It Raises It's Ugly Head Again

F312

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I cleaned another ebony fretboard with "Gorgomyte", the stuff works. I try not to get it on the wood, just the frets and an unbelievable amount of black comes off, more than you would think, like some chemical reaction, afterward I oil the board. Haven't tried it on rosewood yet. My frets are like mirrors and so smooth (like butter). It's worth a try.

No affiliation.

Ralph
 

GAD

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It won't hurt the wood. I've cleaned probably 40 guitars using Gorgomyte. I think the black is a chemical reaction and not filth, for what it's worth. When i'm done I just wipe down the fretboard with paper towel and then oil.
 

Guildedagain

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Tough to find MSDS sheets on the stuff, but did find the formula; mostly Mineral oil and a little Naptha.

Any oil cleans.

Reading a few threads on neck cleaning, I see that real actual lemon is quite the ticket, cleans, evaporates quickly. Might have to find some.
 

F312

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Lemon oil is my choice, but some other oils would be just as good. It's just the frets that get highly polished from Gorgomyte.

Ralph
 

GAD

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Be careful with lemon oil. Most of it isn’t actually lemon oil and a bunch of it has wax in it. I moved to bore oil years ago and highly recommend it.
 

SFIV1967

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Be careful with lemon oil. Most of it isn’t actually lemon oil and a bunch of it has wax in it. I moved to bore oil years ago and highly recommend it.
I switched to F-One Oil for that reason! https://www.musicnomadcare.com/Products/Guitar-Care/Fretboard-F-ONE-Oil-2-oz/

"100% free of any lemon oil extracts, waxes, petroleum distillates, silicone, and water. We chose not to use any lemon oil because it contains d-limonene, which is a strong solvent that is used to remove paint and glue. In addition, we believe the high acidity levels of lemon oil can dry out the fretboard over time and require more frequent fretboard care."

Ralf
 

GAD

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Yeah, I honestly don't think lemon oil is a good choice. I mean, I use it to clean coins because it's so acidic. It's one of the things I considered using to clean rust off of amp parts (I used vinegar instead).

This is what I use for fretboards. I love the stuff:

https://beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm
 

GAD

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So are you guys saying the Dunlop 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil fretboard cleaner commonly sold at Guitar Center and just about everywhere online is a bad choice?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/6554--dunlop-6554-lemon-oil

Can't say for sure because I see no ingredients on the bottle. From what I've read, most stuff labeled lemon oil is just mineral oil with lemon scent, anyway, so if that's the case you're probably fine. If you're squeezing lemons onto your fretboard, that's probably not good. If you're using lemon furniture oil that almost certainly contains wax.

This site says you're good: https://www.guitaranswerguy.com/12-lemon-oil-debate/
 

JohnW63

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I started using Fiddlebrite not that long ago. Some guitar forum recommendation, I'm sure.

The funny thing is, that now that I am looking for a link to the stuff...NO ONE stocks it anymore. Make you go hmmmm.....I know it's ONLY for fretboards and keep it off the finish.
 

adorshki

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Thx for unlocking that, it was somewhere deep in my subconscious ;-)

There's there's Gorgomon from some macabre TV show, he's a cannibalistic serial killer...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gormogon_(Bones)

nonononono....it's "the Corbomite Maneuver" (and speaking of ugly heads):

tos-corbomitemaneuver9.jpg

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708458/quotes/?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu

Featuring such gems of dialog as:

GAD (as Capt. Kirk): Scotty?
Deafult (as Lt. Cmdr. Scott): Mode of power? Beats me what makes it go.
GAD (as Capt. Kirk): I'll buy speculation.
Default( as Scott): I'd sell it if I had any.

and:

Capt. Kirk: This is the Captain of the Enterprise. Our respect for other life forms requires that we give you this... warning. One critical item of information that has never been incorporated into the memory banks of any Earth ship. Since the early years of space exploration, Earth vessels have had incorporated into them a substance known as... corbomite. It is a material and a device which prevents attack on us. If any destructive energy touches our vessel, a reverse reaction of equal strength is created, destroying -...
more in that link.

:friendly_wink:

And finally: What does Guild recommend?
Boiled linseed oil.
Why?
Because boiling polymerizes the oil so that it won't turn gunky or rancid on your fretboard, there's no danger of it harming the hideglue or NCL, and it's still got enough aromatics to evaporate nicely.
It's what oil painters thin out their pigments with.
"Just sayin'"
 
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