It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 1:16 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 11 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:10 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:08 am
Posts: 2
Hi, this is my first post as I've just bought my first Fender, a gorgeous American special Tele. My previous main guitars were made by the big G and had rosewood fingerboards, this is my first maple board and Fender states that you mustn't use lem oil. Any reason why? If so, what do you use to keep the fret board clean?


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:46 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4241
You don't need any oil on a maple fretboard, because it has the finish. On an AmSpec it's PU, which after curing tolerates almost anything.

The possible "damages" are basically that oil gathers more dirt, and on worn necks (e.g. Roadworns) the wood may look discolored on more exposed areas.

On cleaning the maple fretboard (the first thing of course is to play with clean hands...), wipe it with a soft cloth after playing, and use your favorite brand guitar care/cleaning products periodically or when needed.
The old school way is cotton rag & Zippo fluid. :wink:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 7:28 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:47 am
Posts: 1256
The old school way is cotton rag & Zippo fluid

yep other wise known as Naptha!

want to know more:
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-naptha.htm


for maple (sealed) boards on my Fenders, I just use a damp cotton rag.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:53 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:35 pm
Posts: 807
Location: Just East of Event Horizon
A lot of people have said that you can use lighter fluid, or naphtha, which are essentially the same thing, to clean maple fretboards.
Since I have never tried this, and NEVER will, I will never personally know if using this highly flammable, and somewhat dangerous petroleum distillate, is safe to use to clean guitar necks.
The bottom line is don't use lighter fluid, or naphtha to clean maple fretboards.

My advice is buy a 4 oz. bottle of "Gibson Pump Polish," which is universally available at nearly every music store and online, or buy a can of "Lemon Pledge" furniture polish at the grocery store.
Use a paper towel or cotton cloth with either of these polishes.
A tooth pick may also prove to be a handy tool for grime next to the frets.
Remove your strings and clean away.
Both polishes can also be used to clean the pickguard and the body of the guitar.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 1:27 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:08 am
Posts: 2
That all makes sense, thanks for the replies! Think I'll stay away from the highly flammable stuff and stick to the damp cloth... 8)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 3:12 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:35 pm
Posts: 807
Location: Just East of Event Horizon
Ratocaster wrote:
That all makes sense, thanks for the replies! Think I'll stay away from the highly flammable stuff and stick to the damp cloth... 8)

While a slightly "damp" cloth may not hurt your guitar, you should avoid using water on your fretboard and stick to my suggestions above.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2016 12:22 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Posts: 4602
Location: ˚ɷ˚
MickJagger wrote:
A lot of people have said that you can use lighter fluid, or naphtha, which are essentially the same thing, to clean maple fretboards.
Since I have never tried this, and NEVER will, I will never personally know if using this highly flammable, and somewhat dangerous petroleum distillate, is safe to use to clean guitar necks.
The bottom line is don't use lighter fluid, or naphtha to clean maple fretboards.

My advice is buy a 4 oz. bottle of "Gibson Pump Polish," which is universally available at nearly every music store and online, or buy a can of "Lemon Pledge" furniture polish at the grocery store.
Use a paper towel or cotton cloth with either of these polishes.

What a load of bovine faeces. "Lemon Pledge" is a petroleum distillate / mineral oil mix, so you're objecting to one thing and replacing it with something that's exactly what you object to! Because of the oils, it will do far more damage to maple than naphtha will if you have any crack or wear in the lacquer where it can actually come in contact with the wood.
Lemon oil is great for large lacquered surfaces, or saturated woods like rosewood and ebony. It's a very bad idea for open pore woods like maple and linden. It will not only stain it, but the oils will absorb and cause the wood fibers to expand where exposed. If you have a tight seal everywhere, you may be fine. But if there's a crack next to a fret or any other damage, you hurt your guitar.

As for "Gibson Pump Polish", Gibson themselves tell you to not use it on sensitive surfaces, and use naphtha instead...


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2016 1:53 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:35 pm
Posts: 807
Location: Just East of Event Horizon
arth1 wrote:
MickJagger wrote:
A lot of people have said that you can use lighter fluid, or naphtha, which are essentially the same thing, to clean maple fretboards.
Since I have never tried this, and NEVER will, I will never personally know if using this highly flammable, and somewhat dangerous petroleum distillate, is safe to use to clean guitar necks.
The bottom line is don't use lighter fluid, or naphtha to clean maple fretboards.
My advice is buy a 4 oz. bottle of "Gibson Pump Polish," which is universally available at nearly every music store and online, or buy a can of "Lemon Pledge" furniture polish at the grocery store.
Use a paper towel or cotton cloth with either of these polishes.

What a load of bovine faeces..... As for "Gibson Pump Polish", Gibson themselves tell you to not use it on sensitive surfaces, and use naphtha instead...

Ahhh...., the engineering wizard makes another grand appearance in his role as the "King of the Fender Lounge Alchemist Society," to again bless this Forum with his loquacious ignorance and hyperbole.

Gibson Pump Polish, is my primary recommendation for cleaning any Fender maple fretboard.
Virtuoso Premium Polish and Cleaner is apparently another good cleaner, which I have never used.

Gibson does not list the exact ingredients of Gibson Pump Polish on the label or online.
The Gibson Pump Polish label states that it is "safe on all nitro cellulose lacquer and polyurethane finishes."
What is it arth1, that you fail to understand about the advice from Gibson regarding use of this product?

arth1 wrote:
....."Lemon Pledge" is a petroleum distillate / mineral oil mix, so you're objecting to one thing and replacing it with something that's exactly what you object to! Because of the oils, it will do far more damage to maple than will if you have any crack or wear in the lacquer where it can actually come in contact with the wood.
Lemon oil is great for large lacquered surfaces, or saturated woods like rosewood naphtha and ebony. It's a very bad idea for open pore woods like maple and linden. It will not only stain it, but the oils will absorb and cause the wood fibers to expand where exposed. If you have a tight seal everywhere, you may be fine. But if there's a crack next to a fret or any other damage, you hurt your guitar.

First, there is no lemon oil in "Lemon Pledge".

Ratocaster asked for information about cleaning an American Special Telecaster.
American Special Telecasters have a polyurethane finish on both the neck and body.
I used "Lemon Pledge" for many years to clean polyurethane finishes with good results, prior to using Gibson Pump Polish.
"Lemon Pledge" will not harm polyurethane finished maple fretboards.

"Lemon Pledge" is an is an emulsion, primarily composed of water, Isoparaffin, and polydimethylsiloxane, using Polysorbate 80 and Sorbitan Oleate as emulsifiers.
Using a water based emulsion such as "Lemon Pledge," is fundamentally different than applying water directly to a fretboard, which I would not recommend.
As I stated previously, a slightly "damp" cloth will probably do no harm, but you would not want to get water, repeatedly under frets, or otherwise, repeatedly penetrating the fretboard.

Arth1, if you want to claim that "Lemon Pledge" should not be used on nitrocellulose lacquer, due to the silicone properties of polydimethylsiloxane, I have no general disagreement with that caveat.
However, your blow-hard, typical Alchemist response, went well beyond this caveat, and is not applicable to what Ratocaster asked about, regarding cleaning his polyurethane finished maple fretboard, on his American Special Telecaster.

One further word of advice:
Arth1, if you plan to use naphtha to clean your fretboard, please do so with steel wool, and do it indoors, in the winter. :lol:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 11:41 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:35 pm
Posts: 807
Location: Just East of Event Horizon
Jimi Hendrix demonstrating for the Monterey Pop audience at the Finsbury Park Astoriaon on March 31, 1967, the use of naphtha to clean his guitar using steel wool and static electricity......

Image
In addition to naphtha providing a nice cleaning to your guitar, if properly applied using the Hendrix method, you can also achieve an awesome relic finish on your guitar!!

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:44 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:52 pm
Posts: 93
Location: Jomtien Beach, Thailand
On my maple fretboards I clean them with windex: just cleaning off plastic, more or less. Once finish starts wearing off, I think I'd be a bit more careful. Not there yet.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fretboard Cleanliness
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 12:13 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:35 pm
Posts: 807
Location: Just East of Event Horizon
Emster 23 wrote:
On my maple fretboards I clean them with windex: just cleaning off plastic, more or less. Once finish starts wearing off, I think I'd be a bit more careful. Not there yet.

Emster 23, you are using a very harsh, water based alcohol solution, containing approximately 5% ammonia, which has no emulsive characteristics, limiting the propensity of this solution to be absorbed under the frets and into the wood.
Continued use will also quite likely eat through your fretboard finish and possibly alter or deform the surface of your fretboard.

Windex is designed for use on glass and similar surfaces.
Windex is NOT designed for use on wood finishes.
You should stop this practice immediately if you give two turds, or a toss, about your guitar.

Windex® "Advanced" or "Complete" Glass & Multi-Surface Cleaner (blue liquid)
Formula 35*11604 - The formula number on the label identifies the following ingredients.
• Water
• Isopropyl Alcohol Carrier
• 2-Hexoxyethanol Cleaning Agent - (A/K/A: 2.ethylene glycol monohexyl ether)
• Ethanolamine Cleaning Agent - (both a primary amine and a primary alcohol)
• Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate Wetting Agent
• Butoxypropanol Cleaning Agent - (two isomeric alcohols/ethanols solvent)
• Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate Cleaning Agent (colorless salts)
• Alkyl Polyglycoside Cleaning Agent
• Propylene Glycol Carrier
• Ammonium Hydroxide Cleaning Agent - (solution of ammonia in water, approx. 5%)
• Fragrance
• Liquitint® Sky Blue Dye


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 11 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: