Recommended Care Products?

[thorgan]

So in my latest restring I have noticed that I am out of a few guitar care products, until now I've been using the Dunlop formula 65 kit which comes with 5 products: fretboard cleaner/prep, fretboard deep conditioner, guitar polish/cleaner, cream of carnuba wax, and string cleaner (which I never use). Been using this because it's readily available at my local store and I have found it to work well.

The problem is I now find myself completely out of the fretboard cleaner and wax, with an abundance of the guitar polish/cleaner and fretboard conditioner, with an extra bottle of their lemon oil fretboard conditioner to boot; and the kit is no longer stocked. So as I looked on their website I found that both the fretboard cleaner and wax a la carte, as well as all kits involving these two are not in stock on the dunlop site. To boot there is now a new "pure formula 65" series of what looks like a greenwashed version of their cleaner, polish, and fingerboard conditioner.

I've tried just conditioning the fingerboard, but the faint outlines of grime still remain, the fretboard cleaner used to make quick work of these; is there an equivalent fretboard cleaner out there, or has the fretboard cleaner been rebranded into something else within their lineup? Same with the carnuba wax?

Also what is the difference if any between the three fretboard conditioners: the lemon oil formula 65, coconut oil "pure formula" 65, and 02 fretboard deep conditioner.

If anyone else has any other brands that they back for guitar spa products please drop em below, I quite liked my 4 step routine of clean then condition the fretboard and clean then wax the body, but am open to change (worth noting I have no guitars with maple fretboards).

 

[aWoodenShip]

I always used to use gorgomyte fretboard cleaner. I’ve been needing to re up on it but one sheet lasted me forever.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Plain old naphtha is the gold standard for taking "gunk" off the fretboard, but unlike a lot of multi-use products it will need to be followed by a good conditioning, my preferred is plain mineral oil, after every application.

The Music Nomad range of products is solid, and a fine replacement for the old Dunlop kit that used to be pretty good overall.

 

[SalsaWood]

I use Fret Doctor products. You should be using no cleaning products to actually clean the fretboard and only about once a year use any kind of wood treatment which may or may not help clean it as a benefit. There's no CLP for fretboards to go nuts with. You can definitely get further with a dry toothbrush and a slightly damp microfiber than dousing your board with products and deadening it with oils/whatever. If you're trying to get a well played board to look brand new you're completely SOL, I don't care if you put flubber on it, and I figure you know that much just be mindful of your expectations regarding presentability.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I use Fret Doctor products. You should be using no cleaning products to actually clean the fretboard and only about once a year use any kind of wood treatment which may or may not help clean it as a benefit. There's no CLP for fretboards to go nuts with. You can definitely get further with a dry toothbrush and a slightly damp microfiber than dousing your board with products and deadening it with oils/whatever. If you're trying to get a well played board to look brand new you're completely SOL, I don't care if you put flubber on it, and I figure you know that much just be mindful of your expectations regarding presentability.

Yeah, just plain water and a very mild abrasive will work most of the time.

I try and steer clear of hard and fast schedules like that, because all guitars are a bit different, same with playing habits.

Is it dirty? Clean it. Is it dry? Oil it.

Over doing stuff is just as bad as under doing it in most cases.

In my experience, most folks clean a bit less than they should and oil a bit more than they should.

But yeah, I usually recommend staying away from fancy formulations with unknown ingredients. The basics are cheap, readily available, and sold in quantities that'll last a lifetime and are benign enough that you can over use them without issue, within reason.

 

[lurè]

I have a bottle of Music Nomad F-one and I use it every 2 restrings.
One bottle will probably last you a decade since you only need few drops.

It's perfect for general cleaning and maintenance as an all-in-one solution instead of the thousand different Dunlop products.

 

[will_shred]

Plain old naphtha is the gold standard for taking "gunk" off the fretboard, but unlike a lot of multi-use products it will need to be followed by a good conditioning, my preferred is plain mineral oil, after every application.

The Music Nomad range of products is solid, and a fine replacement for the old Dunlop kit that used to be pretty good overall.

Came here to say this! Naptha is the best for cleaning and leaving a streak free shine. Mineral oil/cutting board oil is great for fingerboards. Plus they cost a lot less.

 

[lost_horizon]

I had the same kit and ran out of the same thing. I did find it on it's own in a local music store, I think it was $6? The techs usually buy it because they go through heaps.

A few guitars I have got 2nd have been massively dried out, my LP-800C was so dry the inlays popped out!

I try and save the fretboard cleaner. I also use an old toothbrush to get in the divots and right up to the frets.

Alcohol wipes for water soluble stuff.
Car polish for the oily stuff. Make sure to not use something too harsh like Chemical Guys, that will remove all surface finish.
Cleaner wax like Renaissance non-crystalline wax with the buffing wheel.
Then something more long lasting like board milk (https://www.etguitars.com/store/p/et-board-milk) fretboard butter. https://www.souldrifterguitars.com.au/products/dmi-fret-butter-fingerboard-cleaner

I don't like the oily feeling, feels like when you walk on ice. So buff it up well. That is also the sacrificial layer so any new stuff will be in the waxy/oily layer and the board should be untouched with regular maintenance.

 

[crushingpetal]

What do people here do with their ebony boards? I find myself not conditioning them as much because they don't look dry, but maybe that's not good?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

What do people here do with their ebony boards? I find myself not conditioning them as much because they don't look dry, but maybe that's not good?

Plain old mineral oil. A few dabs on the board and then massaged in with a clean lint free flannel cloth. Let sit for about an hour, then wipe off the excess. Unless you keep your house extraordinarily dry (<25% humidity) or literally never play it, you should only need to oil about once a year.

If you see small hairline cracks forming, oil a bit more often, maybe twice a year, but if the surface is completely uniform it's fine. If the board is burnished, which makes it appear glossy/shiny, then you usually don't have to worry as much since that somewhat seals the surface better.

The wood will let you know when it needs it. If you've owned the guitar for quite some time and you haven't noticed an issue, keep up the good work. Not everything needs tons of oil all the time.

 

[crushingpetal]

Plain old mineral oil. A few dabs on the board and then massaged in with a clean lint free flannel cloth. Let sit for about an hour, then wipe off the excess. Unless you keep your house extraordinarily dry (<25% humidity) or literally never play it, you should only need to oil about once a year.

If you see small hairline cracks forming, oil a bit more often, maybe twice a year, but if the surface is completely uniform it's fine. If the board is burnished, which makes it appear glossy/shiny, then you usually don't have to worry as much since that somewhat seals the surface better.

The wood will let you know when it needs it. If you've owned the guitar for quite some time and you haven't noticed an issue, keep up the good work. Not everything needs tons of oil all the time.

Thanks, this is great!

 

[lost_horizon]

What do people here do with their ebony boards? I find myself not conditioning them as much because they don't look dry, but maybe that's not good?

Yeah mine where the inlays popped out was ebony. The old Japanese stuff that is black as Hades. Took me a few goes to moisten it up plus I had to re-sand the board to get the inlays flush.

On my 1965 acoustic when I refretted it the wood went a completely different colour. Just guitar oil on the board but it went from a light red to a beautiful dark brown. Maybe it was oxidised?

 

[crushingpetal]

Ok, this thread gave me a chore for the day: condition fretboards. I realized I've been too lax about this, it's likely been two years.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Ok, this thread gave me a chore for the day: condition fretboards. I realized I've been too lax about this, it's likely been two years.

Eh, like I said, let the wood tell you if it needs to be done. I qualify a lot of the time scale stuff I talk about with "usually" and "probably" and "maybe" because it's not an exact thing.

 

[crushingpetal]

Eh, like I said, let the wood tell you if it needs to be done. I qualify a lot of the time scale stuff I talk about with "usually" and "probably" and "maybe" because it's not an exact thing.

Agreed, that's why I really haven't touched a fretboard in two years. The one I just worked on today was looking a bit dry, so this thread was a good reminder.

 

[SalsaWood]

On my 1965 acoustic when I refretted it the wood went a completely different colour. Just guitar oil on the board but it went from a light red to a beautiful dark brown. Maybe it was oxidised?

Good chance it was, most woods do this. Same thing happens to Purple Heart over the years, turns from purple to a kind of bloody brown color. Usually you get a black and yellow shift in the colors. Redwood turns grey, though. Bloodwood turns almost black. There are a lot of exceptions to the rule and environmental conditions matter a great deal over time.

 

[DoctorStoner]

My old music store manager (who also worked at FMIC and Gibson) gave me a bottle of Dr. Duck's Ax Wax (does not contain wax). He said it was the best stuff to clean the whole guitar. The bottle is still 90% full 15 years later. It smells great too.