Share your cleaning methods!

[Avria]

Okay, i'm sure there are many of you who every now and then ask how to clean this and that, lets ask the PROS to share their technique with us. i'll start the ball rolling.

Note: my method takes lots of time, i usually finish 1 guitar within 3.5 hours as patience is the key.

HEADSTOCK! For all the atmospheric dust build up i clean them with a microfiber cloth. (available cheap in any car shop, i recommend 3M's microfiber) anyway, I usually start by loosening the tuning head nut and washers,also take out the truss rod covers and string tree (if applicable to your guitar) also take off the nut if yours is a tremolo guitar like mine. followed by rubbing the dust off with the cloth. once done place everything back together.

take out the neck before proceeding with the next step, Alternatively duck taping the pups is fine too(applys only if your neck is able to take out.)

FRETS! okay what i do with the frets is usually use my 0000 steel wool and give them a gentle scrub to remove oxidation and stack it with autosol(do remember to cover your fretboard when using autosol). and that's my technique to clean my frets and make them super shiny.

FINGERBOARD! I'll take the 0000 steel wool and rub it along the grains of the wood.(DO NOT RUB AGAINST THE GRAINS) you don't want to spoil the fingerboard do you?:twisted: it'll will remove 90% of the crust that is forming on the fingerboard. followed by a toothbrush (use a hard bristle toothbrush) action on it to further remove those crust and gunks that are formed on the fingerboard and i finish the job with bore oil for those guitars that i love. Note: DO NOT OIL YOUR FRETBOARD EVERY MAINTENANCE. over oiling it will cause it to be too moist and will cause your neck to warp under the string tension(bore oil helps replace lost natural oil in the wood)

BODY! Get the trusty toothbrush out! start scrubbing your bridge, it'll get into every corner of the bridge. then pull out your knobs carefully. and if there's oxidation forming on those controllers autosoling them will make them shiny again. if your guitar has a pickguard, unscrew all screws that is securing the pickguard and wipe clean with microfiber cloth. Once done, reassemble everything and put back the neck onto the body.

my method so far has been very effective for me.:mrgreen: i also change strings regularly to prevent rust from spreading to my guitar. therefore cheap strings like super slinky are essential to me.

share your methods and who knows it maybe better than mine

 

[relinquish69]

HEADSTOCK! I would start off with a electro static duster to remove the dust. usually for me it ends there but if I were really anal about the cleanliness, I would remove the strings from the machine heads, spam some lighter fluid / guitar polish and use a clean cloth to make it clean again after dusting it.

take out the neck before proceeding with the next step -> not really necessary as some guitars are either set neck or neck through. I wouldn't want to wear out my neck screws unless necessary too .

FRETS! for maple fretboards, I would cover up the fingerboard with masking tape and use brasso to make the frets shiny. for rosewood, you'd have to take some masking tape to cover the neck pickup as the steelwool remains might get stuck on the magnetic pole pieces of the pickup. I would just spam the fretboard with lemon oil and use very fine steelwool to run down the entire board ( in the direction of the grain ). after that just use kitchen paper to rub off the excess oil and wait for it to dry.

FINGERBOARD! for maple just spam lighter fluid. for rosewood, as above.

Note: DO NOT OIL YOUR FRETBOARD EVERY MAINTENANCE. over oiling it will cause it to be too moist and will cause your neck to warp under the string tension(bore oil helps replace lost natural oil in the wood)

just curious, where did you read that up from? if you do not use lemon oil every time u clean a rosewood fretboard, how clean can it get? steelwool alone is definitely not enough. I believe that necks will warp over time under string tension despite having oil or not.

on a side note, you guys do not clean your guitar that often right? maybe once a month? if you are cleaning it more than that, maybe your theory might be right. then again, cannot spend too much time on cleaning guitars. you've got to leave some time out for practice .

BODY!

Get the trusty toothbrush out! start scrubbing your bridge, it'll get into every corner of the bridge.

not recommended for Ibanez FR bridges that have cosmo finish. it will flake off jia lat jia lat. bridges usually not necessary to clean unless you are really anal about cleaniness. for any bridge that is just plain metal without any finish, just use brasso and the toothbrush to scrub. for bridges with a paint finish, just spam lighter fluid and use a cloth to try to clean it as much as possible.

for the body, just spray with guitar polish / spam lighter fluid. take a brush to sweep away all that excess steelwool remains that might be "trapped" . never use brasso on a matt finish guitar body, you wouldnt like the results .

oh well, hope that helps .

 

[Avria]

just curious, where did you read that up from? if you do not use lemon oil every time u clean a rosewood fretboard, how clean can it get? steelwool alone is definitely not enough. I believe that necks will warp over time under string tension despite having oil or not.

i read that up from a fellow softie while learning to properly clean a guitar. hmm

http://soft.com.sg/forum/how-guitar/76736-deep-cleaning-fretboard-2.html

niteblade says it.

not recommended for Ibanez FR bridges that have cosmo finish. it will flake off jia lat jia lat. bridges usually not necessary to clean unless you are really anal about cleaniness. for any bridge that is just plain metal without any finish, just use brasso and the toothbrush to scrub. for bridges with a paint finish, just spam lighter fluid and use a cloth to try to clean it as much as possible.

hmm okay, note taken.

unless you are really anal about cleaniness

hah. i think i am one. lol, but nevertheless we still can help fellow softies who are like me too!

 

[Avria]

no other cleaning technique from the pros?

 

[HarrisonYeo]

wow 3.5hrs cleaning a single guitar?
man , i only just do a wipe down after every string change.

 

[relinquish69]

come to think about it, it might be true that overuse of lemon oil might make the neck soggy. then again, how often do you need to clean your rosewood fingerboard? once or twice a year? I guess at that rate, almost no damage is done to the fretboard.

oh another thing I would like to add.

lets say if a family member passes down one of his old guitars to you. unfortunately, it is covered with awful stickers. the best way to remove those stickers is...... WD40. try it .

 

[Avria]

lets say if a family member passes down one of his old guitars to you. unfortunately, it is covered with awful stickers. the best way to remove those stickers is...... WD40. try it .

yea. wd40 works for removing stickers. also zippo lighter fluid will work too

 

[RyanZ]

Wow. 3.5 hrs? You really love your guitar man

 

[dudelove]

unfortunately, it is covered with awful stickers. the best way to remove those stickers is...... WD40. try it .

have u heard of goo-gone? it works wonders at removing those crap left behind from stickers. but i'm not sure if it has any side effects on the finish. does wd-40 have?

 

[relinquish69]

haha but WD40 is cheap and readily available. no side effects, just some oil left behind. you might want to use a piece of cloth to wipe it off 1st before cleaning with guitar polish again.

 

[kokz]

I just wipe my strings down and condition the fretboard when restringing.