How and When to Clean Your Guitar

Guitars get dirty. That is just the grime from your hands doing what grime does. Some guitars want cleaning, some can get away without it, and the distressed body in the video can frankly get away with being a little dirtier. But the routine is worth knowing, because the difference between cleaning a guitar and damaging one comes down to a couple of products and a bit of restraint.

The most important tool costs five bucks

A brand new microfibre cloth. Not the one from the garage, a new one, because the fastest way to cause problems while cleaning is to introduce scratches, and an old cloth with grit in it will do exactly that. We go through a lot of them at the shop for that reason.

The right cleaner, and the wrong ones

A light dedicated guitar cleaner is all you need, the Dunlop cleaner and the Planet Waves products both work really well. Think of them as a really light version of a Windex: they dry quickly and they do not cause problems. One quick spray is enough to clean the entire guitar, pickguard and pickups included, and with a dry cloth you will not bother the electronics. High gloss finishes need a bit more regular attention if you want to keep them gleaming; plenty of players could not care less, and that is fine too.

What to avoid matters more than what to use: no silicones, no aggressive solvents, no household products. Silicone damage is sneaky, because it might not show up until years later when someone attempts a finish touch up and the new finish will not bond where silicone worked in. There is no good fix for that, so it is simply never worth it.

Maple fingerboards: warm water only

Maple is dense enough that products absorb unevenly, some spots take it in and some do not, and lemon oil will leave a maple board looking splotchy. So the routine is warm water on a microfibre cloth, and that is really it. Loosen the strings off and hold them out of the way, coffee straws work perfectly as makeshift string holders, then work two frets at a time: the first finger softens the gunk, and by the time you shift, the second finger lifts it clean. You will see exactly what is coming off on the rag. It shines the frets up nicely too, not quite a polish, but close.

Rosewood and ebony: one dab of lemon oil

Darker boards are different. Lemon oil absorbs properly into rosewood and ebony, moisturises the board and helps keep it stable, which in a dry climate like ours means less chance of cracking. The amount is where people go wrong: one little dab on a dedicated rag, applied, given a few seconds, and the excess wiped straight back off. Not a soak, and not every month. Too much oil too often causes its own problems, including frets coming loose. If a board is so far gone that cleaning and oil are not doing it, rosewood and ebony have one more option: a careful scrape takes off a thin layer of wood and the grime with it, which is a bench job.

When to have us do it

A proper clean rides along nicely with a setup, the strings are off anyway, so the board gets done properly at the same time. It is part of the once-over your guitar gets during a setup assessment too. And a note for Calgary: keeping a rosewood board lightly moisturised matters more here than most places, for the same reason our winters cause sharp fret ends and cracks.

Common questions

What should I use to clean my guitar?

A brand new microfibre cloth and a light dedicated guitar cleaner, something like the Dunlop or Planet Waves products. They are gentle, they dry fast, and one quick spray does the whole guitar. Never household cleaners.

Why can I not use household products on a guitar?

Silicones and aggressive solvents cause problems with the finish, and the damage can stay hidden for years. If silicone has worked into a finish, future touch up work will not bond, and there is no good way back from that.

How do I clean a maple fingerboard?

Warm water and a microfibre cloth, nothing else. Lemon oil is not for maple: the wood is so dense that some spots absorb and some do not, and you end up with a splotchy board. Two frets at a time, let the first pass soften the gunk and the second lift it.

How often should I oil a rosewood fingerboard?

Far less than most people think. One small dab of lemon oil, applied and wiped back off within seconds, and only when the board genuinely looks dry. Oiling too much or too often can cause problems, including loose frets.

Board beyond a home clean, or due a proper going over?

Bring your instrument into the shop during opening hours, no appointment needed. Assessments are free and we can usually do them while you’re here, so you leave knowing exactly what it needs. Hours and directions are on the contact page.

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