Goo-Gone Anyone?

[Lacks Focus]

I see a lot of posts that refer to naphtha as safe, and as far as being kind to guitar finishes that may be true. But for anyone planning to use it, and who's completely new to its use for anything, please be aware that it's highly flammable.

[Zigeuner]

Goo Gone works very well. I have also used Ronsonol lighter fluid. It's mainly naptha and had never damaged any of my musical instruments. It's inexpensive as well.

[JTFoote]

zb0430 has nailed it. Naptha for cleaning residue that won't come off any other way, but not on unfinished wood. Very fine steel wood for cleaning a fretboard and polishing frets. Boiled linseed oil, in very small amounts, if the fretboard seems dry. Very infrequently, even for rosewood ... every couple of years at most.

Everyone be advised; fretboards really do not need to be oiled. It may improve the appearance, but in reality, this is something that really should be avoided, if possible. There is enough oil that comes off the skin to keep a fretboard reasonably well-conditioned. And care should be taken to stay away from products that contain silicon, as this substance can inhibit future repairs, causing glues not to stick.

Many years ago, I had a guitar with an ebony fretboard. I thought it looked better when oiled with lemon oil, so I did this a couple of times a month. The end result is that the frets starting working loose, and the binding on the fretboard began to crack and peel off. This was my first good guitar, and I was horrified at what I done! I was later told by an expert that ebony almost never needs any kind of oil, regardless of the type (3-in1, lemon, linseed, tung, etc). Rosewood ... only once in a blue moon. BTW, if you check your calendar, we don't see one of these that often.

I never oiled the fretboard on that guitar again, and 17 years later, it looks just fine. And I have never again oiled a fretboard on any guitar ... I just wipe it off. Steel wood only if there is accumulated gunk or heavily discolored frets ... but if I wipe it off after playing, even that usually isn't necessary.

As for the guitar bodies, I use a damp cloth to clean them, and Virtuoso cleaner and polish once a year to remove any fine scratches.

IMHO, way too many people seem to feel the need to apply oils and chemicals to the unfinished wood on a guitar, and some of those people are going to regret it in the future, whether they know it ... or not. Wipe it off with a soft damp cloth during a string change, and then leave it alone. Fretboards are not supposed to look shiny, and as if they are freshly stained and finished.

I know that some players are going to insist that oiling is perfectly okay, and that they have been doing it for umpteen years without problems, most with a brand name lemon oil (and some of these contain other compounds ... rarely are they "pure"), and some even "clean" their guitars with the kind of wood-dusting furniture products you can buy at a local supermarket (many of these silicon-based, but who looks at product labels, hmm ???) ... but I suggest you re-consider the issue, instead of automatically taking their advice. Ask your local luthier, and I guarantee you'll hear some stories about why this is not the best approach when caring for your instrument.

BTW, even Virtuoso products contain trace amounts of silicon, but the company has stated that the levels are too low to cause future problems.

My two cents.

... JT