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First time I ever cleaned a rosewood fretboard and polished the frets

16K views 48 replies 15 participants last post by  GoodVaibes 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok so I cleaned my first guitar neck and polished the frets.

What I used:

Thin guitar pick
old t-shirt (clean) (actually 2 shirts)
0000 steel wool
tooth brush
murphys oil soap
guitar honey

What I did:
Summary - I mostly followed Rich's guide over at Ibanez Rules http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/grunge/grunge_3.htm I also added a couple of steps because I wanted to feel like I actually cleaned the board with a cleaner. Not that Rich's guide is bad but rather I am a germaphobe ha ha. I'm not telling anyone they should use the cleaner I did just that is what I did.

Step one:
I removed the neck from the guitar.

Obviously this neck was off before as someone before me put the plate on backwards. I also thought the screws were in the wrong holes. Hopefullly something I won't have to fix later.

Well Learned something already. This is a RG560 guitar and the neck is stamped 550. I am assuming either all 560's are stamped 550 or this neck was replaced at some point.
Step 2:
I took the edge of a guitar pick and held it fairly flat against the fretboard and scraped off (always with the grain) what I could of the crud. Sorry I forgot to take pictures of this but here are a couple of the dirty looking frets and fretboard. yucky...

Step 3:
Retrieve camera from 3 yr old son.

Step 4:
I took a toothbrush and quickly brushed (with the grain) the entire length of the board to brush away any loose material and to help loosen whatever else is on there. 9 out of 10 dentist prefer oral B you know.

Step 5:
I took a cloth wrapped around my finger and rubbed the board (with the grain as much as possible). A little elbow grease here but made sure not to use my fingernail to dig into the board.
 
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#36 ·
Whole thread on Maple if you have not already read it.. It's a sticky at the top of the Tech Setup and repairs forum.

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f21/ma...ple+fretboards
Appreciate the help, I've checked that link - I don't have an issue about cleaning the actual board but how would I dress up my board (i.e. cover it) when I do a fret polish. Again, I'm thinking on a clear coated maple board, which I want to preserve the clear on it, tape may have a chance of taking the clear off as Rich alludes to in his gear page.
 
#46 ·
NECRO! POST! ALERT!

Well this seemed like a good one to resurrect as it has some good points and positive vibes...

My questions are regarding a Jem vine inlay rosewood neck - essentially the neck needs a thorough cleaning and several of my guitars need the frets deoxidised.

Would the 0000 gauge steel wool damage the inlays?

I have a bottle of Dunlop 65 lemon oil which I have used on a RG340 neck but I'm hesitant to use on a Jem due to the 'sillicates' issue, as discussed in several other threads.

Should I just use bore oil instead?

Rich IbanezRules' site has a great cleaning section which mentions both lemon and bore oil but I want to check about this Dunlop 65 stuff.

After steel wool-ing the frets should i just dry cloth polish to finish them or use some other type of fibre cloth & finishing agent?

Thanks for any advice!
 
#47 ·
NECRO! POST! ALERT!

Well this seemed like a good one to resurrect as it has some good points and positive vibes...

My questions are regarding a Jem vine inlay rosewood neck - essentially the neck needs a thorough cleaning and several of my guitars need the frets deoxidised.

Would the 0000 gauge steel wool damage the inlays?

I have a bottle of Dunlop 65 lemon oil which I have used on a RG340 neck but I'm hesitant to use on a Jem due to the 'sillicates' issue, as discussed in several other threads.

Should I just use bore oil instead?

Rich IbanezRules' site has a great cleaning section which mentions both lemon and bore oil but I want to check about this Dunlop 65 stuff.

After steel wool-ing the frets should i just dry cloth polish to finish them or use some other type of fibre cloth & finishing agent?

Thanks for any advice!
Use Bore-Oil.

Jimmy:smile:
 
#49 ·
Thanks fellas!

I've just looked up these products on Stew-Mac. Looks like quite the new world of guitar maintenance I'm opening up by cleaning my frets! I'm good for putting in some decent work on them so I'll go for the sticks and see how I get on.

I'm glad to find out I can steel wool the board without damaging the inlays too.

Cheers!
 
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