Clean Your Neck!

This week’s tip is another one dealing with the maintenance of your guitar.

Like anything mechanical, a musical instrument needs to be serviced regularly, and although some of the things should be left to a qualified luthier or professional, there are a few simple things you can do to your guitar that will make it feel like a (almost) new instrument. I will add some of these to this section of the website, but today I’ll start with giving the fingerboard and frets a good clean and polish.

I had heard how polishing the frets of a guitar would make it feel completely different, and that it would make fretting notes a lot easier, more accurate and help the intonation of the guitar. Like most players, I didn’t really take much notice of this advice and just kept playing my guitar, hardly ever wiping down the strings never mind giving the fingerboard a regular clean. Well, not too long ago, I looked at my favourite guitar, an Australian hand-built classical guitar, and noticed that the frets were quite oxidised and had lost their shine completely. The dark ebony fingerboard had also lost a bit of its original lustre, so I thought I would do something about it and give the instrument a good clean and polish.

To clean the fingerboard and frets, it is best to completely remove the strings. Make sure you have the following items at your disposal which will make your life a lot easier. A set of new strings, masking tape, finest grade steel wool, finger board conditioner/lemon oil, string-winder and a string cutters.

It is often said that you shouldn’t take all the strings off a classical guitar as you run the risk of warping the neck, but I’m not sure about how true this is. Anyway, if you want to be better safe than sorry, then a good way to over come this is, is to remove the strings in alternating order, which balances out the tension across the bridge. Take the sixth string off first, then remove the first string. Move on to the fifth and then the second, finally take off the fourth and then third strings.

The first step is to polish the frets of the guitar using the finest grade steel wool. Carefully mask the wood sections  of the fingerboard between each fret with the masking tape. With the fine steel wool, use an up and down motion running along the length of each fret and polish till you achieve a mirror-like finish. Be sure not to rub across the frets as this will leave scratches! Once each fret is polished carefully remove the masking tape and gently blow away any steel filings that could scratch the finish on your guitar.

Lemon oil is traditionally used to clean fingerboards that are made of darker woods such as ebony or rosewood. My favourite brand of lemon oil for guitar necks is Dunlop, and a little really does go a long way. Spread the oil on the wood between each fret and give it a few seconds to soak in, helping to lift any dirt and oils from the fingerboard. Using a soft cloth, rub the oil into the fingerboard using a circualr motion, removing any gunk and oily build up in the process. Make sure to clean along each fret where the build up is worst. Wipe off any remaining lemon oil from the neck of the guitar. Planet Waves have a fingerboard cleaner and conditioner that comes in a spray bottle which works really well too.

Once the frets are polished and the fingerboard is clean, it’s time to put on your new strings. You may notice your guitar playing a lot easier and sounding a bit different too! This little bit of maintenance will help keep your guitar sounding and playing at its best. This kind of maintenance is quite heavy-0duty, so  you only really need to do it once a year.