Cleaning old fretboard = lost mojo??

[Wayniac]

Guys -
I just acquired a guitar that has some serious mojo on it... YEARS of playing, sweat, probably beer lol!
I LOVE the feel of the back of the neck, and won't even consider touching it - it stays as is.
I was toying with the idea of taking some of the "love" out of the fretboard though. It is not gunked up like the last one I got, but it could probably use a cleaning. I can live with it as is though...
I would do a light clean with denatured alcohol, possibly use a razor or some FINE sandpaper or 0000 steel wool (may not need it after the alcohol) and then probbaly lemon oil it...
Should I clean or should I leave as is??

[sully]

clean it; other people's fingerfunk is nasty.

[VitaminG]

+1

scraping off someone else's sweat, mucus, dead skin tissue & other assorted bodily fluids isn't going to effect the backshape or feel. Unless skidding your thumb & fingers around in all those juices is what gives the guitar its mojo for you

[Wayniac]

Heheh - well in THAT case!! lol Ewwwwww
Well, it is not gunked up like the PC1 I got off of Caffery.. THAT thing was a mess! lol. Literally was able to take a razor at 90 degrees and pull "gunk" off of that fretboard. Took 3-5 passes before I got it cleaned up, and it is still stained - now just no "build-up". But man - she plays and sounds great

This one is an OLD Maple board, with the discoloration on it - well more like "in" it. I will wipe it and clean it, but was just wondering of a scrape and polish are needed. That shouldn't change the broken in feel of the neck much if at all, right?

[Bengal65]

Guys -
I just acquired a guitar that has some serious mojo on it... YEARS of playing, sweat, probably beer lol!
I LOVE the feel of the back of the neck, and won't even consider touching it - it stays as is.
I was toying with the idea of taking some of the "love" out of the fretboard though. It is not gunked up like the last one I got, but it could probably use a cleaning. I can live with it as is though...
I would do a light clean with denatured alcohol, possibly use a razor or some FINE sandpaper or 0000 steel wool (may not need it after the alcohol) and then probbaly lemon oil it...
Should I clean or should I leave as is??

Oh, dip it in a keg of beer. That'll do it Yea, I'd use the alchohol, then some Naptha, and some 0000 steel wool, then a synthetic wool. Possibly, some lemon oil for more cleaning. Something that dirty would freak me. The last guitar I got that way, I had to do a fretboard plane and refret because it was nasty Not now however!

[St.James]

clean it; other people's fingerfunk is nasty.

Exactly! I can't stand nasty fingered people playing my guitars.

I let this one dude play one a while back and when he was done it looked like he rubbed it down with a KFC chicken leg! I mean it was so nasty I had to change the strings.

I can't believe someone was capable of getting a guitar that filthy in less than 10 minutes!

[RacerX]

Dude! Make 'em wash their hands! If they balk, no playee!

[rjohnstone]

No kidding... finger cheeze... ewwww. Clean it quick.
I wash my hands before and after I play... then wipe the fretboard, body and hardware down before it goes back in the case.

[shreddermon]

clean it; other people's fingerfunk is nasty.

+1 IMHO this is bad mojo, not good.

[toejam]

I let this one dude play one a while back and when he was done it looked like he rubbed it down with a KFC chicken leg!

LOL There's some famous bass player (I can't think of the name right now), but he used to lube up his strings with fried chicken grease to help play better. He said he liked the slippery feel.

[Wayniac]

Well - A quick wipe took ALOT of gunk off, without effecting the broken-in feel of the neck.. when i get back from Sweden, it'll get the full treatment