# Best Way To Clean an Ebony Fretboard?



## WaffleTheEpic (Nov 8, 2012)

^Topic, basically.

I just got my Agile yesterday, and the fretboard is ebony. I played it for a few hours yesterday and the fretboard is already showing finger gunk 

What's the best way to keep it clean?


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 8, 2012)

I think a lot of folks here use lemon oil...?


----------



## RyanG (Nov 8, 2012)

You can basically treat it the same as any rosewood fingerboard. It's a bit more dense, grain-wise, but it's still a more porous wood than say Maple, so any typical cleaning method you'd use for an open-pore fingerboard works fine. So lemon oil, naptha, gorgomyte, any of that usual stuff.


----------



## edsped (Nov 8, 2012)

I can't imagine there would be much gunk after only playing it for a few hours. Just wipe it off with a rag.


----------



## Ghost40 (Nov 8, 2012)

I use the Dunlap lemon oil cleaner stuff.


----------



## Bloodbath Salt (Nov 8, 2012)

Ghost40 said:


> I use the Dunlap lemon oil cleaner stuff.



I've never tried Dunlop's lemon oil. I use bore oil that's made specially for conditioning expense string instruments. It's a thinner weight of oil compared to lemon oil.


----------



## 7StringedBeast (Nov 8, 2012)

if I'm not mistaken, some brands of bore oil have lemon oil in their formulation


----------



## Lagtastic (Nov 8, 2012)

Naptha and/or Gorgomyte. 

Try out some Naptha, don't believe the lemon oil hype. Max set me straight a year back or so, I won't let lemon oil touch my guitars now.

Also Gorgomyte is fkn awesome for easy normal maintenance.


----------



## Tyler (Nov 8, 2012)

Try the ernie ball fingerboard conditioner


----------



## groovemasta (Nov 8, 2012)

Lagtastic said:


> Naptha and/or Gorgomyte.
> 
> Try out some Naptha, don't believe the lemon oil hype. Max set me straight a year back or so, I won't let lemon oil touch my guitars now.
> 
> Also Gorgomyte is fkn awesome for easy normal maintenance.



where would you get that never really heard of it.


----------



## Lagtastic (Nov 8, 2012)

groovemasta said:


> where would you get that never really heard of it.




Mineral oil, a tiny bit will do. Be careful though, quite a bit of mineral oil has a solvent included, and that's more for cleaning hardware, not for the fretboard.

Gorgomyte is a very high quality cleaning cloth. You cut off a 1x1 inch square off the cloth and clean your fretboard & frets with it. You can grab a cloth at StewMac or other shops. Really good stuff and you get a bunch of 1x1 squares from a single cloth.


----------



## Azathoth43 (Nov 8, 2012)

Some simple green and a surgical brush. Followed by some linseed oil.


----------



## groovemasta (Nov 8, 2012)

thanks!


----------



## WaffleTheEpic (Nov 8, 2012)

I'm not asking for like, intense scrubbing stuff, just what to do to get rid of small amounts of finger gunk. I do all this stuff when I restring my guitars. Although now I do know some good products to look into.


----------



## Kiwimetal101 (Nov 8, 2012)

Sorry to jack the thread, but how long should you leave lemon oil on the fingerboard for?? Or is it better to repeat a few times?


----------



## RyanG (Nov 9, 2012)

You don't really have to "leave it on."

Just put some sparingly either on the fretboard or directly on the cloth, wipe it down til you feel it's done, then wipe the excess off.


----------



## vstealth (Nov 9, 2012)

I used methylated spirits to clean of 4-5 years of grime of my bc rich from the previous owner. Just used a few cotton buds to apply it to each fret at a time before wiping it of with a old torn up bed sheet. Then, I just used linseed oil, same way I applied the methylated spirits but only using a tiny dab on each fret before rubbing it in.


----------



## danger5oh (Nov 12, 2012)

It's been said, but I'll reiterate... Gorgomyte is awesome between string changes... nourishes your fretboard and polishes the frets nicely... and naptha when the fretboard gets disgusting.


----------



## whilstmyguitardjentlyweep (Nov 12, 2012)

Wash your hands before playing


----------



## Webmaestro (Nov 12, 2012)

I only skimmed the replies, but here are my thoughts:

If it's dirty after a bit of normal play, just fog it with your hot breath... between each fret, and wipe firmly with a cotton cloth. See if this works first. I got this from Dan Erlewine, and I always FIRST try removing things with this method (or, if it's really bad... saliva). Only if this doesn't work do I move on to more caustic cleaners.

I wouldn't recommend lemon oil or any actual "cleaners" at this early stage. Plus, many ebony fingerboards are dyed to appear black, and lemon oil and other cleaners may actually remove that black stain, leaving your fretboard looking a little odd.


----------



## MrFoster (Nov 13, 2012)

Did some research on cleaning fretboards just recently
From what I saw using the petrolium distilate breifly to clean it is a good idea, and if you want to condition you should use almond oil, bore oil or tung oil

I've had a great result with almond oil. A friends old V had been neglected for a good 5 years without being played or touched out in the open in his living room. It upset me too much so I volunteered to clean it, fix up the wiring and put some strings on it for his birthday
The fretboard was going white with how dry it was, 3 applications later and the rosewood was so full in colour, I was rather amazed

Also used a fine razor blade to gently remove the tough gunk in the frets, it was risky but it didn't leave any marks


----------



## cGoEcYk (Nov 13, 2012)

When I got my Agile the fretboard was a little gunky (blackish stuff rubbing off) the first time I cleaned it. Maybe the wood arrived a little oily?

If you do lube up your board, use very little. You only need a few drops a couple times a year. I'd let it set for a while and wipe it as dry as you can. If it hasnt sunk in completely things can get dirty real fast once you start playing.


----------



## Andromalia (Nov 16, 2012)

Dead wood is dead. You don't "nourish" it.
Anything that will: 
-Dissolve gunk
-Not dissolve the wood
-will dry without deforming the board

Will be fine. Believe me. I spent over 15 years cleaning rosewood boards with random glass cleaners.


----------



## SirMyghin (Nov 16, 2012)

Mineral oil is what most 'lemon oil' is made from, just not lemon scented. 

Big fan of fret doctor here, it doesn't seem to leave the wood to 'dry out' near as quickly and smells amazing.


----------



## Seanthesheep (Nov 20, 2012)

i just use a damp, wrung out rag that was soaked in water. works well on ebony and rosewood for me


----------



## TRENCHLORD (Nov 20, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about the insta-prints that show on ebony so well when you touch it.
It'll look a bit gunky after a few sessions, but if you just keep your hands clean it won't really be much more than finger prints. 
Maple doesn't show them so well, and rosewood sucks them up better.

Just play clean (p.i.) and do a fret/board treatment every year or two or three (depending on usage/enviorement).


----------



## Najka (Nov 23, 2012)

Spray lemon oil on it, and use a soft brissle toohy brush, gently scrub in between the frets. You can get .0000 grade fine steel wool and gently rub the frets with it to help get grime off the frets. Don't scrub the fretboard with the steel wool, only use it to get big nasty peices of grime off.


----------

