Christmas Present - PRS Guitar Cleaner and Fretboard Conditioner

[CVS]

My wife gave me a bottles of PRS Guitar Cleaner and PRS Fretboard Conditioner as Christmas presents. Now that I have these nice products, I want to clean my Hollowbody I and CU24 guitars. Neither guitar has a maple neck.

I have looked at some previous threads on how to clean PRS guitars, but I am still a bit confused and I don't want to do any damage to these great guitars.

Do I use the guitar cleaner on the fretboards? If yes, do I use the cleaner before I use the fretboard conditioner? Or do I use the guitar cleaner on all wood surfaces other than the neck?

I also have an NF3 with a maple neck. I realize that you cannot use the fretboard conditioner on the maple neck. Should I use the guitar cleaner on the maple neck or just on the body of the guitar?

I saw a video that suggested that to clean a maple neck, all you need to do is use an alcohol swab. Agree? Disagree?

Thank you all for your feedback:iamconfused:

 

[László]

The guitar cleaner is for painted surfaces. The fretboard conditioner is to clean rosewood or ebony fingerboards, or rosewood necks (they are unfinished).

I'm distinguishing between a neck and fretboard. Only maple fretboards are finished by most guitar makers, though Rickenbacker also finishes their rosewood fretboards, which is interesting and a little unusual...

To get the best results with the guitar cleaner, spray a little on a thick microfiber cloth, apply lightly to the painted surfaces, and wipe off with a clean microfiber cloth. The guitar cleaner is non-abrasive and leaves behind a nice shine. You can use it on a finished fretboard, though I'd just wipe a finished maple fretboard down with a damp cloth every so often instead, so it won't get too slick to work with.

Don't use a thin microfiber cloth like the ones made to clean glass. Use one that is more like a towel. Also, cotton will create swirl marks despite its reputation; it was once the best alternative, but with microfiber there is now a better one. Also note that dirty cloths may have contaminants on them that will be hard enough to cause scratches or swirl marks. Use a clean one.

These are the finest, non-scratching microfiber cloths I've found and they last a very long time:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product...e+cloths+set+of+3.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=

To get the best results with the fretboard conditioner, dab a little onto a clean cloth, use it to clean the fretboard, and wipe off the excess. Simple. It's a good idea to wipe off the excess so it doesn't lift the frets or inlays. I use it one fret at a time, then move on to the next one. Lemon oil is scented naphtha, which is what is used for dry cleaning, and it doesn't tend to dry out the wood as evaporating water would.

Players who think it's a good idea to leave it on for a long time to have it "feed" the wood are quite mistaken. It's not designed for that at all, and is quite capable of loosening inlays, etc. It's a cleaning agent. Period. Another note is that I don't believe in using junk on the fretboard to darken it, or oil it, or otherwise "feed" it. It's not needed, and most of them simply attract more dirt to the fretboard.

I disagree strongly about the use of alchohol swabs on maple necks and fingerboards. Alcohol is neither wood-friendly (it will attack cellulose) nor finish-friendly (it will etch a finish, as seen in tens of millions of rings left behind by alcholic beverage glasses on a variety of surfaces, including varnishes, lacquers, and even marble).

 

[CVS]

Thanks very much for the feedback. I now have a much better understanding of what to do. While I did not mention it, I also received as a Christmas present, one of the PRS guitar cloths. Can I substitute this for the microfiber cloth as discussed above? Also with respect to the fretboard conditioner, can I use just any clean cloth or should I be using the microfiber cloth? To clean the microfiber cloth (and or PRS cloth) - just throw in the washing machine / dryer?

Again, very helpful for a non techie like me.

 

[kes7u]

The PRS cloth works just fine. Probably a good idea to have several more quality microfiber cloths on hand, though. I use microfiber cloths for all cleaning duties on my guitars. Additionally, I wash these cloths together, separate from the rest of the laundry, because they are apt to pick up lots of 'fuzzies' from the other laundry items.

Les,

Thanks for the info regarding the cleaning of Rosewood necks. I've cleaned my rosewood neck several times with the PRS cleaner (NOT polish). I'll use the fretboard conditioner from now on. Hopefully no damage done.

Kevin

 

[László]

The PRS cloths are microfiber. In fact, I use them along with the thick blue ones I linked above.

Kevin, you didn't damage the RW neck with the cleaner, and it'll rub off as you play. PRS actually recommends using the fretboard conditioner to clean, followed by a good furniture polish to seal it! At one time they recommended Pledge, but lately I've heard the word is Behold. I've tired a little pledge sprayed onto a cloth on the back of a RW neck, and it was actually pretty nice!

 

[CoreyT]

Les, have you tried the green Griots cloths too?
I have both the blue (for use with their Speed Shine product) and the green ones which I use with their Interior Cleaner.

The green ones.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product...+of+4.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search
$9.99 for four
And the blue ones.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product...+of+3.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=&from=Search
$16.99 for three

Both are the same dims at 15.75" square, but you get four of the green ones at a cheaper price.
I know why, the blue ones (like you have been using) I have are def thicker than the green ones.
I wonder of the thinner green ones would be easier to use since you can fold them easier?

I might have to try one of my green ones next time I polish an axe up here,
Only thing is all of my blue and green ones have had chemicals on them in the past, but washed quite often after use.
Hopefully washing them has gotten out all of the Griots products from them.

 

[CVS]

Thanks to all for your input. I have learned quite a bit (admittedly starting from ground zero when it comes to care and maintenance of guitars). I plan to use the fretboard conditioner on the CU24 and the Hollowbody I and also on my Taylor T5 fretboards. After I am done using the conditioner, and based on what is saw in one of Les's posts above, should I then use my PRS guitar polish on the fetboards (Pledge and Behold were mentioned above)? I wasn't planning on doing this, but now not sure.

Last, to close the books on cleaning maple necks - just a damp cloth wipe down and dry off?

Thanks again
CVS

 

[László]

Thanks to all for your input. I have learned quite a bit (admittedly starting from ground zero when it comes to care and maintenance of guitars). I plan to use the fretboard conditioner on the CU24 and the Hollowbody I and also on my Taylor T5 fretboards. After I am done using the conditioner, and based on what is saw in one of Les's posts above, should I then use my PRS guitar polish on the fetboards (Pledge and Behold were mentioned above)? I wasn't planning on doing this, but now not sure.

Last, to close the books on cleaning maple necks - just a damp cloth wipe down and dry off?

Thanks again
CVS

No, don't use the PRS Cleaner on fretboards, it isn't necessary, and my guess is that PRS would recommend it for maintenance if they thought it should be done, but they instead recommend furniture polish.

I only use the fretboard conditioner when absolutely necessary, in fact, I haven't opened the bottle in more than a year. However my hands are dry, so the fingerboards stay clean.

Less is more when it comes to this stuff.

 

[jfb]

I also use the PRS products - mainly because it's handy to order when buying other stuff off of the official store.

:biggrin: