Neck cleaning...Murphy's 3:1 or 1:3??

[adouglas]

The nice man in the Big Brown Truck brought me a used Albert Lee today, courtesy chyde.

It's lovely, but the neck is a bit gray and grimy. Tonight's agenda includes a thorough cleaning.

The FAQ says I can use Murphy's Oil Soap, diluted 3:1.

But...

Does that mean 3 parts Murphy's to 1 part water, or
3 parts water to one part Murphy's?

Also...there's some surface corrosion on the bridge saddles. Suggestions?

TIA....

 

[LivinItUp]

it is rosewood or maple? 3 in 1. with a 0000 steel wool... nice and easy, with patience... that would be ok.

 

[adouglas]

Maple (it's an Albert Lee...the only rosewood Lees are 2006 LEs and Dargies).

Please be specific...3 parts Murphys in one part water or three parts water in one part Murphys?

 

[ghunter]

Once you open the bottle you'll see that it has to be three parts water to one part soap. I've tried straight soap on a part of my Silo's maple neck that was particularly dirty, but it didn't get out the really deep dirt any better than 3:1 did.

I then use a little bit of non-waxy lemon oil to finish the job. Never tried the steel wool, but I think I will sooner or later.

 

[robelinda2]

Pics!!

 

[J_Alexander]

i use the wipes then i dont have to worry about the ratio. try them your local walmart or menards will have them.

 

[brentrocks]

i used to just dip the toothbrush right in the bottle of murphys!

i dont use murphys anymore though...i use the steel wool and lemon oil now and i think the results are MUCH better!

 

[heavymetaljames]

Anyone tried baby wipes? I've got stacks around the house - trying to find another use for them!

 

[brentrocks]

Anyone tried baby wipes? I've got stacks around the house - trying to find another use for them!

wow..wouldnt that be cool if they worked...i have a few around as well!

 

[jaxadam]

A. I don't use steel wool on maple!

B. I take every single part off of a guitar.

C. I put them in order of how I took them off.

D. Use a decent fretboard cleaner on the neck. Some people will say lemon oil, but try something else first.

E. Use a decent polish on the body. Any good automotive polish will do.

F. Believe it or not, I use electronics cleaner on the parts (trem, tuners, etc.) and that works great for me.

 

[candid_x]

I’ve worked with repairing and finishing fine furniture. We recommended people throw out their cans of wood cleaners, conditioners and polishes. A slightly damp, warm cloth to clean away dirt and oils, then buffing with a clean, dry cotton cloth, is all a well finished piece of wood should require. Considering the bullet proof poly finishes these new guitars get, wax on top of that only complicates things down the road. You know what stage lights make of fingerprints and smears: wax build up.

On MM’s oiled necks, there’s debate and preferences for different methods of cleaning/conditioning. I think “sparingly” is the key word, regardless which method you use.

 

[adouglas]

Well, I went out and got a bottle of Murphy's and some 0000 steel wool, pulled out my existing bottle of Weiman's silcone-free lemon oil, mixed up a batch of the soap, got a toothbrush and a variety of paper towels/scrubbies, etc.

I tried all sorts of variations of cleaner and implement. The neck got cleaner, but not what I'd call really clean. It still looks kind of gray to me, and I can still see that the wood under each string is lighter than the wood between the strings. I guess the dirt is just ground deep in there. After an hour plus of scrubbing I just declared victory, put on a final coat of lemon oil, wiped it off, put new strings (Super Slinkys) on, tweaked the trussrod to suit and proceeded to prove once again to myself that while I can play bass pretty well, I'm essentially useless on guitar. Had fun, though.

 

[PugNinjas]

Anyone tried baby wipes? I've got stacks around the house - trying to find another use for them!

Babywipes are an amazing invention. When we first bought our new livingroom couch and loveseat (suede) my wife held a party and one of our neices drew on the arm will a ball point pen. After calling the manufacturer and trying all sorts of different cleaning options, I looked on the good old world wide web and found a site where mothers were promising that baby wipes would get out the ink. Low and behold, the ink in gone.

BABY WIPES RULE


Vegas Pug

 

[heavymetaljames]

Babywipes are an amazing invention. When we first bought our new livingroom couch and loveseat (suede) my wife held a party and one of our neices drew on the arm will a ball point pen. After calling the manufacturer and trying all sorts of different cleaning options, I looked on the good old world wide web and found a site where mothers were promising that baby wipes would get out the ink. Low and behold, the ink in gone.

BABY WIPES RULE


Vegas Pug

Ouch - Kids and pens! LOL - I agree baby wipes are ace - but I don't think I am going to use them on my guitars until some testing is done!

 

[Spudmurphy]

Pics!!

Yeah where's the damn pics?????

 

[adouglas]

Patience, young Jedi.....

 

[adouglas]

Pre-cleaning photos

I'd taken a few swipes at the neck before I realized I'd better take some pictures before I really tried to clean it.

Nice birdseye... The neck looks somewhat dirtier in person than these pics suggest.

Comments? I'm normally a rosewood guy, and have never owned an unfinished-neck guitar before.

 

[mbgreene]

Nice Neck
You got an actual guitar to go with that thing
Cause we ain't seen it yet
No AL CLub password, handshake or decoder ring 'til there's visual confirmation

 

[adouglas]

I know, I know....

Meanwhile, the original photos from chyde are at http://www.ernieball.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17080

They were obviously taken when the guitar was new, because the neck doesn't look like that anymore.

I'll take pics in the next day or two.

 

[robelinda2]

yeah i remember that axe, cool guitar!!!