Ross’ Guide to Polishing Frets and Cleaning Fretboards

I suppose there are a ton of videos and articles on how to do this simple yet highly beneficial work. So it’s perfectly fair for me to share my process with you.

What You Will Need

• Masking tape

• Murphy’s Oil Soap Spray (non concentrated)

• 0000 Steel Wool

• Set of Fretboard Guards (I like the Music Nomad ones with the longer handles, but there are similar alternatives)

• Fretboard Conditioner (I prefer Monty’s Instrument Food or the Taylor Fretboard Conditioner. Some people like lemon oil, but citric acid in lemon oil has a drying out effect. A quality furniture wax is also fine)

Process

If an electric guitar, cover the pickups with masking tape to prevent metal dust from sticking to the pickups. Mask off the point of the body at the end of the neck to protect the guitar if you slip with the steel wool.

Spray the Murphy’s Oil Soap liberally onto a cloth and scrub the fretboard and the frets. Rotate the cloth frequently so you are using a clean portion. Once you are no longer picking up dirt, switch to a clean cloth and scrub again. Repeat as necessary until there is no residue on the cloth from dirt or the oil soap.

Take a piece of steel wool and protecting the fretboard with the fretboard guard at each fret, polish each fret liberally in the same direction as the fret itself. Do this for each fret, using a fresh area of steel wool every few frets.

When you are done, spray your cleaning cloth again with Murphy’s Oil Soap and scrub again, then when you are not picking up detritus, switch to a clean cloth and buff dry.

If you are using Monty’s Instrument Food or a wax polish, rub a clean cloth into the polish for each fingerboard section and rub it into the fretboard. Some say not to do this to maple fretboards whether finished or unfinished, but there is no reason not to do so. The wax acts as a feed mechanism for unfinished wood as well as a surface protectant for all woods. It’s presence will make your next cleaning easier. If you use a more liquid polish, apply with a cloth and then rub in with your fingertip. Again, the fretboard wood does not matter.

Let the fretboard rest with your conditioner on the board for 5-10 minutes. Then take a clean cloth and buff everything. Support the neck so you can apply a good level of force to the buffing process.

Motorized Devices

I don’t recommend the use of motorized buffers or cotton wheels unless things are REALLY bad. I’ve done so when there is verdigris or corrosion on frets, but often in those cases a professional fret job is required. I have found that the oil soap alone with some human power will clean up most all fretboards with appropriate use and it does not heat the wood or damage the lacquer on lacquer finished fretboards. I’ve done deep cleaning on old maple board Telecasters using this simple method with excellent success, although doing so will reduce the accumulation of dirt, grime, sweat and cigarette smoke which will negatively impact that worn in look desired by some. Where the lacquer has worn through on maple boards and the dirt buildup is significant, it is unlikely that you will get it all clean and definitely do not use power tools on those boards.

In summary, if you have a Dremel tool and use it, put aside some money so a professional can fix what goes wrong.

Wrapping It Up

How often you do this is entirely up to you. As I have many guitars and only change strings when I feel that they are on their way to dead, I perform this quick process with every string change. If you are a professional gigging musician, working in hot locations, or perhaps where there is still smoke in the air, or you play outdoor venues that are super dusty or dry, you may choose to do this more often. Many people find the process therapeutic. You can get the Monty’s Fretboard products from Monty’s Guitars in London. It’s my preference, but you do you. Everything else is readily available on Amazon wherever you are.

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