[quote name='7string' post='656609' date='Nov 17 2009, 12:46 AM']Just my 2 cents:
For the body (and back of the neck if it's the same) use a cloth dipped in very hot water and squeezed out to hardly wet at all. Do a small area at a time and follow with a dry rag straight away. Any dirt that isn't moved by that can be treated with saliva (which works a treat), de-ionised water (if the saliva thing is not to your taste) or naptha (lighter fluid). A combination of these 3 will usually do the trick.
For the bridge parts, take them off the bass if you can, grab a toothbrush and use naptha to clean. For smaller parts, dip them in a mixture of naptha and 3-in-1 oil, then into acetone (nail varnish remover), then into another bath of acetone. This works really well, cleaning and lubricating the parts at the same time.
If you have a unlacquered board (rosewood etc), then clean it with naptha and those cotton cosmetic pad things. It's amazing how much stuff comes off a board. As others have said, use 0000 grade wire wool for the frets and either mask the board off completely or use something so you don't hit the board. Don't use anything but 0000 as it'll leave big scratches.
All this will take quite a while, but it'll be so worth it when you've finished. [/quote]
May sound obvious, but don't get acetone anywhere near painted/lacquered parts, unless you WANT to remove the finish.