Care of your bass - Cleaning an untreated maple fretboard?

[LunarDanceFloor]

Hi, I have a Musicman Stingray and the fretboard appears to have absolutely no protection at all. Looking at photos online, these fretboards seem to get very dirty and that is accepted. Is this part of their charm? Why are they not treated? The strings are off this bass for cleaning and fret polishing. How do I clean the dirty fretboard without damaging it please?

Thank you
Justin

 

[tbonesullivan]

They are not unfinished, and never have been. They are treated with a "Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend"

This consists of Birchwood casey Tru-Oil, and then Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax.

Music Man has some youtube videos on cleaning them, and there are also numerous threads on the subject.

 

[LunarDanceFloor]

They are not unfinished, and never have been. They are treated with a "Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend"

This consists of Birchwood casey Tru-Oil, and then Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax.

Music Man has some youtube videos on cleaning them, and there are also numerous threads on the subject.

Thanks very much tbonesullivan

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Go to the FAQ sticky thread at the top of the Forum.

 

[danielbravo]

Cleaning dark stains from maple neck

It was NGD yesterday, but before I show it off, the guitar needed a good cleaning. Spent some time buffing out swirl and pick scratches from the surface, cleaning up the bridge... next is cleaning up the fretboard. I already went over it with 0000 steel wool, but I'm left with some dark stains...

forums.ernieball.com

This thread was a revelation for me, I'm sure it will be very useful for you

Good vibes

 

[kevins]

I got one of the unfinished necks in 2004, at this point only the area directly beneath the strings is the original colour lol

 

[tbonesullivan]

Using water mixed with murphy's oil soap and a soft toothbrush is the best advice I can give for getting out the grunge. It also helped with the staining.

As with ANY musical instrument, I always advocate washing your hands before playing, which cleans off the sweat and oils that can get the neck dirty faster.