How To Clean This Fingerboard

[AFter Forever]

Hello

I got a great deal on this used guitar and want to sand it down and refinish it. The fingerboard needs some work. I have enclosed a picture of what it looks like. Keep in mind I am zoomed in a lot so it looks much worse than it does at normal viewing distance .Does anyone know what happened to it? How do I clean it?. I have tried lemon oil but it looks like the residue is in the grain of the wood. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advanced.

[unclej]

Hello

I got a great deal on this used guitar and want to sand it down and refinish it. The fingerboard needs some work. I have enclosed a picture of what it looks like. Keep in mind I am zoomed in a lot so it looks much worse than it does at normal viewing distance .Does anyone know what happened to it? How do I clean it?. I have tried lemon oil but it looks like the residue is in the grain of the wood. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advanced.

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well, i could be wrong but it looks like it's just dried out and dirty. spray it down with windex and while wet take 0000 steel wool and scrub it down going with the grain. wipe it off with a rag and let it dry. i use mineral oil on all of my customer's guitars..it's cheap and looks great.

good luck.

[Andy]

I've had a guitar with a boards like that.

I just went at it with some lemon oil (on a rag) and some 000 and 0000 grade wire wool.

I wiped it first, getting a thin layer of lemon oil, then wire wooled it with 000, then lemon oil with the rag again, then 0000 grade, then oil with the rag again.

Probably a bit OTT but it felt brilliant afterwards. Then my brohter borrowed it... and it's back in that state.

[jer7440]

When you use the steel wool, do hit the frets and every thing?

[Andy]

I do yes, when I'm working longways.

But I then polish them with 0000 grade again afterwards.

I'm not one for startlingly bright frets. But they do get quite a good polish.

[Scrappy_Squirrel]

I do yes, when I'm working longways.

But I then polish them with 0000 grade again afterwards.

I'm not one for startlingly bright frets. But they do get quite a good polish.

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I like to use Naphtha which is an industrial degreaser & thinner available in most any hardware store. I learned about it in one of the Dan Erlewine books. It leaves no residue when it evaporates and it will not introduce water into your fretboard like windex will. Afterward you can oil the fretboard with mineral oil or rosewood essential oil (Bois De Rose). Sometimes I use sandalwood or cedar oil too. A lot of people also just use plain lemon oil to both clean and oil the fretboard at the same time (one step process). Lemon oil is just mineral oil with citrus terpines in it. My prefered process is the Naphtha and sandalwood oil though. It replentishes the fretboard with natural oils and smells damn good to boot.