Funkbear311
9-5 worker, who just wants to play guitar at work
random question but how often do you clean the fretboard on your guitar? Every string change? Do you just wipe it down? Oil it? What's your routine? Just curious
Cleaning Q
- Thread starter Funkbear311
- Start date
Shaw
Facts are stubborn; statistics are pliable.
Lemon oil once a month or so (depending on how often you play) is more than sufficient... Even the old stand by... Old English.
Essentially you just don't want your fretboard to dry out. Just a few drops, and spread it across the fretboard with a dry, clean, lint-free cloth. Wipe the oil off the frets if you get any on them, but not big deal.
Essentially you just don't want your fretboard to dry out. Just a few drops, and spread it across the fretboard with a dry, clean, lint-free cloth. Wipe the oil off the frets if you get any on them, but not big deal.
garrettb
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2012
- Messages
- 6,767
Lemon oil once a month sounds excessive. Once or twice a year sounds more like it. I just wipe the board down with an old t shirt every string change. I only started using lemon oil within the last year, so my HBII has been oiled once in 14 years and is just fine.
Huggy Love
Vintage member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
- Messages
- 2,913
Lemon oil is dead on, works better than most other products.
I clean & oil mine every 90-120 days depending on usage, and because I only have 2 PRSi they get a lot of use.
I clean & oil mine every 90-120 days depending on usage, and because I only have 2 PRSi they get a lot of use.
Shaw
Facts are stubborn; statistics are pliable.
Just to clarify... I'm talking 2 or 3 drops across the whole fretboard. And of course, this will vary depending on your other habits. For example, I wipe my guitar down with a dry microfiber cloth after each playing session... So end up removing all of the natural oil from my fingers (and the gunk too -- which is my purpose). But all that wiping down removes natural oils from my hands that would otherwise be there (and be beneficial to the fretboard).
This is my routine with the guitar that I am playing at that time... Guitars that are sitting in storage get oiled twice a year (but probably 7 or 8 drops across the entire ® fretboard). As long as you wipe off the excess, lemon oil will not harm your fretboard.
But Garret is absolutely right, I am probably being excessive -- I'm OCD. But a little too much oil is far better for the life of a fretboard than too little -- and easier to remedy (again, just wipe off the excess vs replacing a dry / cracked fingerboard).
Here's a good experiment... Go to a pawn shop and look at some older guitars. Look at the fretboard under the low E string around the 20th fret (the part of the fretboard that gets touched the least), then look at the fretboard under around the 5th fret. You'll quickly find a guitar where you can see a serious difference between those 2 locations on the fretboard -- you'll see the difference in the health of the fingerboard... Because most people NEVER oil their fretboards -- and that is criminal. Especially if you've taken the time to invest in a quality instrument like PRS.
This is my routine with the guitar that I am playing at that time... Guitars that are sitting in storage get oiled twice a year (but probably 7 or 8 drops across the entire ® fretboard). As long as you wipe off the excess, lemon oil will not harm your fretboard.
But Garret is absolutely right, I am probably being excessive -- I'm OCD. But a little too much oil is far better for the life of a fretboard than too little -- and easier to remedy (again, just wipe off the excess vs replacing a dry / cracked fingerboard).
Here's a good experiment... Go to a pawn shop and look at some older guitars. Look at the fretboard under the low E string around the 20th fret (the part of the fretboard that gets touched the least), then look at the fretboard under around the 5th fret. You'll quickly find a guitar where you can see a serious difference between those 2 locations on the fretboard -- you'll see the difference in the health of the fingerboard... Because most people NEVER oil their fretboards -- and that is criminal. Especially if you've taken the time to invest in a quality instrument like PRS.
veinbuster
Zombie Three, DFZ
I wipe off the guitar, including the strings, after I finish playing it. Every time.
When I change the strings, I clean the fretboard. If there is any hint of dryness I'll rub a bit of lemon oil into it, let it sit to soak for a bit and then wipe off any excess. I don't recall oiling any of mine more than once a year.
When I change the strings, I clean the fretboard. If there is any hint of dryness I'll rub a bit of lemon oil into it, let it sit to soak for a bit and then wipe off any excess. I don't recall oiling any of mine more than once a year.
Funkbear311
9-5 worker, who just wants to play guitar at work
Thanks for the wisdom. Normally I'm fine with cleaning but I just got this satin finish with Ebony fretboard and so it's different. Is ebony any different cleaning wise than a rosewood?
Shaw
Facts are stubborn; statistics are pliable.
Oh... And the type of fretboard can change this as well... For example, rosewood is more porous than ebony. Meaning if the fretboard is really dry, it will soak up more of it. Again, wipe off any excess and your fine.
