Cleaning a maple neck/fretboard with Murphy's Oil Soap?

[Jerry Jim]

Hey there,


I got a Silhouette with a maple neck and fretboard (unfinished). A friend of mine brought the murphy's oil soap from the US (I'm from Europe) and now I wonder.

First of all: How dilute I the Soap? 3:1 what does that mean?

Second: Is it enough to use the murphy's oil only or does I need anything else, like lemon oil or wax to treat it afterwards?

Third: I'm supposed to use it for both, so neck and fretboard, right?


Thanks a lot!


Jerry

 

[joe web]

don´t use lemon oil on a maple neck or fretboard!
you can wipe on a bit of gunstock wax after cleaning your neck and fretboard.

 

[meshuggah]

don´t use lemon oil on a maple neck or fretboard!
you can wipe on a bit of gunstock wax after cleaning your neck and fretboard.

That's a lot of crap

From music-man.com's FAQ:
How do I clean and maintain my Music Man neck?
To clean the neck, use a high-grade of lemon oil. If the neck is very dirty, try Murphy's Oil Soap diluted 3:1. Some players have found that using a toothbrush for cleaning is very effective.

I Always use Lemon Oil for the back of my neck. It's great!

 

[jamminjim]

JJ - the 3:1 mix means 3 parts water and 1 part murphys soap. So in a glass measure cup fill with soap to 1/4 and then fill the rest with water. I have used it 50/50 mix and I think that is acceptable. What i did was dab a rag in the 50/50 mix and then clean the neck with the damp rag. Make sure the rag is color fast, I use white cotton. If there was a stubborn spot I put a small amount of full strength Murphys on a rag and rubbed the spot with it then wiped it down with a clean wet rag quickly afterwards.
On maple necks "pure" or very high quality, or food grade, lemon oil is OK, but be aware most commercial lemon oil has a mixture of chemicals and additives with some lemon scent or small amount of lemon oil diluted in there.
Here in the states we also use the Birchwood Casey gunstock oil and wax to put a protective finish on the neck, once it is cleaned and dry, since a bare wood neck is susceptible to humidity. It's all in the Music Man faqs.

How do I maintain the neck on my new Music Man guitar? | Music Man Guitars | F.A.Q.

music-man-guitars | faq

 

[banjoplayer]

don´t use lemon oil on a maple neck or fretboard!
you can wipe on a bit of gunstock wax after cleaning your neck and fretboard.

I use lemon oil also on the maple parts of my AL and SM. The difference between the use on a rosewood fingerboard and maple parts: I clean it with a small amount of lemon oil and wipe everything away on maple - on rosewood I wipe some drops of oil into/onto the fretboard and let it dry

As far as I know it´s not a good idea to use lemon oil on finished maple necks, because it may go under the finish (if somewhere is a crack or anything) and may cause damage this way

 

[Hendog]

don´t use lemon oil on a maple neck or fretboard!
you can wipe on a bit of gunstock wax after cleaning your neck and fretboard.

Your reffering to a finished maple.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Lemon oil is fine as long as you don't saturate the neck. It can go under fret tangs and cause problems.
A small amount is fine. Same as adding pepper to ya meal - small amount is ok just don't put the whole pepper mill on there

Jonguitarz also said that a small amount of Birchwood Casey wax on the fretboard is ok - remember small amount!!

 

[joe web]

guys, i had the feeling, that my maple necks are getting darker after using lemon oil on it. so i decided to not do it anymore.
i clean the neck with a bit of mist&wipe finish enhancer, after that i put on a small amount of gunstock wax.
that works perfect for me. for the rosewood fretboards i use the ernie ball WW fretboard conditioner - they are awesome!

 

[TNT]

Yes, maple necks "will" get darker using lemon oil, however, generally speaking, maple will darken with ANY oil!!!

One thing for sure, on any guitar neck or fretboard - do not put oil on a finished neck! You are putting oil on an a micro thin "solid surface!!!! It will not penetrate - no matter what anyone says!! It is not a poreous finish, it will just sit there and puddle.

You can clean the solid surface finish with a soap (no need for oil soap though, it isn't touching the wood!)

You can clean a natural wood neck with lemon oil and other oil solutions.
A finishing wax is different, you can put that on a solid surface finish or natural wood.

 

[Jerry Jim]

So in conclusion, Murphy's Oil Soap is not enough?!

 

[lenny]

So in conclusion, Murphy's Oil Soap is not enough?!

No just because these are UNsealed necks...when you clean them u need to reseal the wood ...and the factory uses gunstock wax and gunstock oil....so thats what i use.....they dont use lemon oil at the factory ...so why you would use lemon oil at home is beyond me...but as you can see people do it.....there is more JUNK lemon oil out there than good so i stay away from it.....you need food grade lemon oil in my opinion IF your gonna go that route....you dont need to listen to me ..but i gig 6 times a month with my guitars ..plus teach 3 days a week......when they get dirty enough i use a little 0000 steel wool and rub the neck down lightly ...and then use the gunstock oil ....basically at the factory they wipe it on wait for 20 seconds and then rub it in .....then you do the same with the wax....BUT REALLY REALLY RUB THE WAX HARD ....heat it up and it penetrates right into the wood and leaves it all super shiny and smooth.....like i said ...when they build these things they DONT USE LEMON OIL ....but alot of folks do ....i do it like at the factory.....and in between when i change strings i use the fretboard wipes from EBMM and they work AWESOME!!!

 

[the24thfret]

I'm curious about how to clean an ebony fretboard, aka the new Dargie IIs...

 

[Hendog]

I have found that after a solid year of playing one guitar that regular cleanings with the EB Wonder Wipes does the trick.

I will likely do a full recondition on the neck every 2 years or so (with the oil/wax ect.).

 

[busboy]

I haven't done a "recondition", but have found the wonder wipes do the trick very well, on both maple and rosewood fret boards! (Tried it based on other chats on this forum)

 

[kissmyaxe]

So I shouldnt use Murphys Oil on the front of the neck right? My neck is getting pretty dirty and I have never cleaned it, I like the fact that it would get darker with oil, this is just opening up the grain more right? I am very very gradually seeing a bit more flame to the back, it will never be spectacular, I know this; but woud Murphys Oil help?

 

[Jerry Jim]

I also have a lot of dirt on my fretboard and wonder wipes does not help anymore... not strong enough...

 

[banjoplayer]

I also have a lot of dirt on my fretboard and wonder wipes does not help anymore... not strong enough...

0000 steelwool might help.
or some of the finest sandpaper (1000).
If it is that fine it won´t damage the wood.

As said - it might help. Got the same on my AL, tried all of the above (oil, steelwool, sandpaper). It became better but a bit of dirt isn´t removable

 

[wolf5150]

I just play the guitar and wipe it with wonder wipes every other month or so.

The rest sounds like too much hard work to me.