Guitar finish and Fretboard cleaning/Maintenance

spudler

I think the search function is broke i come up with a blank screen each search so I tried now on to the question at hand.
I was wondering if anyone has found anything for cleaning fretboards or guitar finish other than the products at guitar center I know there are a ton of polishes and wood oils/protectants etc. out there that are pretty cheap and may actually work better than the expensive products so I was wondering what some of you all may use for cleaning and polishing guitar body's and for cleaning protecting fret boards?? thanks
I was also wondering if linseed oil is ok for the fretboard??

Manitou

I'm sure you can use most any wood or auto cleaners and waxes, but make sure there is no silicone in them. Careful with some of the auto polishes, as they have abrasives. So, no silicone or abrasives...and you will be okay.

Mineral oil, Danish oil, Lemon oil (mineral oil with a lemon scent) are fine for rosewood and ebony fretboards. Maple fretboards are finished, so use Naphtha to clean, and your polish to protect. Naphtha will clean anything on your guitar nicely, as well as strip off old wax. Some people like to use 000/0000 steel wool to clean the fretboard, and frets. I don't as it sheds and is messy. You'd have to cover up your pickups, or the filings will cling to the magnetic surface. If you need to polish your frets, just be mindful of finish (painted) surfaces. There are fret polishing products much better for this job.

I bought the three pack Gibson's Luthier's Choice for $10 and those three little bottles have lasted me already 4 years, and I'm still good. http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-Luthiers-Choice-3Pack-Cleaner?sku=420163
You get a Hi-gloss polish, Fretboard conditioner, and String cleaner/lubricant, and I don't have to wonder or worry about what I'm using.

Mostly what I do is wash my hands before I practice. Then wipe my guitar down with a soft cloth when I'm done. If I need to clean, I use a dampened cloth. I dampen the cloth with some distilled water, and just clean her up, and dry off with another cloth. About once a year I really clean and condition the fretboard with the strings off.

Best thing I've learned to do is use a hand sanitizer. You can get a cheap bottle from a superstore. That takes the oils and gunk off your hands, and you will find you are having to clean less afterward. Best thing you can do for your strings. I store my guitar in the case, or at my house it would be coated with dust, old man dander, crumbs, and unidentifiable crud. :?

spudler

well heck if there that cheap then i have no problem picking up a pack of those i figured they would be $10 a bottle i was looking at something at GC as i was in a hurry and it was a small bottle for $9.99 so I figured I would be able to find something around the house i already use and not have to plunk down that much cash for cleaning stuff. I noticed a lot of little scratches from picking or maybe someone who had my guitar before me wore a bracelet and I have some very fine polish for polishing optics on a CO2 laser and it worked great for rmoving those fine scratches it really fine polish it .1um thanks for the help

spudler

I guess I have a maple neck on my guitar is there anywhere I can look online to be sure it is maple and not something else I know its a Ibanez RG270 and it has 3 pickups 2 double and a single in the middle oh and it has a licensed floyd rose tremelo and locking string tree on the neck but not locking tremelo. which i was thinking i may change to double locking in the future and thoughts on that?? do I really need double locking?? i dont even use tremelo yet.

Manitou

The neck itself on your guitar is maple. They put both rosewood and maple fretboards on these. Maple is a tight grained light blonde color, and rosewood is a dark brown with a heavier grain.

Your single locking floater is easier to change strings, and set the intonation vs. the double locking. The double locking is better for heavy bar work, and getting the warble sound. I don't think you can get the non-locking floater to warble.