Cleaning an unfinished maple neck without Oil Soap?

[Seejay]

Hey all,

I've had my Stingray for about 10 months now, and the neck is starting to feel less smooth. I've watched the videos on youtube on how to clean and re-oil a musicman neck, However I have an issue.

In the video, Murphy's oil soap is used to clean the neck. I live in the UK, and Murphy's oil soap (or even any oil soap from what I can tell) is not available, which would mean costly shipping from the US if I was to buy some. My question is, Are there any alternatives to Murphy's oil soap that I can use to clean my unfinished neck without damaging or staining the wood?

Also, Is there anything I can do to clean my maple fretboard? I use Wonder wipes fretboard conditioner every time I change strings, but they don't seem as effective at removing deeply ingrained dirt.

Cheers, Chris.

 

[uOpt]

From wikipedia.

"Despite the name, oil soap does not contain oil; it contains potassium soap manufactured from vegetable oil. The other constituents of Murphy Oil Soap are sodium EDTA, propylene glycol, fragrance, surfactants, and water"

You should be able to drag that to a household item shop and compare ingredients. The wikipedia page also mentions that it is often use to clean leather gear for horseback riding. They have shops for that kind of thing.

My money is on cleaning it with regular soap and re-waxing it will get you going, too.

 

[tbonesullivan]

wow.. you must play that a lot. 10 months would only be one set of strings for me. though, I have 5 basses, so each bass gets less playing time.

Do you wash your hands before every time you practice? the lack of smoothness could just be dirt/sweat/etc built up on the back. Have you tried the wonder wipes on the back of the neck? the standard fretboard cleaning "lemon oil" also should work well.

 

[keko]

Check Your PM box mate!