Best thing to clean a Stingray maple fretboard?

[tredders]

I’ve just taken delivery of a lovely SR4 with a maple fretboard, and the fretboard could do with a good clean - it’s discoloured.  
 

What’s the best way of cleaning it?  I know lemon oil is good to condition it once cleaned but can anyone recommend a cleaning kit?

 

Thanks

[fretmeister]

The finish on maple EBMM basses means the dirt is right into the wood. It’s very difficult to clean up.

Personally I wouldn’t bother.

[Reggaebass]

Pretty sure I’ve read before that lemon oil is not good for maple boards, it’s mainly for the rosewood and darker ones 

[fretmeister]

9 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Pretty sure I’ve read before that lemon oil is not good for maple boards, it’s mainly for the rosewood and darker ones 

Yup.

 

[tredders]

Thanks both - it’ll stay scuzzy then 😀

[Reggaebass]

One precision I bought with a maple fingerboard was a bit grimy, I used some of miss RB’s makeup wipes to clean it up as they don’t contain alcohol , and buffed it with an old T shirt 

[NJE]

I don’t have any direct experience as all the maple fretboards I have had, have been finished.

 

I have heard people use wet wipes, Ernie Ball wonder wipes, Murphy’s Oil Soap (I think Ernie Ball recommend that as well).

 

I have seen steel wool work well or even super fine sandpaper to get the worst out as well.

 

 

[Norris]

A wipe with a damp cloth with a little detergent (washing-up liquid) will fetch most muck off - that is going to come off. Anything more than that is probably permanently stained

[Cato]

Maple boards are nearly always sealed with polyurethane or , less commonly, nitro there's no point oiling them as the oil will just sit on the finish without ever getting into the wood.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Cato

[mike257]

Got a lovely unsealed maple neck on my '04 Stingray. It's got a mildly grimy vibe to it that it's had for many, many years. Don't think it's going to go away any time soon, I'd just embrace it if I were you!

[drTStingray]

I use a slightly damp piece of kitchen roll to get dirt off mine followed immediately by drying with a dry piece of kitchen roll. It gets dirty marks off really well.

 

If you want to spend some money, get a pack of Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes - also work a treat. 
 

If you’re going to wipe with lemon oil  (I’m not convinced it’s worthwhile apart from on rosewood, pau ferro or ebony to combat the wood drying out) then beware putting the bass back in the case immediately - I’ve found this has resulted in the case taking on an unpleasant smell afterwards……. though not as bad as opening your bass case after a night in a pre smoking ban pub 🥴

Edited March 4, 2023 by drTStingray

[drTStingray]

1 hour ago, Cato said:

Maple boards are nearly always sealed with polyurethane or , less commonly, nitro there's no point oiling them as the oil will just sit on the finish without ever getting into the wood.

I suspect the neck in question has the EBMM oil and wax finish. 

[tredders]

7 hours ago, drTStingray said:

I suspect the neck in question has the EBMM oil and wax finish. 

It does indeed.  
 

I’ve ordered some of the Ernie Ball Fret Conditioning wipes.  They should get the worst of the gunk off.   Any other natural staining, I’ll live with 👍

[obi 2 kenobi]

Got 2 maple necked stingrays. Wonder wipes are pretty good for removing the stains 

[Muppet]

I have some Murphys Oil Soap. It’s really good and gets a load of grime off. I think you can get it on Amazon.

[benthos]

I've only ever tried the EB Wonder Wipes - seemed to do a decent enough job but as fretmeister has already alluded to, the dirt on my SR5 maple 'board seems pretty ingrained, so I've come to regard it as part of it's character 😁

Edited March 4, 2023 by benthos

[White Cloud]

I found this interesting:

 

 

[drTStingray]

7 minutes ago, White Cloud said:

I found this interesting:

 

 

It’s very interesting but I wouldn’t have gone as far as that with it. And if it’s a wax and oil finish in the first place (looks like it) I would certainly not have lacquered it. That level of dirt might require very light wet sanding before applying the gun stock oil and wax. There is an item on the EBMM website regarding cleaning the standard finish neck.

 

Going back to the comments about the wood on the oil and wax finished necks (and maple fretboards) changing colour slightly with time, they actually do darken in colour with time - I have a 2003 SR5 and the back of the neck has darkened significantly and some figuring has become more apparent (it’s a standard neck - not highly figured maple   - however a light clean every so often gets the dirt off (and it is usually the first few frets of the board which get dirty). 

[Bolo]

The best cleaning job on my old SR5 fretboard I used nafta lighter fluid and 0000 steel wool to polish off all the grime from the previous owner.

A couple of thin Birchwood Casey gunstock oil coatings to nourish the wood and a bit of same brand wax for the back of the neck.

[ped]

4 hours ago, White Cloud said:

I found this interesting:

 

 

Really relaxing to watch!

[tredders]

Just as a follow up to this, I ordered some of the Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes (Fretboard Conditioner) and used one on the Ray last night.  Seems to have done a good job lifting surface dirt and gunk off, and has definitely cleaned things up for me.  I'd recommend them for unsealed maple necks.

[BigRedX]

It's "Mojo"!

 

You're not supposed to clean it off.

[tredders]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

It's "Mojo"!

 

You're not supposed to clean it off.

 

Yeah, there's mojo and then there's 10 years of someone else's dead skin ingrained in the fretboard 😀

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, tredders said:

 

Yeah, there's mojo and then there's 10 years of someone else's dead skin ingrained in the fretboard 😀

Yummy yummy!!!

[Sparky Mark]

I may get shot by the luther mafia but when my maple Sterling neck got grubby I cleaned it up and gave it a single thin application of tru oil. I prefer the feel of it over the original and it stays lovely and clean now.