Dab vinegar onto a cotton ball. I use rice vinegar, but any neutral vinegar will do (don't use balsamic) because it is a wonderful cleaning agent. Rub the vinegar over the fret board carefully as you replace each string. Note: Never take all of your strings off at once while restringing.
To bring the shine back to your frets, many people will use soft wire wool. The 0000 grade stuff is the only steel wool to use here as anything else is just too abrasive!
Folks used to use vaseline (white petroleum jelly) in their fingerboards “back in the day” when they wanted to make the fingerboard and strings feel slick. They believed at that time (… way, way before the Internet and way before the general guitar-playing population got smarter about how to care for…
A veteran tech dishes on how sliced salami, chapstick, or 3-in-1 oil can fix your sticky fretboard. Just don't use WD-40!
If you do it all the time, it will lead to a dried out fretboard, and that can be really, really bad for your guitar in the long run. The good news is there are other solutions that aren't just isopropyl alcohol that will do a good job of cleaning your guitar strings.
Dab vinegar onto a cotton ball.
I use rice vinegar, but any neutral vinegar will do (don't use balsamic) because it is a wonderful cleaning agent. Rub the vinegar over the fret board carefully as you replace each string. Note: Never take all of your strings off at once while restringing.
Yes , you can use water to clean your fretboard. I use a DAMP cloth , dampened with warm water. Don't wet the fretboard , and dry thoroughly with a dry soft cloth. I have been doing it for years to get rid of the dead skin that gets into where the fret meets the fretboard.
Over the years I've put just about everything imaginable on my fretboards; olive oil, linseed oil, WD-40, mineral oil, various furniture products, and various products made specifically for the purpose from companies like Dunlop, Martin, and Gibson.
Do not use glass cleaner (or anything with ammonia in it) or products containing abrasives or silicon (as some paste cleaners do). Play it safe by sticking to cleaners and polishes made specifically for guitars.
While lemon oil is a popular choice for cleaning a guitar fretboard with household items, you can also use other types of oils, such as linseed oil or mineral oil. Be sure to do your research and test a small area first to ensure it doesn't negatively impact your guitar.
Is it ok to use Vaseline as a bike chain lubricant? No. The parts of a chain that need lube are the parts you can't see. If you leave a lot of stuff on the outside it'll pick up dirt and destroy the entire drivetrain.
It is not safe to use wet wipes to clean your guitar. Depending on the type of wet wipe, it might have harsh chemicals that can cause damage to the guitar. Plus, many are fragranced, which you won't want to transfer to your instrument.
Use Pure Formula 65 Coconut Oil Fretboard Conditioner to keep your fretboard in top condition for healthy tone and a refreshing playing experience.
Fret Erasers™ are flexible self-padded rubber blocks embedded with abrasive grits. They're incredibly handy—use them in sequence as a final step on freshly-crowned frets, to erase fine file marks and scratches. The grits are color-coded for convenience. Frets gleam, and play buttery-smooth.
Now you can clean the frets and fretboard with the cloth, using gentle motions to get rid of dirt, grime and grit. If your cloth becomes dirty, remember to rinse it occasionally in water and to wring it out. If you encounter some tough spots, you may also use a cloth with a bit of distilled white vinegar on it.
Nothing more extreme than guitar polish or lukewarm soapy water should ever really be necessary to clean a fretboard, and even those should be used sparingly. In general, unless you are a professional, avoid using any kind of solvent on your guitar.
Don't use rubbing alcohol
A guitar that is overly dry can become damaged overtime. You don't want this. If you're trying to get the grime off of the strings, you can use cleaners made specifically for guitar strings. We recommend Stringjoy's Natural Guitar String Conditioner.
Dryness is the only sure way I know to get a crack in your fingerboard. So, no, wood doesn't need anything smeared on it to keep it from cracking. All it needs is a stable, properly humidified environment.
If you do get some gunk build up, use a soft cloth dampened with a little high-strength (91–99%) isopropyl alcohol. (High strength means less water content.) Use a soft cloth dampened - not wet, just damp - with water and rub the fretboard. A little elbow grease is all that's needed.
According to their websites, PRS, Tom Anderson and Takamine all recommend Lemon Oil for their fretboards. On the other hand, Martin does not recommend lemon oil because it can break down the nitrocellulose finish on their necks. However, you can't go wrong with D'Addario Hydrate Fingerboard Conditioner.
If you don't look after your fretboard at all, then you run the risk of wood becoming discoloured and drying out over time; giving it a raw feel beneath your fingers. In more drastic cases, the frets might start to come loose or the surface of the wood may start to splinter.