Care & Cleaning of Guitars

[lemonslimes06]

Once I began to look into what's the best stuff to clean my bass with... I just got buried. And now am a bit lost and dazed on what really is 'best' - both best for your guitar, and easiest on the wallet!

Okay - some people swear by certain brands, others use just a damp rag, some use Pledge.... what do you clean your guitar/bass with??

I recently bought some Martin Guitar Polish, so that will be fine to shine up the body/back of neck, but am unsure what to use as a fretboard cleaner and conditioner. The guy at the shop just said to use lemon oil... while Googling, there is a lot of controversy on using lemon oil on rosewood fretboards. I didn't really want to spend extra on fretboard cleaner (smaller shop=less selection, higher prices.. should have gone to Guitar Center and got Gibson's 3-pack of cleaner/conditioner/string cleaner! Nice and simple!)

Some people say Pledge cleans fretboards really well, while professional articles say that it's horrible for them.... what about something like Pledge's Revitalizing Oil with Natural Orange Oil to condition? (Near the bottom, someone had positive review of using pledge with orange oil... has anyone else tried it? http://www.htguide.com/forum/printthread.php4?t=31901)

So, what do you use?

[55'gibby]

I just throw them in the dishwasher once a week


I just use a small bit of dunlop guitar polish... like once a year. Except my gibby... I'd have to go look at the bottle, but it's something for vintage nitro finishes (no silicone), suggested to me by a guy at elderly music

[55'gibby]

As for the fretboard.... I just clean it with a toothbrush to get the gook out from around the frets... no conditioner or cleaner.

[bonsy]

Originally Posted by 55'gibby

As for the fretboard.... I just clean it with a toothbrush to get the gook out from around the frets... no conditioner or cleaner.

I have A maple fretboard on my Tele 52 reissue which gets quite tacky, i read somewhere that you can use detergent to clean it,ie soapy water, would you think this would be ok? also any tips on sorting out the tacky board/neck ! cheers.

[55'gibby]

A lot depends on the finish of the neck. If the factory finish is intact, then something like Ernie Ball Wipes will work (http://www.ernieball.com/products/ca...strument-Care#). I would absolutley stay away from water ANYTHING... It will raise the gran and can ruin the neck. I personally have used those dryer sheet things to clean the gunk off with some luck (make sure it's a used one and not a new one). I have also seen folks use 0000 steel wool and a drop or two of guitar polish... Mostly with bad results. Before you clean the fingerboard, make sure there aren't any bad frets... small dents in the frets can cause the same affect.

[bigbike4]

I have always used lighter fluid-just a drop or two on a cotton patch and then wipe down the frets and fretboard. removes all gunk. I then use lemon oil-again just a dab will do ya. Wipe the entire fretboard down, let it sit for a minute, then wipe excess off. I only need do this 1X per year

After each and every time I play, i wipe my strings and fretboard down with Fast Fret (Fret Fast?) It helps to not only condition the fretboard thruout the year, but keeps strings lasting longer as well.