Cleaning fretboard

Shredder3211 · 2009-01-21T13:40:55+00:00

Hi, i can remember there was a topic on this a few months back but i`m struggling to find it. I was wondering would it be best to take my guitar in to bothne...

Cleaning fretboard

AlanRatcliffe

You can easily get lemon oil anywhere, which has a cleaner in it - it's not actually the best oil, but it does an OK job.

Shredder3211

So i use 0000 grade steel wool with the paraffin to clean, and then apply the lemon oil to condition - does that sound gud?

AlanRatcliffe

That's it... ?

AlanRatcliffe

BTW, put masking tape over the neck pickup if you use steel wool. Then once you've finished with the wool, blow off the filings on the finish (or you'll scratch it when you polish). Then stick some more tape over the top of the pickups to trap the filings and peel the whole lot off together.

Riaan

Naphtha (paraffin) to clean

Pardon my ignorance... :-[...are we talking ordinary paraffin here, the same as you would use in a Primus stove etc.? I thought naphtha was lighter fluid? So lighter fluid is paraffin then? And I could use paraffin in my lighter instead of Zippo lighter fluid? And clean my fretboard? And use it in a Primus?

Shredder3211

Don`t put paraffin in ur zippo.....the flint won`t ignite it ?

AlanRatcliffe

Lighter fluid has a few extra things to make it ignite easier, but they are both 90% or so paraffin

Renesongs

Sorry to butt in but, paraffin aka kerosene is very different petroleum product to naphtha aka naphthalene aka lighter fluid aka benzine. Both can be be bought at any hardware store. One is highly aromatic solvent that could be useful for cleaning grime off, let's say, a fretboard the other is more suited to for fulling Jets and rockets - you be the judge. ?

AlanRatcliffe

I looked into the chemical comp of them a while ago and AFAIK, I'm correct, but I'll check it again. Lighter fluid can't be benzine though - surely it would all evaporate within minutes.

DaFiz

I see mention of paraffin and sandpaper yet Mr.Min is streng verboten...?
Spose it depends on how much you cherish your guitar. I recently went in search of an Ibanez Concord and found one that had been manufactured many years ago (probly in the seventees... serial No. 625) One key missing... nylon and steel strings together... the fretboard so coated in braaijuice it was obvious this thing had never been cleaned in over thirty years. I emptied a can of Mr.Min on her and restrung her with d'Addarios and she's still alive and well and travels by bike in a bag on my back.
Would you do that to your Gibson...? probly not ?

Riaan-Combrink

DaFiz wrote: I see mention of paraffin and sandpaper yet Mr.Min is streng verboten...?

The Mr Min references in the previous posts are just part of a longstanding ribbing of one of our illustrious comrades who has a Mr Min phobia of epic proportions - bit of an inside joke. His initials are AR ..... ? ? ? ? ?

Renesongs

@ Alan The Zippo Lighter fuel AFAIK is Naphtha however not all Naphtha are 100% Naphthalene (Benzine in SA). In my smoking years I tried substituting Benzine for Zippo fuel. and it usually would have evaporated in about 2 days I then stated mixing about 1/3 paraffin to the benzine and it lasted longer. More than 1/3 paraffin would be too stinky. I've used benzine for years to remove labels off glass and plastic (until I discovered peanut butter). Benzine leaves a slight oily residue on glass and plastic that I would then use Mentholated spirits to remove. Therefore methinks that benzine may be a good solvent for sticky fret boards without raping all the natural oils from the wood - what thinks you?

Ray

And not forgetting the recreational value that benzine has.

Riaan

I've used benzine for years to remove labels off glass and plastic (until I discovered peanut butter).

This forum has better DIY tips than the Popular Mechanics of old! Amazing!

I have always used Gibson guitar cleaning fluid for cleaning, including the fretboards. It does the job. I wonder what's in that fluid? It doesn't smell like a petroleum. Hope it's not the same as Mr. Min!

Bob-Dubery

DaFiz wrote: I see mention of paraffin and sandpaper yet Mr.Min is streng verboten...?

As a rule, anything with silicone in it should be kept away from guitar finishes. I know that at McGibbons they use a specific member of the Pledge aerosol polish range - and they say that one's OK because NO SILICONE.

AlanRatcliffe

OK. Just checked into it at depth and came up with some interesting stuff.

Firstly, I stand corrected - naphtha is not the same as the paraffin oil we get here.

Naphtha is a term used for a wide range of petroleum distillates, (including benzine and paraffin but not the same stuff we call paraffin - as you point out our "paraffin" is actually kerosene) which have chain lengths between 5 and 7 carbon atoms long. The kerosenes have chain lengths of C12 - C15. Petrol falls between the two at C7 - C11 and diesel is C17 and up. I get a little hazy (as one does, working with petroleum products ?) on the exact details, but that's it in a nutshell.

Naphtha often has a tiny amount of benzine in it, but may not contain more than 0.2% for safety, as it is highly carcinogenic. So, using benzine as lighter fuel or a "recreational substance" is probably not advisable. "Lighter fuel" is pure naphtha.

The good news is that paraffin does work well as a cleaner (although is slower to evaporate), is not harmful to delicate finishes. and is a solvent for both oils and waxes (which is what you want in a cleaner). It's also a good product for getting rid of label residue ?

Riaan-Combrink

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: I get a little hazy (as one does, working with petroleum products ?)

LOL!! Made my morning ?

Retard

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: have chain lengths between 5 and 7 carbon atoms long. The kerosenes have chain lengths of C12 - C15. Petrol falls between the two at C7 - C11 and diesel is C17 and up. I get a little hazy (as one does, working with petroleum products ?) on the exact details, but that's it in a nutshell.
Naphtha often has a tiny amount of benzine in it, but may not contain more than 0.2% for safety, as it is highly carcinogenic. So, using benzine as lighter fuel or a "recreational substance" is probably not advisable. "Lighter fuel" is pure naphtha.

I just wrote and passed my chem exams 2months ago... PLEASE MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!! ☹

AlanRatcliffe

Retard wrote: I just wrote and passed my chem exams 2months ago... PLEASE MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!! ☹

Lol! Now I know who to ask these things in future! My chemistry knowledge is mostly in the "how to blow stuff up" area of expertise. ?

Retard

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Lol! Now I know who to ask these things in future!

Hey, I just said I wrote the exam and Passed it. Nobody said anything about understanding the crap!!!
?