The Electra Forums

I picked up an '85 Westone X650 a few weeks back off ebay and when I got it, the fretboard was the dirtiest I have ever seen. The fret wire is green and there is some kind of build-up on the wood itself. Any ideas on the best way to clean it without fading the wood?

I would scrape it with a single-edged razor blade held perpendicularly to the surface of the fretboard. use very gently strokes and you'll find the munge will seperate neatly from teh wood.

What is the best way to clean the frets, themselves? They look like they are tarnished.

You could use some fine steel wool, but i'd give a try with a scotchbrite pad first. Also, you can use a copper penny (remember those?) to scrape green tarnish off if it really builds up. There are all kinds of tools and supplies, here's a taste of them:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_su ... sives.html

It's not a bad idea to mask off the fingerboard before you go at the frets.

Thanks for the info, I'll let you know how it comes out.

I have good luck:

1) remove the neck (don't want steel wool bits sticking to the pickup magnets)

2) use a coarse rag and Naptha (lighter fluid for a zippo) to scrub the gunk off the fretboard. The naptha evaporates so fast it doesn't have time to hurt the finish.

3) If the frets are still grimy, mask the fretboard with some blue painters tape (you HAVE to mask it, you'll likely do in the finish between frets otherwise)

4) go to town in the frets with some 0000 super fine steel wool, use some naptha if you're having troubles.