In need of advice from those of you who have experience cleaning a fret board with fancy abalone inlays, such as on the JF-100. What do you recommend?
Thanks for the advice!
Thanks for the advice!
Fret Doctor
...I use just a little lemon oil and a soft tooth brush and a bunch of soft rags.
What ^^^ he said. Little pieces of steel wool go everywhere and you have to be careful especially on electrics or around pickups.I'm a stickler for smooth shiny frets, so I polish them once a year or so (more if needed) with 0000 steel wool, but there's a fair bit of prep you should do because the metal filings will get *everywhere*.
What ^^^ he said. Little pieces of steel wool go everywhere and you have to be careful especially on electrics or around pickups.
p.s. - I've never used NAPTHA on a fretboard either, because I've never had one that dirty. But I've seen a few nasty ones!!
Gorgomyte cleaning cloths do a great job on dirty fretboards & tarnished frets. Without leaving any steel-wool debris behind.
There are other sources of these cloths, but Stew-Mac's website has plenty of reviews if you wish to read some. Note that a little patch of this cloth (2 x 2 inches) is enough to clean a fretboard & tarnished frets. You cut the cloth up into little squares, leave them sealed up in a zip-lock bag, & take one out when you need to clean a fretboard.
http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Cleaners_and_Lubricants/Gorgomyte_Fretboard_Conditioning_Cloth.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2017-03-gp&gclid=CPDFprvFzNICFQeBswodYp4BmQ
Second for bore oil. If it's good enough for woodwind instruments, it's good enough for our fretboards. You need very little to rub into ebony, sometimes quite a bit more (but still just a few drops) for rosewood.
I also use 0000 wool on the board. If you do that, be careful to cover your soundhole (if you have a pickup) and also avoid rubbing it around the outside of the neck (where it'll scratch the finish). When I use wool, I vacuum before rubbing down with oil.
I have used the Dunlop 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil for years on all my fretboards and never had a problem. And I have this little tool...it's a thin piece of sheet metal 3 1/8 inches long X just under 3/4" wide....with a slot about the same size of a fret cut in the middle. It protects the fingerboard when using 0000 steel wool on the frets.
And I always do that FIRST...then vacuum to make sure I'm getting all the spent wool off. THEN apply the lemon oil and use the soft toothbrush to get whatever "mojo" is left near the frets on the fingerboard. Then wipe all the lemon oil away...and re-apply a very thin coat and let it soak in a minute or two...then wipe away the excess and buff!
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