Cleaning an unfinished dirty maple neck neck

[mrfunnyman]

Howdy everyone yesterday I purchased my second used EBMM Axis and I was wondering if some of you guys on here could tell me the best way to clean an extremely dirty neck up. The back of the neck is not as bad as the fingerboard, the fingerboard is extremely dirty from being played so much that you really have to look if you want to see the grain in the birdseye. It looks like whoever had it before me didnt really try to keep it clean, so it needs a little TLC. If you guys could drop me some tips for cleaning up the neck I would really appreciate it.

 

[nobozos]

Welcome to the forums. Before you get a bunch of replies telling you to check the FAQs before posting a question, let me provide you with a link:

How do I clean and maintain my Music Man neck? | Music Man Guitars | F.A.Q.

Feel free to check out the FAQ section. There really is a wealth of information in there.

BTW, It's pretty much a rule around here that, if you don't post a picture of your guitar, it doesn't exist.

And now, I'll turn the rest of the obligatory welcomes to Koogie......

 

[NorM]

with the pictures I hope you take some before and after shots.
I had one neck that was so dirty you couldn't see any figuring on it.
I ended up having a luither change 5 frets and lightly scrape that section of the fretboard. I spent a long time with plastic steel wool working on it and then oiled and waxed it myself.

The rest of the guitar was totally disassembled and cleaned down to every bolt in the Floyd. two of the saddles were frozen and broke. There was some scary machining done to make the replacements fit.

I found someone else to buff the body and they did a great job.

I remember I stayed up all night one night putting it back together.

The result:
This guitar rocks like none other.

Yes it is work but hang in there. The end result will be well worth the effort.

 

[ScoobySteve]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24yWr2LRmJY"]YouTube- Caring for your Music Man neck & Fretboard[/ame]

 

[Spudmurphy]

Good advice so far.

My experience?
mask the guitar body around the neck pocket and use Ernie ball wipes vigorously to get the initial crap/grime off.
assess situation - you may have to use 0000 wire wool (in which case tape up the pickups to stop the fillings going on the magnets). Go with the grain - yeah I know it's easier to go the other way!! You could also use wet and dry paper or a 3M nylon scourer type pad. 3M also do a fine grade sandpaper on a foam backing. You can even consider using Murphy's soap oil to get some of the stubborn stains out.
Use an Ernie Ball wipe to finish off and it's not unusual to put a small amount of Birchwood casey Wax on the fret board itself.

As NorM says b4 and after shots will look great on the forum

 

[mrfunnyman]

thanx guys for the replys, I just posted some pix in another topic that I just started.

 

[fbecir]

Nice guitar (I've seen the pics from the other thread).

For cleaning the maple fretboard of my Axis, I use wipe for babies (Pampers for instance ...). If it is good for my baby ass, it's also good for my ASS ....
It works perfectly and it is cheap (and if you have kids, you always have some stocks somewhere ...).

 

[hbucker]

There are a variety of ways, I wouldn't tell you my way is the best, but it's always worked for me (for 10+ years now)

1. Undiluted Murphy's Oil Soap and a soft bristled toothbrush. Scrub as much loose grime off as you can.
2. Wipe as much of the Murphy's residue off as possible with a dry cloth.
3. Clean the toothbrush and repeat the above scrubbing with lemon oil (more than once if necessary).
4. Wipe it down again with a different dry cloth.
5. Let it set over night and wipe it down again with a dry cloth.
6. String it up and go.

If you wash your hands before you play, this shouldn't be necessary much more than once a year. If your a busy weekend warrior, you'll probably need more cleaning than once a year. Depends on how pristine you want it to be...