When guitarpolish only is not enough

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Author Message Johnm (Johnm) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 4:55 am:    Hi, I'm planning to give my spanish guitar a good cleaning. The problem is that the fretboard is really dirty. (years of playing, grease and dirt). Just using some kind of guitarpolish is not enough. It seems that I have to scrape this stuff of. How do I go about this without damaging the fretboard? Any tips? Tim_Walker (Tim_Walker) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 10:04 am:    I use plastic to scrape the dirt off. Something like a credit card works fine (as long as you don't need it after). That should remove what you need without digging holes in your fretboard. Johns (Johns) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 1:46 pm:    John: There's a thread around someplace that addresses this issue. I have been advised by more than one person to use Naptha (lighter fluid) and then use very light steel wool (0000) but rub only in the direction of the fretboard's grain. Works fine for me. Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 3:16 pm:    I usually use a mild cleaner and an old toothbrush. Any of the new citrus (orange oil) based cleaners work well. If it's really gross, I use a citrus based hand cleaner like Fast Orange. Make sure you get the cream variety, NOT the pumice type! Cheers Steve Spiro (Spiro) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 5:02 pm:    heres a step by step I wrote for another forum that would help, Maintainig a rosewood or ebony fretboard. After you have removed your strings it is time to clean the fretboard and polish the frets before restringing that guitar... If you notice that your fretboard has a build up of gunk or MUNG please read step 1 carefully. If not go on to Step 2. Tools Required: Bore oil (available from woodwind instrument suppliers) 0000 steel wool (steel wool is rated in fineness the more 0's the finer the steel wool) Guitar polish or furniture polish (furniture polish should only be used on guitars with a polyurethane or acrylic finish. For nitro please check before using any polishes) 4 seperate rags (you will find out later why) Metal Polish (Autosol or similar brand but must be abrasive) Old toothbrush 1 magnet (Old pickup magnet works great but anything similar will do) Step 1 If your fretboard has alot of built up dirt you need to use a toothbrush and furniture polish in this first step.. Spray the polish all over the fretboard liberally until it is nice and wet.. Let the polish sit for about 1 minute then grab hold of your toothbrush and start scrubbing in all directions. Make sure you get nice and close to the fret ends as well. Wipe down the board with Rag 1 and check for dirt if it is still there repeat the above step. Let fretboard dry completly before continuing. Step 2 Using some steel wool dry rub down the hole fretboard with this steel wool until the frets and the board are nice and clean ( make sure you rub the wool up and down the board with the grain of the wood not against it. Once finshed grab hold of your magnet and pickup as much of the steel wool dust as possible. Step 3 Apply bore oil to each fret 3 or 4 drops should do the trick. then with your finger spread the oil so that it covers all of the wood on the board. then using a new piece of steel wool rub the fretboard and oil into the board. Let the oil sit for a while the grab rag 2 and clean the excess off. Again grab your magnet and pick up as much of the steel wool dust as possible.. Step 3 Wet the fretboard again with furniture or guitar polish and grab hold of rag 3 and your metal polish. Place the rag around your index finger and apply a drop of metal polish to the rag then rub down each fret until nicely polished and trying to stay away from the wood on the board. repeat this step if necessary until the frets are nicely polished.. Grab rag 1 and wipe fretboard clean. Step 4 Wet fretboard again with furniture or guitar polish and grab your toothbruch again and clean the fretbaord as in step one and wipe clean with rag 1.. Step 5 Apply bore oil to fretboard again, 1 or 2 drops this time and rub in with rag 4 let sit for a few minutes and polish off excess.. And Now your fretboard is ready for restringing... The need to keep frets polished is so that they do not wear as quick from string bending. This process should be done pretty much after every second string change Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 6:22 pm:    Is there a specific reason why guitar people use steel wool? Try red or grey Scotchbrite. Much less mess! Cheers Steve Goldentone (Goldentone) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 7:08 pm:    I agree with Mr Roadstar on his method . There's no need for abrasives to remove this muck . Ive found steel wool residue stuck all over the back of pickups which cant do them any good ( steel wool is conductive ). The guitar specific lemon cleaners seem to do the job well . For polishing I use a buffing wheel and Jewlers rouge , this buffs both the frets and fretboard and makes the neck much faster ( By doing this job on my own guitars I could afford to buy the bench grinder and attachments ) . I have been advised not to use furniture or car polish as these contain lots of silicone which is apparently very detrimental to gutiars ( loosening glued surfaces ). Some luthiers will not work on such treated guitars as it makes glueing and refinishing more difficult . Richard Munch (Munch) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 8:45 pm:    I agree, I have never used steel wool on a guitar. Lemon oil, a tootbrush, and some metal polish for the frets is all I have found is required. The gunk on old fretboards can be very stubborn, so a plastic edge is a very good tool to have too. I would never put car polish on a fretboard, but high quality non-silicone polishes are safe and very effective in reviving guitar finishes. I use Meguiars polishes which are specifically made without silicone. The presence of silicone causes all sorts of problems if ever you need paintwork repaired on your car. Regards, Mark Bcalla (Bcalla) Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 10:30 pm:    Hi all - From my Rickenbacker's manual: "If the instrument becomes stained or dulled and the polishing cloth will not fully clean the finish, use any non-abrasive pure carnauba-based auto wax." They also specify that some cleaning cloths (presumably not sold for guitar care) are treated with silicone which can damage the finish and preclude refininshing the guitar. Interestingly, there is also information about the dangers inherent in chlorine, and that "many imported guitar stand bumpers, foam rubber padding or packaging materials, and polyvinyl chloride plastic bags emit chlorine and other chemicals which can seriously damage the guitar's finish". Bob C Johns (Johns) Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 12:04 pm:    Coincidentally, the newest Vintage Guitar Mag has an article on cleaning guitars. The writer expounds on other areas besides the basic cleaning technigues. On a tangent, would you say that a Dremel was a good investment for someone who worked on guitars? Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 1:08 pm:    John, "On a tangent, would you say that a Dremel was a good investment for someone who worked on guitars?" ABSOLUTELY! My little Ryobi has payed for itself several times over. I use it for everything from modifying pickguards to polishing frets. Cheers Steve Johns (Johns) Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 1:15 pm:    Steve: That's just what I wanted to hear. Now I just have to decide which of the many "kits" to buy. I guess the more attachments, the merrier! Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 3:31 pm:    John, I would recommend getting one with variable speed. My Ryobi has it and it's wonderful. Don't be too sold on the big "kits". Often the abrasive wheels and such in those packages are not top quality. Mandrels are pretty universal for these tools. Generally 1/16" & 1/8" shanks. Most of the tools come with both size ferruls. You can get all the "attachments" you need seperately. Cheers Steve Funkle (Funkle) Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 4:00 pm:    So we have a few different approaches here. Spiro's seems to be the most radical; The combo of the steel wool and the lighter fluid would probably remove even the most stubborn "mung" along with some of the fret board. I would be a little worried that the lighter fluid would strip the natural oils from the wood, but I guess that the bore oil would replenish it. Sounds like an effective approach, but before every other string change? I think a little lemon oil would suffice. I think I'll try the credit card/scotch brite approach first. As far as cleaners go, I've always used lemon oil. This is supposed to replenish the natural oils of the wood. I wonder if the lighter fluid/bore oil would do this more effectively? stewmac.com has little fret polishing wheels that fit a dremel shaft. They also have steel fretboard guards that could be used to protect the wood while you are polishing the frets. One product that I have found indespensable is a metal polish called Simichrome. It was developed for restoring cars, but is available at bicycle shops (try performance or bikenashbar.com). It is a paste polish that works wonders on chrome, and unplated metals. It is really effective at getting rid of tarnish, and it even seems to remove some pitting. It leaves a protective coating on the metal too. Don't use it on black anodized parts though - it will rub the anodizing off. Spiro (Spiro) Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 5:47 pm:    I'll stick to my way as I have never ever had any problem.. My fretboards look new all the time and the reason for the steel wool is that it is not as abrasive on the wood as scotch brite pads are.. From the hundreds of repairs I have done in the years never have I had a complaint (except for a pickup replacement but that was the pickups fault) If you are getting steel wool on the pickups then you are doing something wrong.. This technique also gives rosewood and ebony boards a nice sheen to them.. I agree that a dremel would be the best tool to use but not all can afford a dremel that is why you hand polish (besides some cannot control a power tool properly and can damage more than than they repair).. You need to polish frets YES after every second string change to keep those frets nice and shiney.. each to his own.. Sometimes I think people are a little too cautious and that is why companies like Dr stringfellow and all the guitar polish makers are killing it in profits.. Lemon oil contains solvents which are damaging to some finishes it also evaporates (also tarnishes nickel silver ahhhhh!!!) Bore oil is specifically made for rosewood and ebony preservation, Lemon oil 150ml cost = $11.00 AUD,bore oil 200ml = $4.00 AUD .. most guitar polishes contain about 75% water.... cost about $12.00 AUD water = free plus some carnauba wax about $1.00... I have stressed the use of carnauba wax for years a 500gram tub costs about $30.00 AUD but lasts forever.. last tub I bought was 4 years ago and I have done hundreds of polishes with it and it is still 3/4 full.. take it or leave it.. Mr_Roadstar (Mr_Roadstar) Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 7:30 pm:    Spiro, I meant no disrespect where the steel wool is concerned. It has always seemed to be the material of choice for most guitar tech and I was curious as to why. I have always used Scotchbrite in my automotive hobby pursuits, and just brought it over to my guitar interests. I think most people are not aware that Scotchbrite is available in 3 or more varieties. The green stuff (pot scrubbers) is way to harsh for guitar work. I only use the red (medium) or grey (fine). It can be found where automotive body and paint products are sold. I do all my fret and finish polishing with the Ryobi (Dremel). I use small rag wheels with very fine polishing compounds and turn the speed way down. My Ryobi cost about $40US. Cheers Steve Johnm (Johnm) Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 4:51 am:    Hi guys, Thanks for all the info. First thing I need to do now is to find the European or Dutch brands for all the cleaning and oil products mentioned above. I think I will try the credit card method first and see how much I can scrape of. If that is not sufficient, I'll move up to the steel whool. Goldentone (Goldentone) Posted on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 8:19 pm:    Lemon oil & Lemoil are two different things . DO NOT confuse them . Pure Lemon oil WILL quite likley remove more than dirt . Lemoil is a guitar specific product made for the purpose .

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