0000 steel wool for fretboard finger gunk?

  • Thread starter Thread starter skoora
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p1lch3r_Buttafukk0 said:
1. Grab a lysol wipe and clean the gunk off and dry it immediately with a paper towel
2. Buy a little bottle of Bore-Oil at your local music store that does violin lessons and the like.
3. Apply a drop or two of bore oil on the fretboard and spread it with a q-tip.
4. Let it dry overnight and wipe the excess off which will be very little.

Done.


Going forward, get in the habit of wiping the fretboard with a clean microfiber towel after you're done using the guitar and you won't have to deal with gunk.
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I looked this up and you may be onto something, the bore oil especially. I'm still not down with #4 but I wanted to give you some credit for the bore oil part :yes:
 
It seems almost every product has a ‘no don’t do that’ somewhere on the internet. I use the Crimson Guitars cleaner and restorer and they work fine. I still have a 40+ year old bottle of Yamaha Bore Oil but I never use it anymore. Also an old bottle of Lemon oil that I don’t think I ever used, usually it’s just mineral oil with an additive or two.
 
Oiling the fretboard isn't necessarily about conditioning the wood. Applying white mineral oil to unfinished grain also keeps dirt and grim from sticking to it. Next time you wipe it down a lot of that stuff will come off. Same with the frets. It will keep them from oxidizing.
I protect my fretboards and use a dremel tool and polishing wheel with fine compound to clean the frets. Of course 0000 steel wool works too, I just like to have a higher polish on the frets than that. Rubbing the frets with 0000 is still very fine though and comfortable to play on. I just don't like making swirl marks on the wood with it.
 
stephen sawall said:
https://www.jimdunlop.com/system-65-micro-fret-cloth/
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Overpriced.

I’d suggest 3M 8000 grit polishing paper. A whole sheet is a couple dollars at your home depot.

p1lch3r_Buttafukk0 said:
Been doing it this way for many years on rosewood boards and have never had a problem. Bore oil isn't acidic like lemon oil is.
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Goal is to not let is soak deep, wood might start rotting from excess moisture too.

Music Nomad FOne oil is great and not acidic too.
 
Ive
CrystalSky said:
Overpriced.

I’d suggest 3M 8000 grit polishing paper. A whole sheet is a couple dollars at your home depot.



Goal is to not let is soak deep, wood might start rotting from excess moisture too.

Music Nomad FOne oil is great and not acidic too.
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I have used the same one about 30 years. I think I paid $2 for it back then.
 
CrystalSky said:
Overpriced.

I’d suggest 3M 8000 grit polishing paper. A whole sheet is a couple dollars at your home depot.



Goal is to not let is soak deep, wood might start rotting from excess moisture too.

Music Nomad FOne oil is great and not acidic too.
Click to expand...
You lost me on this one twice. I think 8000 grit polishing paper for removing gunk is like the butter knife to a gunfight. That fine grit is for polishing not cleaning. I use the pink 3000 grit for a final polish of frets.

And oiling a fretboard is not adding any moisture. Moisture is water and oil is...something that doesn't mix with water.
 
SpiderWars said:
You lost me on this one twice. I think 8000 grit polishing paper for removing gunk is like the butter knife to a gunfight. That fine grit is for polishing not cleaning. I use the pink 3000 grit for a final polish of frets.

And oiling a fretboard is not adding any moisture. Moisture is water and oil is...something that doesn't mix with water.
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Those dunlop polishing papers are Micromesh Grey 12000, which is equivalent to around 6000 in 3M polishing units, so I don’t see what I did wrong. I never told it is for cleaning gunk and shit.

As for oil, I called it moisture as English is not my first language. Just soak some useless stick in oil and you will see what I mean.
 
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