Fret board cleaning?

[waffles]

Hi all, the fret board on my Casino is quite dry and also rather gunky so I was looking to get something to clean it, any suggestions? What do you guys use?

Cheers!

[6th Gear]

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/fretboard-65-ulti...

[Gokartmozart]

6th Gear said:

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/fretboard-65-ulti...

Not to be used on maple fret boards though, what is on the OP's casino ?.

[davepoth]

I scrape the gunk off with a pick when he strings are off. Probably not the best way.

[6th Gear]

Gokartmozart said:

6th Gear said:

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/fretboard-65-ulti...

Not to be used on maple fret boards though, what is on the OP's casino ?.

As it says on the link above.

[Evangelion]

Casino is rosewood.

[Mastodon2]

If you are considering taking all the strings off and giving the fretboard a good clean, Lemon oil is best so get a bottle of the Jim Dunlop stuff. While you're at it, give your frets a good clean and polish. When you put some new strings on, it will play like a new guitar!

[Laplace]

I've always preferred Mansons lemon oil after it was recommended to me by a friend. It keeps my fretboards in better condition for longer than the dunlop 65. Not only does it smell better but it's tastier too!

[waffles]

Thanks for the posts guys. It is a rosewood fretboard (as posted above). Shall I just use an old T-shirt or something do wipe it down with the lemon oil?

Also what's the deal on dusty pick ups? When I used a something (can't remember what) to clean my old Squiers pick ups the material ended up getting stuck to it.

Thanks!

[Laplace]

I've always used these types of cloth which you should be able to pick up easily in your local guitar shop.
I tend to keep one for putting a dab of oil on and cleaning the fretboard and I keep a clean one for giving the guitar a general wipe down so I'm not transferring any oil to the finish.

[davepoth]

waffles said:

Also what's the deal on dusty pick ups? When I used a something (can't remember what) to clean my old Squiers pick ups the material ended up getting stuck to it.

Thanks!

Are the pickups normal covered humbuckers? just use a duster.

[waffles]

Single coil, the cover is made of nickel.

[Straight6DOHC]

I use the Jim Dunlop stuff too. When it runs out, which may be a while, I may try Gerlitz Guitar Honey based on what I've read.

[chris5150]

You know I used to love cleaning the fingerboards on my gutairs, would use duraglit metal polish wadding on the frets, then lemon Oil on the fretboard and polish it all over, new strings, makes the guitar feel like new, and indeed sound like new, better in fact, all 'zingy' and resonant.
Then I read that you can quite upset the truss rod & neck by removing all the strings at once, as this obviously relieves the pressure on the neck.
So dont really bother anymore, simply change the strings one at a time, and leave the frets & boards as they are

[singlecoil]

chris5150 said:

Then I read that you can quite upset the truss rod & neck by removing all the strings at once, as this obviously relieves the pressure on the neck.

I can understand your concern, but IME it really isn't a problem. I would suggest checking the neck for straightness once the procedure is complete, and if all is well then no problem. If it isn't, then wait a little while and if the truss rod needs adjusting go ahead and adjust it.

The easiest way to check the neck is to hold the G string down at the first fret and the top fret, and check the gap above the frets at the mid distance between the two fretting fingers. As long as there is a slight gap then all is well. If it's difficult to see, pluck the string and see if sounds clearly, then move one finger up to the second fret and check that the note goes up too, if it doesn't then the string is hitting an intermediate fret and the truss rod is too tight

[waffles]

I do have some concerns regarding taking off all the strings at once. There seems to be a big divide in guitar players, those who do take them off and those who don't.

[singlecoil]

waffles said:

I do have some concerns regarding taking off all the strings at once.

What are those concerns?

[waffles]

Relieving the pressure and damaging the neck.

[singlecoil]

waffles said:

Relieving the pressure tension and damaging the neck.

Yours concerns are unfounded. Guitar necks obey the laws of physics just like everything else. There is no way that taking all the strings off at once is going to damage the neck. It's far more important to be able to check the neck and adjust it if necessary than it is to avoid changing any of the forces acting on it.

[chris5150]

Correct Singlecoil, its not that you are going to be doing any damage to the neck, its more the hassle of setting the neck up again ie truss rod adjustment. I am quite capable of adjusting the truss rod, as most people are if you can be bothered to find out a bit of info on how to adjust it etc, its just a bit of hassle you could do without if its just a simple string change you need, better to do it one at a time and then the pressure change does not alter anything.
I agree, in getting back to the original post, if the fretboard needs a really good going over then yes take them all off, and adjust truss/action accordingly once its done.
I totally agree thought that removing the strings does no damage, old wives tale. Funny really one of the things that annoys me is when I have bought a new guitar, sometimes people slacken the strings right off before shipping??..whats that about?...daft idea