend to agree to a point. All of my guitars have bare rosewood boards. I used a non-alchol diluted cleaner for years but never noticed any build up. I did notice that the cleaner sometimes dried out the board which was solved quickly enough when I oiled the board right after as part of my clean up procedure. I stopped using the cleaner a few years ago. I was only using it for cleaning any grim that was near the fret where I couldn't get the card in. I solved the problem by cutting one end of the card so that it had a set of sharp corners instead of the soft curved corners that it normally had. The sharp corners allow me to get into the space between the fret and where the card couldn't get into on the intial run. Andrew

6/17/2003 4:36 AM

Andrew

Re: How to clean a fretboard?

I tend to agree to a point. All of my guitars have bare rosewood boards. I used a non-alchol diluted cleaner for years but never noticed any build up. I did notice that the cleaner sometimes dried out the board which was solved quickly enough when I oiled the board right after as part of my clean up procedure.

I stopped using the cleaner a few years ago. I was only using it for cleaning any grim that was near the fret where I couldn't get the card in. I solved the problem by cutting one end of the card so that it had a set of sharp corners instead of the soft curved corners that it normally had. The sharp corners allow me to get into the space between the fret and where the card couldn't get into on the intial run.

Andrew

6/18/2003 7:15 PM
Matt	I also use the fine steel wool(#0000), just be sure to go with the grain; i.e. up and down the fretboard only, NOT parallel to the frets. This makes it difficult to get at the gunk at the base of the frets but usually my fingernail with a thin cloth over it gets that. Lots of different opinions on oils. I don't like the feel of a freshly oiled fretboard so I use as little as I can get away with. I've seen several respected luthiers use #0000 steel wool, otherwise I don't think I would have been comfortable using it. It can be aggressive, but in a different way. Also, as stated above, cover your pickups. Not only can the metal particles possibly ruin them, this is steel wool and it will be attracted by the magnets. Your polepieces will look like they grew hair! Matt

6/18/2003 7:15 PM

Matt

I also use the fine steel wool(#0000), just be sure to go with the grain; i.e. up and down the fretboard only, NOT parallel to the frets. This makes it difficult to get at the gunk at the base of the frets but usually my fingernail with a thin cloth over it gets that. Lots of different opinions on oils. I don't like the feel of a freshly oiled fretboard so I use as little as I can get away with. I've seen several respected luthiers use #0000 steel wool, otherwise I don't think I would have been comfortable using it. It can be aggressive, but in a different way. Also, as stated above, cover your pickups. Not only can the metal particles possibly ruin them, this is steel wool and it will be attracted by the magnets. Your polepieces will look like they grew hair!

Matt

6/19/2003 2:36 AM
Brett	I think Matt's got it wrt #0000 steel wool. I even do a few little cross-rubs at the base of the frets (that's where the black stuff is). I moisten the steel wool with a little furniture oil (cedar) while I'm rubbing. Like Matt, I like a dry fretboard, so I rub off all detectable oil once it's clean. I live in a warm, dry climate (like L.A), so oiling is essential at least once a year. The original post that mentioned using alcohol sent shivers up my spine. I think cleaning/dehydrating with metho is asking for at least extra wear and maybe a nasty crack in your fretboard.

6/19/2003 2:36 AM

Brett

I think Matt's got it wrt #0000 steel wool. I even do a few little cross-rubs at the base of the frets (that's where the black stuff is). I moisten the steel wool with a *little* furniture oil (cedar) while I'm rubbing. Like Matt, I like a dry fretboard, so I rub off all detectable oil once it's clean. I live in a warm, dry climate (like L.A), so oiling is essential at least once a year. The original post that mentioned using alcohol sent shivers up my spine. I think cleaning/dehydrating with metho is asking for at least extra wear and maybe a nasty crack in your fretboard.

6/19/2003 3:34 AM
John Fisher	I use turpintine (mineral spirits?) ( I hope I got my terinology right because it's been a while since I've seen some of these words in English) which cleans very well any old oil and dirt and then I put lemon oil on it. John Fisher

6/19/2003 3:03 PM
MBSetzer	Mineral Spirits are flammable or combustible liquids from mineral sources that can be vaporized and condensed to a liquid. Like when you drill into rock or other parts of the earth, strike oil, and a fraction of the hydrocarbons are distilled to refine them into common paint thinner, AKA mineral spirits. The idea is to remove so much of the gasoline-related highly ignitable vapors and divert them for motor fuel use, so that the refined mineral spirits does not have a dangerously low flash point, and can be safely used for cleaning, degreasing, or paint blending. No smoking is still recommended, read the safety messages on the can. Also, most grades of mineral spirits are refined to the point where they dry up completely without leaving non-volatile mineral oils behind. Major differences in brands and grades are the type of pigments & bases that can be dissolved, drying rates and temperatures, odor, etc. Turpentine are hydrocarbons of plant origin, distilled & refined from pine rosins. I guess that makes them vegetable spirits. IIRC they are more flammable than most mineral spirits. All commonly used for paint & finishing work, I guess people can choose the poison they prefer. The VM&P (varnish makers & painters) naphtha is a quicker drying but highly flammable petroleum derived solvent. Anyway, for a rosewood fretboard I like to use highly unsaturated vegetable oils like sunflower or even corn oil, better to use ones that are fresh and have no preservatives. The suggestion to freshly cold press walnut oil for this purpose seems ideal. Over the long term with exposure to oxygen unsaturated oils will eventually polymerize and form a very tough soaked-in finish. I like to oil the fretboard once lightly if it seems dry when new, then maybe a couple times more over the next few years if it seems to still be too dry. I think too much oil would not let the residual moisture come out as it should, once the moisture has fully left, then the cellular spaces will absorb more of the oil as you continue to reapply it every few years, and gradual polymerization of the oil with itself can form a very rigid reinforcement network. saturated oils or ones that are hydrogenated to reduce unsaturation will hardly polymerize to form a solid, and neither will mineral oils, they may help moisten the wood and enhance its appearance but I think long-term overuse would result in softening the wood, where proper use of unsaturated oils seems to harden wood over time. Mike

6/19/2003 3:03 PM

MBSetzer

Mineral Spirits are flammable or combustible liquids from mineral sources that can be vaporized and condensed to a liquid.

Like when you drill into rock or other parts of the earth, strike oil, and a fraction of the hydrocarbons are distilled to refine them into common paint thinner, AKA mineral spirits. The idea is to remove so much of the gasoline-related highly ignitable vapors and divert them for motor fuel use, so that the refined mineral spirits does not have a dangerously low flash point, and can be safely used for cleaning, degreasing, or paint blending. No smoking is still recommended, read the safety messages on the can. Also, most grades of mineral spirits are refined to the point where they dry up completely without leaving non-volatile mineral oils behind. Major differences in brands and grades are the type of pigments & bases that can be dissolved, drying rates and temperatures, odor, etc.

Turpentine are hydrocarbons of plant origin, distilled & refined from pine rosins. I guess that makes them vegetable spirits. IIRC they are more flammable than most mineral spirits.

All commonly used for paint & finishing work, I guess people can choose the poison they prefer.

The VM&P (varnish makers & painters) naphtha is a quicker drying but highly flammable petroleum derived solvent.

Anyway, for a rosewood fretboard I like to use highly unsaturated vegetable oils like sunflower or even corn oil, better to use ones that are fresh and have no preservatives. The suggestion to freshly cold press walnut oil for this purpose seems ideal. Over the long term with exposure to oxygen unsaturated oils will eventually polymerize and form a very tough soaked-in finish. I like to oil the fretboard once lightly if it seems dry when new, then maybe a couple times more over the next few years if it seems to still be too dry. I think too much oil would not let the residual moisture come out as it should, once the moisture has fully left, then the cellular spaces will absorb more of the oil as you continue to reapply it every few years, and gradual polymerization of the oil with itself can form a very rigid reinforcement network.

saturated oils or ones that are hydrogenated to reduce unsaturation will hardly polymerize to form a solid, and neither will mineral oils, they may help moisten the wood and enhance its appearance but I think long-term overuse would result in softening the wood, where proper use of unsaturated oils seems to harden wood over time.

Mike

6/19/2003 3:35 PM
Matt	Question for Mike Good info Mike. How 'bout mono-unsaturated (I hope I got that right!) oils like Olive oil? I've heard some folks say they use Olive oil. If Olive oil is OK, is extra virgin better? Matt

6/19/2003 4:01 PM

John Fisher

quote:
"How 'bout mono-unsaturated (I hope I got that right!) oils like Olive oil?"

Ohhh! I hope we don't start to get cockroaches in our guitars.

Page 2 of 3