how to clean a maple fretboard

1. Hi Everyone,
   I got a ton of stupid questions, so here is another one.
   I've read much about cleaning and conditioning rosewood fretboards here at TDPRI, but both my guitars have maple boards. One is a high gloss on a CV Thinline and my AS isn't quite as polished.
   I bought a small bottle of lemon oil but now have read that it shouldn't be used on gloss fretboards.
   I'm thinking i should just use a damp cloth with a little mild soap and wipe the fretboard clean. Please give me your thoughts or let me know about your tried and true methods for cleaning maple fretboards.

   Thanks

2. 

   KokoTele Doctor of Teleocity Vendor Member

   Lemon oil won't hurt the poly finish on your maple neck, but it'll make it slippery and attract dirt. Oil finishes are for porous woods that will absorb it, not woods finished with a film, like poly or nitro.

   A rag that's very slightly damp with soap and water will work just fine, but be careful that it's not wet enough that you can squeeze *any* water out of it. It'll have the ability to get into a seam near a fret or something, get underneath the finish, and start it flaking off.

   A better solution is any normal solvent that evaporates quickly. Naptha, rubbing alcohol, mineral spirits, etc. Again, you don't need very much on your cloth.

3. I use a tooth brush,dry,to clean the fret edges and a water damp cloth on the board with a little elbow grease..Ya don't really need soap unless it's filthy..Soap leaves a film..
   I should add,if you use soap use Mothers...

5. I just use a micro-fiber cloth. Works well enough to keep the schmunda off my fretboard.

6. Naphtha.

   Be careful with alcohol and any guitar finish. Test first with poly finishes, and don't get it near lacquer finishes.

   I don't let lemon oil touch any of my guitars, or any vintage instruments. In fact, I've had to clean lots of rosewood fretboards with naphtha to get that crap and the associated gunk off of them. I also don't let any guitar polish near my guitars, and have had to rub many a vintage instrument with naphtha to try and get residual silicone off them.

7. A wet rage, spit and elbow grease is the best I have found after 40 years of playing. A toothbrush when things are really nasty.

8. Maple syrup - works wonders. An ordinary maple neck will never seem sticky after using maple syrup to clean it.

9. After every gig and playing session at home I spray a little WD40 on a cloth and wipe over the fingerboard, under the strings and over the strings. Then I wipe down with a dry cloth. Works for maple and rosewood, and makes my strings last five time longer than they used to.

10. Thanks all for your replies. Its good to know that I'm not wrecking my lovelies.

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how to clean a maple fretboard

Source: https://www.tdpri.com/threads/cleaning-maple-fretboard.291319/

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