Hey Fenderists.

I was wondering if I should start buying something for guitar maintenance? I heard something about lemon oil for the fretboard. Is there other things i should take care of? Where I store my guitars, how to clean them etc?
I'm not that big of a guitarist yet, have been playing for about a year, so I dont need all the most expensive gear, if you get me right. Just what you think is absolutely necessary

Thanks,
SuneA

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"When the intellectual part of guitar playing overrides the spiritual, you don't get to extreme heights."
- John Frusciante

If you have a fingerboard made of rosewood, ebony, or some other darker tone wood then lemon oil will work just fine. You can also use a two step cleaner/conditioner system like Dunlop makes, either or does just fine. BUT if you have a maple fingerboard that has been finished, don't use that stuff to clean it, it'll change the tint of the finish <_< Use just a slightly damp rag or they probably sell something especially for maple, never really looked myself. I normally just use Murphy's oil soap heavily diluted onto a rag, works great for me.

As for the rest, you can give your finish a polish now and then, get some string cleaner to help protect your strings from corrosion, and if you want you can give the wax the body after your done cleaning it. It also doesn't hurt to make sure your nut and bridge have some lubrication and when your done playing store it in a case or on a stand, long as there is ample support for the neck. If you also like you can make sure electronics like the input jack are nice and clean with some electrical contact cleaner. >_>

Of course, pretty much all of this is optional, if you like a dirty guitar more power to ya ^^

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Great advice above ^^.

What I'd give someone starting out...

- good tuner
- fretboard oil (dunlop and gibson make good stuff)
- needle nose/wire cutter thingy
- string winder
- soft 100% cotton cloth
- appropriate allen wrenches

That's about it. Learn to set your own intonation. Super easy, and something good to do each string change. Remember the phrase "high and tight" (like a marine haircut). If the harmonic is high, you tighten the intonation.

Just a point here about the 100% cotton cloth - these days there are microfibre cloths that are much better than cotton.

Reasons:
1) No linting from the cotton fibres which is particularly annoying when they get on to your strings and you have to pick them off.

2) The soft microfibres will never leave swirls on your ecpensive finish like cotton can do sometines because of the seed particles that are sometimes present.

Fender makes a really good kit that comes with three products Mist and wipe finish enhancer,Swirl and haze remover, and a polish. I have been using this for years its great and 90% of the time I just hit it with the mist and wipe.

Thank you guys so much, I kinda know what to be done now.

The things you mensioned dgonz, I already have in stock, the only thing I'm in need of is that oil. I have also been wondering for a long time, if the wood doesn't get too dry, and maybe crack, but the lemon oil kinda sorts that out for me

What kind of lubrication should i be using for the nut and the bridge?

I gotta take a better look at the guitar store the next time i drop by, and check out all the things they have. I know that for me 80% of the stuff is unnecessary, as I'm still in the amateur level, but just to get a picture of what kind of things are out there. Every time my parents take me there, I'm in such a hurry, because I'm out of such a non-aesthetic family. I'm the first generation, that seem to have a little insight in the world of music, but it's kinda tough for me with very little support from my parents

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"When the intellectual part of guitar playing overrides the spiritual, you don't get to extreme heights."
- John Frusciante

For nut and bridge, use graphite from a pencil.

I've been using olive oil on all my fretboard for many years.

Graphite? I'm not sure I get that?

And can I just use normal olive oil as I would use in cooking?

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"When the intellectual part of guitar playing overrides the spiritual, you don't get to extreme heights."
- John Frusciante

I've heard Olive Oil can spoil. I use just a dab of Lemon Oil. I'm sure you can buy something from the guitar counter of most shops. Just remember, too much of any oil is not good. You don't want it getting down under the frets where it doesn't belong.

I share my olive oil between cooking and fretboards so it doesnt have time to spoil . I use very little on the fretboards. You're right, the key is to use it sparingly.

Just my opinion - keep your olive oil in the frying pan and AWAY from your fretboard.

Try this experiment: -

put some olive oil onto a piece of ordinary wood and leave it out for two weeks - then smell it and feel .

It will be stinking and have gone crusty - same will happen to your fretboard.

Lemon oil is best for Rosewood.

That sounds cool, where do u find that? I've been using dunlop 65 on the body, and martin wood cleaner/moisturizer on the neck.

Also, I tried a microfiber towel on my axe and it didnt work as well as the trusty ol cotten hand towel. It felt like it was sticking to the paint almost?

Thanks caleb, I don't think I'm taking any chances with my guitars. I'm gonna get the lemon oil, not going to try some cheap solution with chance of screwing up my guitar

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"When the intellectual part of guitar playing overrides the spiritual, you don't get to extreme heights."
- John Frusciante

I get it at Sam Ash though GC should carry it. It is formulated by Meguirs so you should ask for the Fender Meguirs cleaning kit. It should also be on Fender.com or Meguirs .com and it comes with this round spounge type thing. I swear if you do all three applications it will make all your light scratches dissapear great stuff.

Here is what I gave to my daughter for her guitar:

1. Microfiber cloth to wipe the guitar off ever time she plays
2. Her fretboard is rosewood, so I gave her a small bottle of lemmon oil.
3. Needle Nosed pliers
3. Small wire cutters for cutting strings
4. Her guitar came with appropriate allen wrenches, but would have given them to her
5. Guitar Tunner
6. A key winder for changing strings
7. A hard shell case to put her guitar in so her guitar does not get banged up in her room
8. 3 sets of strings

Now she is on her own for the rest of what she wants.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head