fret board cleaner and conditioner

fguihen

what do you use to clean the gunk off your fretboard when a toothbrush just wont work?

also, after the cleaning is done, what do you use to condition it? I hear a lot of recommendations, but this fret doctor seems to get great reviews on a few les paul discussion boards.

http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

what do you pros recommend?

Rigsby

First of all, to prevent a build up of dirt and grime, I always wash my hands before taking up the instrument. As a result my fretboard needs very little cleaning. I've never had to use a tooth brush, and I play for at least an hour every single day, apart from gigs. As some people's hands sweat more than others, they may find the need to clean more often. Some people use a plastic tooth pick to get at awkward places.
When I do clean my board, I keep it simple and just use a cotton cloth moistened with water. A lot of people swear by lemon oil, but I've never felt the need to use it. It's probably ok if used very sparingly, and not on a maple board.

Funny you should mention "Fret Doctor". I also read great reviews about it and ordered some out of curiosity. Have used it once on my rosewood board (again very sparingly ) and found it quite good. That small little bottle should last me a lifetime.

All this talk about cleaning did not exist back in the late 50's and 60's. People just played and did not worry about cleaning. Did not seem to do them any harm.

BTW I am by no means a pro.

Voodu Child

You dont need to go buying anything fancy or expensive, a woodwind bore oil will do just fine, should be available in any music shop.

Lemon oil is another popular alternative, again available in music shops.

Either will do fine. Dont use them on maple boards, and dont get them anywhere on the guitars finish etc.

Alanstrainor

I use lemon oil myself, found it great for conditioning my strats necks. Never had to use a toothbrush to remove gunk, i generally just persist with a cloth until it's removed. The lemon oil i bought was under a fiver and it'll last me years!

fguihen

voodoo_child wrote: »

Either will do fine. Dont use them on maple boards, and dont get them anywhere on the guitars finish etc

will it corrode or remvoe the finish? if thats the case, i dont want it anywhere near the guitar!

Voodu Child

fguihen wrote: »

will it corrode or remvoe the finish? if thats the case, i dont want it anywhere near the guitar!

Nah, just use it sparingly (and with a cloth that you don't use on the body) and you'll be grand. The acids in lemon oil can break down/soften laquer over time, but so long as you're not using too much or in a messy way it shouldn't be a problem.

You'll see various recommendations for and against different kinds of conditioners - but this is something you should be doing maybe every year, or six months at most, in very sparing quantities. Its such a minor thing and so infrequent that do it carefully and sparingly and you should never encounter any problems.

fguihen

grand. thanks. ive ordered a bottle of the fret doctor oil. thanks for the info and advice folks.