Have you ever noticed that grunge that seems to build up in the area where your frets are embedded into the fret board? It is a common problem and can affect the playability of the guitar. This grunge comes from the oils and dirt on your fingers when you are playing and can build up substantially over time. Not only does this build up look bad, but the oils from your skin can actually eat away at the glue that holds your frets in the fretboard resulting in loose, or even lifted frets. Repairs while not extremely difficult can be costly depending on the degree of damage caused. The best way to avoid these cost are to perform regular maintenance and cleaning of the fretboard and frets.

To do a good and thorough cleaning you will need paper towels, olive oil (or lemon oil), and two "0000" steel wool pads. Depending on what brand of steel wool you buy, it may be called 0000, 4/0 or XXXX. You do not want to use a gauge that is more abrasive than these gauges. The point is to clean, not scratch. You will want to remember that more abrasive numbers go down. Therefore 0, 00, and 000 will all be too abrasive to do this project. You may damage your fretboard and frets leading to a very expensive repair job.

The Cleaning

Once you have these items on hand, you are ready to clean the fretboard and frets. The first thing you will want to do is remove the old strings and cover the body of the guitar with a cloth or towel. This will prevent steel wool dust and residue from getting into the electronics (or in the case of an acoustic guitar, the soundhole).

Using the first steel wool pad, gently scrub the fretboard between the frets. Pay attention to the area where the frets meet the fretboard as this is where the majority or the grunge builds up. Do not use a lot of pressure as this will cause small scratches in the wood.

Once you have removed the grunge, you can take the other 0000 pad and lightly rub the frets to a shine. Be sure to rub the frets on the long axis only. This usually does not take long, and it can make old frets look brand new.

Once the frets are shined up you can use a paper towel to wipe off any left over residue from the fretboard and frets. Make sure you get it all.

Put a small amount of olive oil on the corner of a folded paper towel and rub it into the wood of the fretboard. You do not want to flood the fretboard with oil, but you do want to make sure the whole surface is wet. Leave the olive oil on overnight, and then wipe the excess off the next day. Leaving it on overnight allows the oil to penetrate the pores in the wood.

After you have wiped the excess oil off the fretboard, you can restring the guitar with a fresh set of strings, and you are finished until the fretboard gets dirty again.

How Often Should I Clean the Fretboard and Frets?

This really depends on how often you play and how oily your skin is. I can usually get away with doing this once every six months, but I have known other players that can do it just once a year, and others who have to do it more often. If you keep an eye on the build up you will figure out a good schedule for your particular guitar.

Take care of your guitar and you will find that it will be there for you to play well into the future. Play on!

Gary Allen

NOTE: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE TO YOUR INSTRUMENT. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING TAKE YOUR GUITAR TO A PROFESSIONAL.

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