Hi everyone. I thought I'd ask the group for some guidance as I trust your opinions. I've learned a lot from the board in the past and I welcome any suggestions you may have.

I have an '08 MIA Std 3-tone burst with maple neck that I truly love. Sometimes my love takes the form of too much cleaning so I can keep her looking as lovely as the day I brought her home. Anyway, about a month ago I changed strings and gave her a full cleaning, which really just includes a good wipe down with guitar cleaner/polish. I also tried for the first time on this guitar the old 000 steel wool on the neck trick, lightly rubbing to try to get any dirt/grime off the neck and frets. I do this on my Taylor acoustic but the neck on my acoustic is mahogany.

After doing this I noticed that the neck seems a little scuffed up, and, though not terribly noticeable, I'm worried that I've done something irreversibly bad. Do you think this was a bonehead move that will leave the neck permanently scarred or will I at some point be able to get the neck back to its pristine shiny condition?

Thanks.

I rub my maple necks down with double 0 steel wool every now and again too. never noticed any swirl marks or other visible signs of having used the wool. but then I dont go at it like i'm attempting to start a fire by friction either. A few passes usually does the trick. You may want to get a buffing cloth or wheel and buff in some more polish. This should help reduce if not eliminate any marks you may see.

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Whatever you do, don't buff out the "inspiration." If you're not careful, your neck could suddenly start sounding muddy and lifeless... like a rosewood neck, whihc lacks this magical quality.

Excellent point slap. I should have pointed out to only buff (again, lightly is the trick here) the back of the neck, not the finger board. Nor would I suggest using the steel wool on the board either. I use a polishing rag there and some soft plasic gadget (it may have a name, but damned if I know what it is) that I stole from my wifes nail care kit to clean out against the frets.

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Boy he really got to you with that "inspiration" in the maple neck thing huh?

In all seriousness i just use a tiny bit of water on a soft toothbrush to get round the frets. Aside from that maple doesnt need much more due to it being sealed by lacquer.

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No no and no

"Got to me?" No. Typed one of the most... well, let me politely say, "memorable" things I've ever read on the Internet? You betcha.

raf66, whether we're talking about the fingerboard or the back of the neck, some people like their lacquer with a high shine while others find that too slick and so use steel wool to dull it down to a satin finish.

That's entirely a matter of taste. But if you didn't mean to take the shine off that lacquer and want it back then you just need to polish it up gently with an automotive buffing cream, obtainable cheaply from any car parts supplier. Where I live a well known brand is T-Cut - but I'm told that's not sold in the States. Someone here will be able to supply a brand name for you.

Just go at it gently till the shine comes back and then stop. Remember, all of this is gradually thinning your lacquer slightly, which you probably don't want to do too much, especially at the edges of the fingerboard. So go easy.

Personally, I never use steel wool on my frets without completely masking the fingerboard first. Which is one of the really tedious guitar related tasks to my mind. So my frets get polished vary rarely.

Niki's soft toothbrush tip is excellent for removing stuborn dirt near to the frets. Better still though is not to let the fingerboard get filthy in the first place. Along with coils of surplus string coming off the tuners, grungy fingerboards are a look that went out with the '70s...

Cheers - C

I use 0000 steel wool on my rosewood and ebony fretboards only to clean really dirty, built up grime. Then I use Gibson Luthiers Choice fretboard conditioner. It gives the dark wood a nice rich look, and is not greasy or sticky. As for the frets, I mask off with tape, and polish to a brilliant shine. Once completed, the fretboard is clean, smooth and fast, and the frets are smooth and bends are effortless.
For Maple, I use 0000 steel wool to polish frets with the board protected by masking tape. Since I like a nice shine to my maple necks, I polish between frets with The Fender/Meguiar products, which I find do an excellent job. Just go easy. I never use steel wool on maple.
Some elbow grease, and careful attention to the fretboard will yield a very nice result. It makes the fretboard play as smoothly as possible.

Right. Isn't masking a fretboard the boringest?

Some of Stew-Mac's products are a bit over the top, but if they made an all-in-one fretmask I'd buy it in a flash.

Unfortunately, the nearest you can get are their individual fingerboard guards:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_su ... uards.html

I have a set (of six) and they definitely have their uses. But for polishing frets on a maple 'board I find there is just enough gap round the edges of that slot for dirty marks from the steel wool to get themselves onto the lacquer near the fret. Which really spoils the effect...

Cheers - C

Thanks for the input. No more 0000 steel wool for the Strat, and yes, I was talking about the fretboard. I'll try to polish her back up to spit shine condition.

Ceri, that makes sense about the lacquer since it's shiny vs. the mahogany of my acoustic which is not.

+1

I also learned from my dad that a tiny (tiny!) bit of plain toothpaste will do a bang-up job on a dirty fingerboard. Although I'm not fanatical about cleaning my guitars -- I probably do a serious, thorough job once a year -- this method works.

Good for teeth and gums, cant imagine it does rosewood or maple any harm.

Wait till zzdoc reads this

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No no and no

This is actually a very good tip. Old fashioned white toothpaste in a tube has a very mild abrasive in it and has been used over the decades for gentle polishing purposes by folks in all kinds of unexpected areas.

Absolutely reasonable - just in case anyone thought it was a joke. It's not. Give your fingerboards that Colgate freshness!

Cheers - C