Members JohnJustJohn Posted June 30, 2009 Members Share Posted June 30, 2009 I just bought a used MIM Strat to practice on while I'm out of town (don't want to subject my baby to airline and TSA "handling"). The intonation checked out, all electronics were in working order, action was a tad bit nasty due to old strings (or so I thought), but all in all it was a bargain. Got it home, started playing it, trying to decide whether I could stand to leave the strings on for at least a few more days, when I noticed a funny chocolatey smell. Got up and wandered around looking for it, couldn't find it, sat down and started playing again. It was the guitar. Either the dude who owned it rubbed cacao butter all over the fret board, or he was fond of a cacao-based hand cream, but basically the fretboard is gunky. Not so much that you'd notice right away, but after five or ten minutes of playing, it gets pretty damned annoying. I want to get this crap off and maybe rub in some tung oil before putting new strings on. However, what am I gonna clean it with that won't ruin the rosewood? Even a mild soap will soak into the wood enough to affect anything I oil it with afterward, and water will take a while to evaporate off. Pointers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members normh Posted June 30, 2009 Members Share Posted June 30, 2009 Naptha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katillac Posted June 30, 2009 Members Share Posted June 30, 2009 Naptha. +1 Naptha to remove the crud, then you can tung oil it if it has a maple fretboard. Rosewood is an oily type wood and only needs a little bit of re-oiling if it's really dry. It wouldn't surprise me at all to find that the guy used lotion instead of something like Fast Fret or Finger Ease spray to keep things slick. When I first started playing, I used baby powder on my left palm to make my guitar neck slip better and keep my hand dry. That was when I learned that I prefer a non-lacquered neck, rosewood fretboards, and to carry an old toothbrush in my gig bag, so I could remove gunk from the fretboard. Later, I discovered Finger Ease, but by then had already discovered the wonders of "bare" necks (tung oiled or matte finished). Heh. Be glad he didn't use Vaseline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted June 30, 2009 Members Share Posted June 30, 2009 Gibson makes a fretboard conditioner. Or Dr. Stringfellows is good stuff. Naptha is good, but I'd want to use the Gibson fretboard stuff after cleaning. But I have it, so that's my choice. Lighter fliud is basically aromatic naptha. If you find some aliphatic naptha, let me know where you got it. The enviro-nazi's have taken it out of existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AMZ-FX Posted June 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted June 30, 2009 Here's my FAQ on fretboard care: http://www.muzique.com/schem/fret.htm regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted June 30, 2009 Members Share Posted June 30, 2009 You got to be real careful working with Napthia. You get that on a laquer finish and you can kiss it good bye. i always use lemon oil on rosewood boards. People go nuts over special conditioners and such, If you dont sand it down to the wood and reopen the grain you can use a damp clothe with some detergent, same for a finished maple neck followed by some furnature polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AMZ-FX Posted June 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted June 30, 2009 Gibson makes a fretboard conditioner. Or Dr. Stringfellows is good stuff. Naptha is good, but I'd want to use the Gibson fretboard stuff after cleaning. But I have it, so that's my choice. Lighter fliud is basically aromatic naptha. If you find some aliphatic naptha, let me know where you got it. The enviro-nazi's have taken it out of existence. Aromatics are too aggressive for fretboard cleaning. Aliphatic naptha is sold as lamp oil. Basically deodorized and purified petroleum solvent (mixtures of n-paraffin and iso-paraffin oils). Unscented is probably the best. regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted July 3, 2009 Members Share Posted July 3, 2009 I used to use the unscented to clean before painting. They say it destroys the liver. Well, between that & many years of heavy drinking, why am I not dead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JohnJustJohn Posted July 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Thanks for all your advice, guys! I found a can of stain remover in the garage that was mostly naphtha. I cleaned off the gunk (carefully) with a rag, and oiled it with Gibson fretboard conditioner (the only kind they had at Haight-Ashbury Music). Now it feels, looks, and sounds great! The vaguely funky cacao smell is pretty much confined to the inside of the hardcase now, but I figure a couple of afternoons out in the sun and open air will take care of that. JJJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted July 5, 2009 Members Share Posted July 5, 2009 Cacao smell aint all bad. Too bad it doesn't smell like bitter almonds. I'd ask to borrow the guitar & force my ex to lick it. loljk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katillac Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 It took me a moment to "get" that one, CT. tsk tsk hehehe JJJ: whatever you do, do NOT pour baking soda and Febreeze into your case. There was a thread by someone a while back, I think in the Electric Guitars forum, in which they asked for advice on getting rid of cigarette stench from a case bought used. Unfortunately, they used a few bits of advice at the same time and totally screwed up the "fur" of the case. The thread got pretty epic and he/she got permabanned. Good times, man. Good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 Truth be told, my first ex died eating poison mushrooms. Second one died of a fractured skull. Bitch wouldn't eat the mushrooms. I'm glad you got the gunk off the neck. I forgot the old standby that WRG eluded to; Lemon Pledge. Cheap too. I understand it works on furniture as well. Maybe it would get the smell out of the case? Just a light squirt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bryan316 Posted July 6, 2009 Members Share Posted July 6, 2009 It safely dissolves the grease and grime, and pulls gunk out of the fretwood's grain pores. Then wipe it away, and apply: ...or your preference of lemon oils or linseed oils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katillac Posted July 7, 2009 Members Share Posted July 7, 2009 Truth be told, my first ex died eating poison mushrooms. Second one died of a fractured skull. Bitch wouldn't eat the mushrooms. I'm glad you got the gunk off the neck. I forgot the old standby that WRG eluded to; Lemon Pledge. Cheap too. I understand it works on furniture as well. Maybe it would get the smell out of the case? Just a light squirt? No way, dude. Nothing liquid! The suggestion to her about using baking soda was to put the box in the case, upright so it doesn't spill. She poured it into the case. Not the brightest bulb in the store there. Then, Febreeze on top of it? It made concrete that smelled good. At that point, you may as well toss the case, because someone who does that crap probably wouldn't be up to the task of changing out the liner on their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bryan316 Posted July 7, 2009 Members Share Posted July 7, 2009 I just did a de-stinking of a keyboard case. I used Febreze, ammonia, bleach, Baking soda with hydrogen peroxide and dish soap, and fire. It finally came down to scraping everything with a woodworking chisel, and painting Kilz over it, then two coats of black enamel Rustoleum Industrial paint. Then I redid all the foam. It finally doesn't stink, and the keyboard fits better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XylemBassGuitar Posted July 8, 2009 Members Share Posted July 8, 2009 I know your question has pretty much been answered JJJ, but I thought I'd mention a method that Kindness recommended to me to remove gunk from fretboards a little while ago that works great...#0000 (extra fine) steel wool. Don't use anything coarser than #0000, make sure to rub with the grain, and don't use it on any fretboard that has some kind of hard/scratchable finish (e.g. most maple fretboards). It works really well on rosewood, ebony, pau ferro, etc. and goes through even the thickest layers of grime with extreme quickness. Once you're done with the wool, you can hit the board lightly with some kind of fretboard cleaner (I like the Dunlop 04 like bryan316 mentioned) and a little light fretboard-appropriate oil and that baby will shine like new. Also, the steel wool will polish off a lot of the oxidation that can build up on the frets at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Frothy88 Posted July 12, 2009 Members Share Posted July 12, 2009 You got to be real careful working with Napthia. You get that on a laquer finish and you can kiss it good bye. i always use lemon oil on rosewood boards. People go nuts over special conditioners and such, If you dont sand it down to the wood and reopen the grain you can use a damp clothe with some detergent, same for a finished maple neck followed by some furnature polish. naptha is safe for both poly and nitro finishes. i promise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bryan316 Posted July 14, 2009 Members Share Posted July 14, 2009 If you've never used it before.... windshield washer fluid. I have stopped buying all those different kinds of cleaners, like Windex and Fantastic and Mr Clean.... just good ol' washer fluid in gallon jugs. Think about it... if it can get bug guts off your windshield... and it works wonderfully for cleaning guitars and gunky fretboards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bvr775 Posted July 14, 2009 Members Share Posted July 14, 2009 i figure others will read this too so you might want to add this. get a dental pick and a hard toothbrush to get under the crowns of any lifted frets and use a wooden mallet to GENTLY tap them back down. im glad you didnt have this issue. allot of guitars get this syndrome after a few years of neglect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JohnJustJohn Posted August 4, 2009 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2009 Thanks a million for all your helpful suggestions! The Boston trip went swimmingly. The disposable, odoriferous guitar survived, probably due to the fact that I flew Virgin instead of United. However, on the trip out, the TSA only re-latched one of the three latches on the case, with the result that I lost a set of strings and a 6-inch patch cable. I gate-checked it on the return trip. While in Boston, I told my brother about the whole experience, and he told me about a bassist he used to play with who used a lot of baby powder on his hands, and NEVER cleaned his fretboard. That guy's axe could've used the toothbrush treatment, if not a chisel. I've been leaving the case out in the sun whenever possible. It's already been vacuumed out. That seems to be gradually removing the stink. I've heard that if you mix baking soda, Febreze, windshield-wiper fluid, steel wool, and aliphatic naptha into a thick paste, then gargle with a good-quality tequila and hawk a couple of loogies into the mix, spread it over the furry inside of the case (with the nap, not against it), set it on fire, then post the video on YouTube, your band might get on Letterman. But I haven't tried it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bvr775 Posted August 5, 2009 Members Share Posted August 5, 2009 take case to a car wash and use the hot foam..it works and you dont water log the case in the process Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted August 5, 2009 Members Share Posted August 5, 2009 I flew Virgin instead of United. I thought you had to be a virgin to fly with them. I doubt if anyone around here qualifies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smooff Posted August 5, 2009 Members Share Posted August 5, 2009 my 40+ year old classical guitar has gunk so thick you can scrape it off but im really worried about taking it off because of the age. im leaning towards using the steal wool because the frets are also heavily oxidised. Is this a bad idea on such an old guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bvr775 Posted August 5, 2009 Members Share Posted August 5, 2009 no dont use steel. it gets on the pickups and is hell to get off. youll be getting steel splinters in you fingers for weeks.. i dont go in for all the gimmicks so i just use a 3m pad(the green scotch brite pads) and just hot hot water with Murphy in it. i would use a wash cloth to get the biggest part before using abrasives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IanDOL Posted August 7, 2009 Members Share Posted August 7, 2009 It safely dissolves the grease and grime, and pulls gunk out of the fretwood's grain pores. Then wipe it away, and apply: ...or your preference of lemon oils or linseed oils. I use this on my guitars works perfect, then i follow up with some lemon oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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