Sticky board?

Rob Friedman

New Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2021
Messages
6
Hey all, loving my CE-24 but noticed lately the fretboard feels a bit “sticky” after a bit of play. Just put new slinky’s on it two days ago so hoping there’s a solution that doesn’t involve me restringing it again. Any tips?
 
The obvious thing would be to clean the fretboard then. You don’t have to restring, it’s just easier if you do.

There are a number of products that work well. Currently I’m trying the Dunlop 65 range, which seem to do the job. Also I quite like GHS Fast Fret for keeping the board and strings nice and smooth in between string changes.
 
I'm a traditionalist, and clean a fretboard using lemon oil applied with a clean cloth and wiped off immediately. This is also what PRS recommends.

Lemon oil is merely naphtha (dry cleaning fluid) with a lemon scent. Don't let it sit on the board, because eventually any petroleum based stuff like that will simply make the rosewood's oils sit on the surface. Naphtha evaporates, and of course that's how dry cleaning stuff works to remove oils that get in clothing, so don't leave it on.

PRS recommends wiping it off, and then sealing with a furniture polish, like Behold or Pledge. My fretboards don't seem to need sealing, so mostly I skip the furniture polish, and just wipe off the lemon oil quickly. If I did notice I problem, sure, a light furniture polish like Behold or Pledge on a cloth, wiped on, would be OK, if PRS says so.

Also, I only clean a fretboard if it needs cleaning beyond wiping it down with a clean, dry cloth. that's not often around here.

Don't use food type lemon oil, it will go rancid, by the way.

Gorgomyte and miracle cloth are among the products I'd never use. Know what the ingredients are? Neither does anyone else, except the manufacturer. But if there's coconut oil in it, that's something that goes rancid. Blecccchhh.

My brother used Fast Fret on the '65 Gibson SG (that's been mine since 1967), when he had it. It's actually an old product that was taken over later by another company. Took years for that grease to wear off! It's mostly white mineral oil. Another petroleum based product, it's just going to gunk up the fretboard and attact dust and dirt. It's not the type of mineral oil people take to stay regular by the way, which would also be a bad idea.

More stuff to avoid. Just my two cents.

I realize I'm a loner here, but my guitars are in pristine condition, and here in Michigan, the winters are not kind to guitars unless you take care with them. But of course, we all have our own experiences.

Caveat emptor. Sometimes the manufacturer knows best.

While I'm at it, I should add that keeping a guitar out when not in use exposes it to whatever crap is floating around in the air, like evaporated cooking oils, or smoke, or whatever's out there. For best results, case the guitar when not in use.
 
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I am a big fan of naptha (as mentioned by @LShcefman, aka lighter fluid) for cleaning, but like Les said, do NOT let it sit on the board (or elsewhere) of your fiddle! If I do need to clean the board with naptha (I always wash hands prior to touching my fiddles so don't need to clean very often), I usually use Dr. Ducks Axe Wax (not sure it is really a wax at all, but that is a different topic) afterwords to treat it. This is assuming it is NOT a maple fret board. Like the naptha, use very little and spread evenly, then remove soon with clean dry cloth. I have read that over the years, if over treated, fret board wood can soften around the frets from excessive treatment products, giving way to frets raising out of their channels. So when it comes to putting conditioners on the board, do so only when the board is telling you it needs it (seems dry, thirsty, many say once a year at most unless guitar is in really dry environment). It is my understanding that Martin uses Dr. Ducks Axe Wax on all new fret boards at the factory. The axe wax is NOT for cleaning IMO, for that, naptha (or lemon scented naptha)! As for the magic cloth, for frets, maybe, for board, never in my world! I use magic cloth to clean my hardware and that is it.
 
Been using Fast Fret for as long as I can remember. No gunk, no grease. It’s a great product IMO. Wipe a bit on, wipe it off with the supplied cloth, wipe under the strings. Job done.

My guitars are pristine too.
 
It's great when you guys post advice - even if you disagree on certain points. Les, I've used only lemon oil by Guardsman for my past fretboards, and will do the same for my lovely vintage cherry McCarty Thinline. The ingredients on the oil say diethylene glycol, whatever that is. 'Dog, thanks for your advice on not over treating - that would be painful to see your fret wire coming out of the slots.

FWIW, I talked with someone at PRS last month and they mentioned Paul uses a furniture wax called Adore.
 
It's great when you guys post advice - even if you disagree on certain points. Les, I've used only lemon oil by Guardsman for my past fretboards, and will do the same for my lovely vintage cherry McCarty Thinline. The ingredients on the oil say diethylene glycol, whatever that is. 'Dog, thanks for your advice on not over treating - that would be painful to see your fret wire coming out of the slots.

FWIW, I talked with someone at PRS last month and they mentioned Paul uses a furniture wax called Adore.
No problem! Just read this a few months ago, but it makes sense to me. The oil or other stuff can seep down next to the frets into the chanel, and soften the wood in that area is how I understand it. That is, if you are using too much and/or too often.

Happy slidin'!
MW
 
I'm a traditionalist, and clean a fretboard using lemon oil applied with a clean cloth and wiped off immediately. This is also what PRS recommends.

Lemon oil is merely naphtha (dry cleaning fluid) with a lemon scent. Don't let it sit on the board, because eventually any petroleum based stuff like that will simply make the rosewood's oils sit on the surface. Naphtha evaporates, and of course that's how dry cleaning stuff works to remove oils that get in clothing, so don't leave it on.

PRS recommends wiping it off, and then sealing with a furniture polish, like Behold or Pledge. My fretboards don't seem to need sealing, so mostly I skip the furniture polish, and just wipe off the lemon oil quickly. If I did notice I problem, sure, a light furniture polish like Behold or Pledge on a cloth, wiped on, would be OK, if PRS says so.

Also, I only clean a fretboard if it needs cleaning beyond wiping it down with a clean, dry cloth. that's not often around here.

Don't use food type lemon oil, it will go rancid, by the way.

Gorgomyte and miracle cloth are among the products I'd never use. Know what the ingredients are? Neither does anyone else, except the manufacturer. But if there's coconut oil in it, that's something that goes rancid. Blecccchhh.

My brother used Fast Fret on the '65 Gibson SG (that's been mine since 1967), when he had it. It's actually an old product that was taken over later by another company. Took years for that grease to wear off! It's mostly white mineral oil. Another petroleum based product, it's just going to gunk up the fretboard and attact dust and dirt. It's not the type of mineral oil people take to stay regular by the way, which would also be a bad idea.

More stuff to avoid. Just my two cents.

I realize I'm a loner here, but my guitars are in pristine condition, and here in Michigan, the winters are not kind to guitars unless you take care with them. But of course, we all have our own experiences.

Caveat emptor. Sometimes the manufacturer knows best.

While I'm at it, I should add that keeping a guitar out when not in use exposes it to whatever crap is floating around in the air, like evaporated cooking oils, or smoke, or whatever's out there. For best results, case the guitar when not in use.
Gorgomyte is good stuff. Look at all the pros that use it.

http://www.gorgomyte.com/

Environmentally safe, too.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-too...cants/gorgomyte-fretboard-conditioning-cloth/
 
I use capecod for my frets over miracle cloth. Its similar stuff, just the capecod is a better product. I use it on my watches. I've been using fretfactor serum on the board. Between the two I'm set.
 
Gorgomyte is good stuff. Look at all the pros that use it.
http://www.gorgomyte.com/

Well, I'm a pro, too. My opinion counts (to me, anyway ;)).

Honestly, I don't think about what some big name player's guitar tech uses to keep his client's guitars playable; that's what most of those 'looky who uses this stuff' endorsements are about. No tech takes the kind of fanatical care of his/her client's gear that I take of mine.

Maybe that's because I chose the gear, and paid the price to get it out of my hard-earned session money. I want it to be inspiring as long as I'm alive, or at least, as long as I own it. Then again, my guitars are kept pristine, and I don't need to use anything beyond the traditional stuff.

If I had a specific problem that needed solving, of course I'd look into the best way to solve that problem. For most players, those problems don't exist. Do your guitars play better than mine? I dunno! I haven't had the privilege of playing them yet!

I make no claim whatsoever to being always right, all the time. But so far, so good with respect to guitar care.
 
Well then, I guess if product endorsements are of no value PRS had better rethink all those signature guitars...
 
Well then, I guess if product endorsements are of no value PRS had better rethink all those signature guitars...

They certainly have value to those who think they are important. I don't. But if I owned a guitar company, I'd want them, because plenty of players are swayed by the 'who plays it' thing.

My son is a Fender endorser, so I guess I should just shut the f$ck up, but I'm having my 5:30 Saturday night martini, so I couldn't. ;)

On the other hand, I'm thankful that Fender has been nice to my boy, who really does like and play Fender.

"You should delete this post, Les."

"Nah." :)
 
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I would say that 99% of the users of this site (just as a sample market) put a fair amount of faith in one person’s endorsement of PRS’s products.

That person being Paul Smith.

Curious that you claim to think that’s not important, but I rather think you’re just being argumentative.
 
I would say that 99% of the users of this site (just as a sample market) put a fair amount of faith in one person’s endorsement of PRS’s products.

That person being Paul Smith.

Curious that you claim to think that’s not important, but I rather think you’re just being argumentative.


PRSh is the manufacturer of the product and as such should know better than anybody how to properly care for that product. I don't think that is the same thing as a third party endorser of a product.
 
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