Cleaning
The longer a guitar is in use, the more soiled the fretboard can be. if you play a lot, you naturally leave residues of skin and sweat, which are deposited on the fretboard. It does mot only look worn, it also doesn’t feel really good when you play, and in the worst case scenario, it can negatively affect the sound of your guitar. But you can get ahead of this if you regularly clean your fretboard and keep it in good condition. We’ll tell you how to clean your fretboard quickly and effectively. Please note that the following cleaning instructions only apply to unvarnished fretboards. On varnished fretboards, the use of oils makes no sense and the steel wool would remove the varnish. You can recognize an unvarnished fretboard by the clearly visible and noticeable grain of the wood. Varnished surfaces are usually shiny and completely smooth.
The longer a guitar is in use, the more soiled the fretboard can be. if you play a lot, you naturally leave residues of skin and sweat, which are deposited on the fretboard. It does mot only look worn, it also doesn’t feel really good when you play, and in the worst case scenario, it can negatively affect the sound of your guitar. But you can get ahead of this if you regularly clean your fretboard and keep it in good condition. We’ll tell you how to clean your fretboard quickly and effectively. Please note that the following cleaning instructions only apply to unvarnished fretboards. On varnished fretboards, the use of oils makes no sense and the steel wool would remove the varnish. You can recognize an unvarnished fretboard by the clearly visible and noticeable grain of the wood. Varnished surfaces are usually shiny and completely smooth.
What you need for cleaning
If you get stuck with a simple cloth, we recommend cleaning your fretboard a little more thoroughly. So that this can be done quickly and, above all, effectively, three things are necessary for acoustic guitars and four for electric guitars:
- A microfiber cloth
- Fine steel wool of type 0000
- Dunlop Lemon Oil
- Some painter’s tape (for electric guitars)
What you need for cleaning
If you get stuck with a simple cloth, we recommend cleaning your fretboard a little more thoroughly. So that this can be done quickly and, above all, effectively, three things are necessary for acoustic guitars and four for electric guitars:
- A microfiber cloth
- Fine steel wool of type 0000
- Dunlop Lemon Oil
- Some painter’s tape (for electric guitars)
Step 1: Preparation
- Place the guitar on a flat and padded surface
- Support the guitar neck if necessary
- Remove the strings completely
- Tip: Electric guitars have pickups. When using steel wool, metal shavings can be attracted to the magnetic pickups, which can cause short circuits when playing. For this reason, you should mask the pickups with painter’s tape before using the steel wool.
Step 1: Preparation
- Place the guitar on a flat and padded surface
- Support the guitar neck if necessary
- Remove the strings completely
- Tip: Electric guitars have pickups. When using steel wool, metal shavings can be attracted to the magnetic pickups, which can cause short circuits when playing. For this reason, you should mask the pickups with painter’s tape before using the steel wool.
Step 2: Use the steel wool
- Tip: The steel wool removes a fine layer of wood and the metal frets. Even if steel wool of type 0000 is the finest, don’t apply too much pressure and proceed carefully.
- First, clean the frets from side to side
- Once all the frets have been processed from the first to the last, blow the chips away
- In the second step, clean the frets in the direction of the wood grain or lengthways along the neck
- When you’re done with it, blow the chips away
Step 2: Use the steel wool
- Tip: The steel wool removes a fine layer of wood and the metal frets. Even if steel wool of type 0000 is the finest, don’t apply too much pressure and proceed carefully.
- First, clean the frets from side to side
- Once all the frets have been processed from the first to the last, blow the chips away
- In the second step, clean the frets in the direction of the wood grain or lengthways along the neck
- When you’re done with it, blow the chips away
Step 3: Apply the lemon oil
- Remove the lid from the lemon oil
- Press the brush lightly on the first fret until the oil comes out
- Apply lemon oil to all frets using circular movements
- Tip: Don’t forget the bridge on acoustic guitars!
- Then spread the lemon oil on all the frets with your fingers, leaving no corners
- Let the oil soak in for 2 – 3 minutes
- Tip: The wood behaves in a similar way to our skin. The drier it is, the faster the oil will be absorbed. It can happen that after 2 – 3 minutes everything is drawn in. Then you know that treatment was long overdue. On the other hand, you shouldn’t do this treatment too often either.
Step 3: Apply the lemon oil
- Remove the lid from the lemon oil
- Press the brush lightly on the first fret until the oil comes out
- Apply lemon oil to all frets using circular movements
- Tip: Don’t forget the bridge on acoustic guitars!
- Then spread the lemon oil on all the frets with your fingers, leaving no corners
- Let the oil soak in for 2 – 3 minutes
- Tip: The wood behaves in a similar way to our skin. The drier it is, the faster the oil will be absorbed. It can happen that after 2 – 3 minutes everything is drawn in. Then you know that treatment was long overdue. On the other hand, you shouldn’t do this treatment too often either.
Step 4: Wipe the fretboard
- Wipe off any excess oil from the fretboard with the microfiber cloth
- Remove chips and oil residues from the entire guitar
- For electric guitars: Carefully remove the painter’s tape from the pickups
- Put the strings back on
The cleaning of the fretboard is complete!
Step 4: Wipe the fretboard
- Wipe off any excess oil from the fretboard with the microfiber cloth
- Remove chips and oil residues from the entire guitar
- For electric guitars: Carefully remove the painter’s tape from the pickups
- Put the strings back on
The cleaning of the fretboard is complete!
Video tutorial
You can also watch the instructions for cleaning your fretboard as a video on our YouTube channel. Do not forget to subscribe!
Video tutorial
You can also watch the instructions for cleaning your fretboard as a video on our YouTube channel. Do not forget to subscribe!
Apply your new inlay stickers
The cleaning before applying your inlay stickers not only makes your guitar look a lot better, it also ensures that the design have a better grip on the clean surface and thus last longer. Tip: Even if you want to play again a short time after using lemon oil, we recommend that you wait at least a day after cleaning before installing your inlay stickers. The oil must be completely absorbed by the wood so that no film of moisture remains on the surface, which would prevent the stickers from getting a good hold. If your fretboard shines in new splendour and the oil has been drawn in, you can start appying your stickers. We’ll show you how to do it best.
Apply your new inlay stickers
The cleaning before applying your inlay stickers not only makes your guitar look a lot better, it also ensures that the design have a better grip on the clean surface and thus last longer. Tip: Even if you want to play again a short time after using lemon oil, we recommend that you wait at least a day after cleaning before installing your inlay stickers. The oil must be completely absorbed by the wood so that no film of moisture remains on the surface, which would prevent the stickers from getting a good hold. If your fretboard shines in new splendour and the oil has been drawn in, you can start appying your stickers. We’ll show you how to do it best.