A lot of people ask me how I clean my maple necks and I am going to tell you.
First I don't mind a dirty neck at all but what I mind is someone else's dirt. So after buying a used JEM777DY with a dirty neck I looked around the house to see what I could find to clean it with.
I tried regular bleach, soap, alcohol, peroxide; window cleaner, mineral spirits etc. and most had no effect. I kept in mind that I didn't want to kill the wood or fret wire so I looked for something I had that would be a natural cleaner that removes grease, grease and oil is what's soaked in the wood fibers. I'm sure a few of you have worked in fast food, I did in my teen years and remember using a product called Simple Green. This stuff is what I clean my boards with.
Not only does it clean the board but I also can clean your fret wire and doesn't corrode them.
I use Simple Green with an Oral-B electric tooth brush and blue shop paper towels to wipe. Blue shop towels are also good for applying Tong Oil too as they don't leave lint.
Just to show you with a quick clean on this old RG550 neck.
This neck isn't as bad as some others I have done but the dirtier it is the more you have to repeat passes.
I havent had that problem with it so its odd? Besides, the reason the dirt is in the wood is because the acid form your fingers and your finger nails have worn the clearcoat away and you will have to re clean aways. Then you dont have to sand
It was spit cleaned before I used it so I know how much clear it did remove. It might not on all but it certainly did on the one I cleaned with it. Although the end result was probably more preferable to a dirtier board with more original clear, it should be noted that it is a possibility
I personally liked my boards dirty and stained with love, and not love of thy loins, i meant more like sweat. however, i like to keep my more valued maples clean, so the SK will need to be looked after with time. Not right away though, Rich did a killer re-finish
No magic spit here. If it was as clean as I wanted I wouldn't have tried the SG, which did remove a whole lot more, it's just that it removed a lot of clear also
I have another way that removed ghosting. But dont want somebody to get happy and turn their board white. Its an old trick used by carpet cleaners. peroxide and ammonia but you have to mix it right. *dont go mixing it in a jar or anything, you have to use cotton pads, one with peroxide and one with ammonia.*
What I mean by ghosting is deep down even after you use SG, you can see shadowing of the old stain at certen angles.
This happends on the really nasty boards.
Interesting extra fact there, Cosmic Debris. Someday your wisdom shall save me from a really huge pickle. I imagine the scenario will be lacking clothing and common sense.
We don't have Simple Green here in the UK so after much research I resorted to the simple method of using a fine grade wire wool. As you can see from the pics below there was no clear coat to worry about...
For me a dirty maple board is cool looking. That aside, is there something that folks who do not desire that happening can put on their board to keep it from happening?. Seeing your 550 makes me yearn for mine. I think I will bring my soldering iron home and put it back together.
About a year ago I made the mistake of listening to an obviously inept Guitar Center employee who told me "sure, you can use Dunlop guitar polish on your maple fretboard! We do it all the time here!". I've been trying to get the board to dry out and de-stick ever since. :| Thankfully it was only my old RG450, but still...
Sadly enough I did see evidence to back up his claim at Guitar Center; an Eric Johnson strat amongst others was sporting quite the stained looking maple fretboard. Enough to make a grown man cry
If the finish is very thin and already wearing through then it's quite possible it will remove a lot more of it. I've only ever tried it on 1 JEM neck and it did remove most of the original board clear that was left, but it was very thin clear.
I'd like to lightly sand my board and apply tru-oil on it, not too much just enough too keep it clean and make it look nice. If possible I'd also like tyo bring out the grain a little, I don't want to use ant dye though. I've read that if you dampen it the grain pops out, do you apply the finish with the board damp or dry if this really works? Any tips?
P.S. I've got sharktooth inlays should I apply this oil over them or not?
can somebody summarize the best way to clean a maple board? I'm to lazy and confused to decipher the conflicting instructions in this thread.
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