Cleaning

[Gripths]

I know some may say it gives the guitar character... but i like to keep my stuff clean looking brand new. anyway i ahve a DK2, and i believe they call the neck a satin finish, not raw wood but not shiny smooth clear either. I am very careful as far as washing my hands before i practice, and wiping it down after every practice session. But there are still areas on the neck that seem to accumulate dirt or grime. ESP. near the heel, where my thumb rests near the 1st 2nd and 3rd frets etc.

It seems as though the grime is embedded in the finish, is there anyway to remove this. or should i jsut chalk it up as added "character" that shows the guitar is actually played? any suggestions

thanks in advance guys

[toejam]

You can clean it with lemon oil. Be aware, satin finishes will get shiny and smooth over time from your hand moving over it or even just rubbing it with a cloth.

Take Gibson's "Faded" series, for instance, which is a matte satin. The Les Paul I've got looks cool, but the neck is now pretty shiny from playing, and there's spots on the body that are a little shiny from my forearm resting on and rubbing the body. You can always buff the whole thing out to a glossy even shine, but I'm not sure if you can buff it back to satin.

[ihocky2]

First thing I would try is scraping at the areas with an old pick. That will actually do a nice job on removing a lot of the heavy grime, but won't hurt the finish. I've read a lot of repairmen like to use naptha or mineral spirits to clean with. DO NOT use acetone or thinners, they will eat the finish. If you want to keep it satin feeling, rub it a little with some fine steel wool.

[SouthPlatteDemon]

On my ebony fingerboard on my KV2 i get these little oval areas that are grimey. The lemon oil thing says to leave it on for 20 minutes then buff out. Will that hurt the frets by the lemon oil getting in next to them?

[Gripths]

maybe my description sucked.. im not talking about the fretboard, i mean the back of the neck where your palm rests. sorry bout that.

[Bengal65]

I would use Naptha first to remove the grime. Then, if it's still there, some polishing compound like StewMac's fine or some 3M Finesse It II with a soft cloth.

[SouthPlatteDemon]

I would use Naptha first to remove the grime. Then, if it's still there, some polishing compound like StewMac's fine or some 3M Finesse It II with a soft cloth.

Was this response for the fretboard or the back of the neck?

[Bengal65]

From the description, it appears he is talking about the back of the neck. Some clarification may be needed.

[Soloist1]

I'm thinking good old fashioned 600 grit sandpaper and some oil.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

to clean the grit imbedded in the back of the neck:

# 0000 steel wool.

cup the steel wool brick in your hand so that the wool strands are verticle or in the same direction that you will be jerking off the back of the neck.
rub lightly up and down the back of the neck untill it feels smooth again. you will see a whitish residue on the steel wool brick. this is normal. this will remove a very tiny amount of finish. not enough to remove it completely or damage it in any way. but will remove the layer that the grit has embedded itself in.

i do this even on my painted neck guitars with much success.
just remember to do it lightly.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

it also works good on the front of the neck. it will remove the gunk and polish the frets at the same time. just remember to mask the pickups so that the metal fibers do not get down in the coils. and you may rub a lot harder on the front of the neck.

[SouthPlatteDemon]

it also works good on the front of the neck. it will remove the gunk and polish the frets at the same time. just remember to mask the pickups so that the metal fibers do not get down in the coils. and you may rub a lot harder on the front of the neck.

No way am I putting steel wool on my KV2. I just can't get myself to do that. Yikes!

[Dreamland_Rebel]

if you don't want a clean fretboard and shiny frets then don't do it.

waste you time and money on inferior products and possibly damage your fretboard with a razorblade or guitar pic trying to get that gunk off. then figure out how to make those frets shine again...

0000 grade steel wool is just fine and will not hurt your axe if used correctly.

[fett]

Steel wool is cool. Endust works too.

[SouthPlatteDemon]

if you don't want a clean fretboard and shiny frets then don't do it.

waste you time and money on inferior products and possibly damage your fretboard with a razorblade or guitar pic trying to get that gunk off. then figure out how to make those frets shine again...

0000 grade steel wool is just fine and will not hurt your axe if used correctly.

how does one use it incorrectly?

I may be bold enough to try this next time.