Care for finished/stained maple fretboard

[xxxadixxx]

All of my current guitars have rosewood or ebony fretboards, but I am about to receive one with a stained maple fretboard. Typically I use fretboard cleaner every 6 months or so to keep the rosewood/ebony hydrated and cleaned. What is the best way to care for a stained maple board? Specifically, how can you care for it without impacting the stain/finish on the board?

 

[veinbuster]

I just wipe mine before I put it away.
When I change strings I wipe a bit harder to get anything around the frets off. I haven’t used any cleanser or polish.

 

[xxxadixxx]

@veinbuster when you say you simply wipe it down, I take it that is with a microfiber cloth or something. Would that be the same for a fingerboard which is stained/colored and potentially with a clear coat over it? My concern is with both the playing and "caring" changing the color of the fingerboard.

 

[dogrocketp]

I’m about 6 deep on maple fretboards. I use Meguiar’s cleaner/car wax on the front and the back. I have for many years.

 

[veinbuster]

@veinbuster when you say you simply wipe it down, I take it that is with a microfiber cloth or something. Would that be the same for a fingerboard which is stained/colored and potentially with a clear coat over it? My concern is with both the playing and "caring" changing the color of the fingerboard.

Yes, just a dry cloth.
This has been enough for the maple neck and fingerboard on my ‘99 SAS. I may have used a spot of cleaner a few times when some grime had accumulated near some frets. Except for the obvious signs of which parts of the fretboard I use the most, the finish is the same as 25 years ago.
I had the SAS 10 years before getting more maple, so felt no need to change what I did.

 

[László]

I use a dry microfiber cloth on maple fretboards as well.

I something was to get grungy, I might use a cleaner of some kind, but that hasn't happened that I can recall, and I've been playing since 1967.

Incidentally, most (if not all) maple boards are finished in some way, since maple isn't an oily wood that doesn't need a finish. PRS used nitro on the SAS and CU22 Soapbar models I had. I know they used an infused finish of some kind on more recent ones, but can't comment on what they're using currently since I haven't had one with a maple board since 2010.

But because maple isn't oily, and therefore wouldn't reject water naturally, I worry about the wood swelling near the frets if the board absorbs moisture. That's why I use a dry cloth.