Acoustic guitar neck cleaning

  • Thread starter Thread starter RideTheCrash
  • Start date Start date
RideTheCrash

RideTheCrash

Member
I've been attempting to clean up the fretboard of my acoustic today, and just wanted to run this by you guys. I've attached some pics, for your reference.

I've been using some lemon oil stuff and a cloth, scrubbing away at the neck...surprising how dirty it was. There is still quite a build up of stuff, but I noticed what look like little cracks...either that or the guitar has a lot of grain (bear with me here). They seem more prominent lower down the neck in the higher frets.

Also...how much should I be doing this? The pics are after I've scrubbed at some of them a while (like the first fret...but it's still pretty dirty). The board looks pretty dark, and it seems to want to be scrubbed a million times before I get a lighter look to it...but mainly I'm just concerned about the little cracks/grains in the wood.

This guitar is old (no idea how much) and it's passed a few hands, so I don't know where it's been...I don't know what kind of wood the neck is, unless you guys can tell me, but I know the body is cherry wood. Hey, if you guys could tell what the nut is made out of too by looking...go for it, cause it looks pretty beat up.

Thanks...

http://www.freewebtown.com/smsessions/neck1.jpg
http://www.freewebtown.com/smsessions/neck2.jpg
http://www.freewebtown.com/smsessions/neck3.jpg
http://www.freewebtown.com/smsessions/neck4.jpg

(WARNING: semi-big pics)
 
The nut appears to be plastic. Frets look pretty good.

Lemon oil is fine though I prefer boiled linseed oil because it lasts longer. With dot inlays there's no problem so rub the oil in with 0000 steel wool, which will polish the frets at the same time. Not too much oil, just a little. But to get those dark areas by the frets. When you're done, let it sit around for awhile, then wipe off excess residue with a damp terrycloth.

Once you get it tuned up with new strings you'll be suprised at how good it feels.
 
Hmmm, I assume 0000 steel wool is softer than the normal stuff I probably have lying around in my house. I did a quick search on yahoo and found this guy: http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/grunge/grunge_3.htm

His board looks very similiar to mine, so maybe my neck is rosewood as well...he made it sound like that's what the board looks like from wear. Well, I'll try to find some of that steel wool for sure, because I just spent the last bit cleaning the hell out of my 8th fret and it turned out nicely. The first fret is extremely dirty though (ya know...gets more use).
 
The fretboard is definitely rosewood. Using 0000 steel wool is good advice. I've used that and lemon oil with good results. Haven't heard of using boiled linseed oil, but I think I'll give it a try.
 
Alright. I have some steel wool, but I"m not 100% it's 0000, but it's very fine. I've used it a bit and it seems to help some. My question is now...where the strings go over the fret, the wood is still a bit darker, and between it's lighter. Is it really possible to get them to match? I'm not really that picky, but I was wondering whether I just need to work at it more, or if the wood is pretty much going to stay that way (either way, it's good, looks much better than what it was).
 
Don't worry about the 'cracks'. They are a part of the grain of the wood. I use a rag dampened with naphtha (zippo fluid is the same thing but you can get a quart of naphtha at the paint store and it's cheaper) to clean the board and then oil the fingerboard with fretboard oil. I do this about every other time I change strings. The darker areas are caused by sweat, oil and moisture entering the exposed end grain areas of the wood. I personally prefer this 'aged' look. It makes the guitar look well played.

For those using 0000 steel wool...Be very careful, especially on electrics. Tiny steel wool fibers can get into your pickups and cause havoc. They can also get in your polishing rag and make beautiful swirling scratch patterns in your finish. :eek: Steel wool is generally not necessary, but if you feel you must use it, vaccuum the guitar and work area frequently, during and upon completion. Completely cover your pickups with masking tape before you even look for the steel wool.
 
Yeah I agree with the aged look thing. This thing has it's share of bumps and little dents here and there. Gives it character I guess you could say. I was thinking of maybe doing my electric later on, so thanks for the tip.
 
The white lines in the pics reflect residue of some kind of polish or rubbing compound; it's ok and not a problem. You can remove it with a little elbow grease and a cloth with some oil as mentioned above, but consider leaving it alone. The rosewood looks to be in pretty good shape. The first three or four frets are worn, but still look like they have a lot of miles left. Play that thang!
 
Well, my fiance says her dad (who used to own the guitar) used to polish the guitar all the time...but I don't know whether he ever touched the neck or not. And yeah, the first few frets are worn down, so are the higher ones. The ones on the middle of the neck seem to be the best out of all of them.

Right next to the nut is the hardest to clean, but it's alright. So far I have frets 1-8 cleaned...the rest is still coming. It's actually looking really cool, lots of light parts with some darker parts (but no crap in the grain this time).
 
I have an old (60's ?) Guild classical that needed a good cleaning. I found that good old isopropyl alcohol and a soft rag disolved the body grease and dirt quickly. Follow that up with a lemon oil rub and, voila!, clean a the day it was built.

My $.02, hope it helps.
 
That is a rosewood fingerboard, for sure.


OOOO oil free steel wool will get rid of the gunk. You use the lemon oil to condition the fingerboard, not to clean it. OOOO is the finest grade of steel wool in common use, and you can usually get good quality oil free stuff (I use a brand called Liberon) from a woodworkers store, such as Woodcraft or Rockler, though I get it in larger quantities from Woodworkers Supply.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Well I found the bag the steel wool I had was in, and it's not 0000. The neck is looking good but there are still a few places I want to go over. So I think if I can get out tomorrow or the next day I'll pick some up. Also, should the steel wool go with the grain only? Or against too?
 
Okay, so more searching and I find the household thing I am using is actually not the "real" lemon oil stuff...it's...some big word I can't recall. So I suppose I should try to find some of that stuff too? Geez, I hope I'm not killing my fretboard here.
 
you can use naptha(lighter fluid) to remove the grime and grease build up......you do however need to recondition the fret board afterward with lemon oil or a high grade wood polish.....the naptha will dry out the wood!
 
jpw23 said:
a high grade wood polish.....the naptha will dry out the wood!
Click to expand...



NOT wood polish. Most of that stuff has silicon in it, which will fuck up your fingerboard.

Lemon oil, by the way, is mostly made up of mineral oil, so if you want to use pure mineral oil (which may be easier to find) feel free.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Alright, I'm doing my searching today. Go with the grain or against it for the steel wool though?
 
Another thing you might try is to use one of the nylon scruber pads (like for in the kitchen to clean teflon coated pots and pans) and a few drops of mineral spirits to clean the fingerboard. This works fairly well for removing built up grime, don't forget to reoil the fingerboard afterwards. Oh yeah, and NO SMOKING while using any flamable cleaners. Denatured alcohol (shelac thinner) works well to remove (soften) grime and helps to even out the discoloration but will dry the wood out so if you use it, let the guitar set a few hours afterward (a good idea after using any solvent or cleaner) then reoil the fingerboard. DO NOT use WD-40 to clean a fingerboard. Even though it will do the job nicely, it will penetrate into the wood and cause the natural adhesion to break down and soon you will have pits worn into the wood.
 
Well, the 0000 steel wool is working much better than the other stuff I had, of course. It's a lot lighter, and looks very nice. I'll put some updates up when I'm done. No luck in finding lemon oil, but I'm still trying (mind you I'm in Canada).
 
Oh yeah...I couldn't really find anything on this topic, so, what is good for using to clean the body of my guitar? Lemon oil as well? This thing gets super wax buildup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top