Now is the time to take care of your guitar -- cleaning the fingerboard and polishing the frets--

A man wearing two pairs of straw thongs, one as a guitarist and one as an occupational therapist ... My name is Takuto Fujioka, a "guitar therapist".

How are you guys doing!?
As for me, I’m spending more time at home these days, allowing me to spend more time on things I usually put off and things I didn't do that were a little annoying, and it's a good time to organize my various moods as well.

One of the things I was putting off was"caring for my guitar".
I usually clean the guitars I play lightly when changing strings, but I also have some junk guitars that I’ve bought as a hobby.... I've been looking at these for a while now, but I couldn't take the time. It takes a lot of time and effort to clean the guitar properly.( ；∀；)

So, the other day, I cleaned the fingerboard and polished the frets of the junk guitar I got at the auction. While briefly introducing the work process, I will introduce the useful products I used, although my opinion is subjective. I want to get started!
I've never cleaned a guitar before! I'm interested in playing this junk guitar! I hope this will be helpful for you as well.

By the way, the process of this work is uploaded on YouTube. You can watch it quickly in time lapse, so if you want to know the rough work process, please check it out(^o^)／

Let's go. This is the initial state.

It's perfect as you can see...

I think this guitar I got at the auction, a YAMAHA FG-200F (so-called Japan Vintage), is about 50 years old, but there is no evidence that it has ever been cleaned. Lol
This is worth cleaning!(ﾟ∀ﾟ)
First, lightly wipe the fingerboard, which is too dry and covered with dirt and dust, with orange oil to remove dirt from the surface. I wiped it using an old cloth (I cut and uses a 100% cotton T-shirt that I no longer wear) soaked in oil.

By wiping with oil first, the surface is cleaned. And at the same time, the fingerboard is protected from the glue from the masking tape when it is peeled off after polishing the frets. .. (Be careful, though, because the masking tape may not adhere perfectly!)

By the way, there are various kinds of oils used for fingerboard cleaning, but when cleaning the fingerboard, HOWARD Orenge Oil is one that has been around for a long time.

HOWARD / Orange Oil

I also often use FREEDOM CUSTOM GUITAR RESEARCH　Lemon Oil. This is a convenient product that contains beeswax in lemon oil, so you can clean the fingerboard and moisturize with beeswax at the same time. Also, the smell isn’t as strong as orange oil, so it may be easier for many people to handle!

Freedom Custom Guitar / SP-P-11 Lemon Oil

Next, protect the fingerboard with masking tape and polish the frets.
This time the frets were dull at the ancient pottery level, so I used Picard, the king of metal polishing, to polish them well.

Personally, I prefer the rubbing type instead of the spray type because it does not diminish at all and lasts a long time. That area is your choice.... I think the key to polishing the frets is to polish them "without force, taking time and going over them carefully." Please note that if you work hard, you will get very tired.

Now they are shiny.

If you’re wondering if the masking is used every time the strings are changed, a product called fret butter may be perfect for you.

dmiguitarlabs / FRET BUTTER Fret polishing cloth

When I used this for the first time, I was impressed with the product. First of all, it smells good. Lol Picard has a peculiar oily smell, but this smells sweet. You may like or dislike this, but it's better than the smell, I think.

(I'm sorry for the photos that I'm using ...) It's a handy and convenient product that comes with something like a small folded cloth, so you can wipe the entire fingerboard and then wipe it with a dry cloth to clean the frets. There is no need to mask the fingerboard because it does not contain abrasives, and there are no blind spots allowing it to remove dirt and moisturize the fingerboard at the same time. A perfect choice. I think this is enough for regular maintenance. However, I felt a little underpowered because the frets that haven't been cleaned for years like this. The dirt can be removed, but I feel the frets are not as shiny as when I use Picard. Others use cleaning cloths for metal polishing, and various effective substitutes are available.

フレットが磨き終わったらマスキンテープを外し、もう一度軽くオレンジオイルで指板を拭き、指板についたマスキングテープのノリを拭き取りました。 普通ならこれで保湿して終了。なのですが、今回のお相手は50年前のジャンクギター。一筋縄ではいきません。 オレンジオイルでは取りきれない汚れが指板にこびりついています。ずっと放置していたキッチンコンロのがんこ汚れに似ています。 このままではどうしようないので、1000番の耐水ペーパーでオイル研ぎをしてみました。

指板表面の薄皮１枚を削り取るようなイメージで磨いていけば汚れだけ綺麗に取れました。しかもガサガサだった指板表面も研磨によりツルツルになり、オイルもよく染み込んでくれました。上手くいってよかった！

最後にHOWARD Feed-N-Waxという蜜蝋入りのワックスをウエスで塗り、十分染み込ませたら終了です。

HOWARD / FEEDNWAX

The guitar has become so smooth that it is incomparable to the initial state!

The difference is obvious when you look at the original state!

This time it took about an hour because there was some stubborn dirt. However, I wondered if it wouldn’t be easier if I just took care of it, such as cleaning and moisturizing the fingerboard and polishing the frets with fret butter when I change the strings.

If the fingerboard and frets are left unclean, the strings will become dirty and rusts easily, resulting in faster deterioration. Rusty strings are also one of the causes of fret scraping.
It's like changing only your pants without taking a bath. Let's take a bath properly to remove the dirt and change our underpants as well.( ^ω^ )

Now, take this opportunity to take the time to take care of and maintain your guitar!
Take care!