Fret Board Cleaners

Rich Cohen

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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!
 

davismanLV

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Seriously gunky and grungy, filthy fretboards, NAPTHA. Corroded and nasty frets, 0000 steel wool, wipe in the direction of the grain. Normal regular fret cleaning that I use on my own guitars, damp soft cloth, followed by a dry one. Maybe once a year or possibly longer, a couple or three drops of bore oil on a cloth, spread over the fretboard and then buff when dry. The End.
 

Cougar

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...I use just a little lemon oil and a soft tooth brush and a bunch of soft rags.

I've just used a little lemon oil on a rag on an already fairly clean board. I'm assuming this is fine on an ebony board as well?
 

GAD

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Be careful when buying lemon oil. Many of the bottles that say "lemon oil" contain wax and you really don't want wax on your fingerboard.

Fret Doctor is also called "bore oil" and it's the only thing I put on my fretboards after decades of using lemon oil that I later discovered had wax in it.

http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Fret-Doctor-Fingerboard-30ml-Bottle/dp/B01AV6385G

Fret doctor can darken rosewood fretboards, so if you don't want that you should be aware of the possibility.

BTW the details that Tom laid out are pretty much what I do. Though I've never felt the need to use naptha, it is the answer you'll get from a pro. 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*.
 

davismanLV

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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!!
 
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adorshki

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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!!

Lately I've come around to thinking that all that gunk on the fretboard may be the only thing holding my frets in anymore.
I ain't gonna mess with it.
Besides, it's mojo.
 

geoguy

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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

 

GAD

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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



Cool tip - I'll have to try those!
 

Quantum Strummer

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Careful use of a clean cotton cloth does it for me. A little linseed oil when desired. (Hang your cloth 'til it dries out completely if using the oil as it's flammable.) I use Stew-Mac fret erasers and a gentle touch for polishing, but only when the frets geometrically need it.

-Dave-
 

chazmo

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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.
 
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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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Rich Cohen

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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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I like your solution. My luthier, Bishop Stern uses the same 0000 steel wool and lemon oil, being careful to vacuum up the spent steel wool, though he rubs the steel wool on the frets and the fret board at the same time.
 

GAD

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Stewmac sells those. They have newer ones as well that sort of bungie on.
 
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