Cleaning tips

While I was sat doing my latest lesson on B2B I noticed that it was a little dusty to say the least. I know from previous experience that guitars can be dust magnets so I was wondering what do all you lovely people do/ use to keep your prized possessions pick and span?

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I wipe my bass off with a microfiber cloth when I finish playing, @Mac . . . :slight_smile:

They also sell cleaning products for guitars (such as “Dunlop 65”) but you could also use Pledge furniture polish or something similar.

Cheers, Joe

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Yep, nothing but a microfiber cloth. I have a bunch of ernie ball guitar wipes, but I never use them. Just a quick dusting with a cloth.

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Help needed!!

I am back to my home country for a short while and a friend has kindly lent me a bass to continue with Josh’s course. However, as you can see in the pictures it needs some serious (really serious) cleaning.
Any ideas how to restore the bridge and pickups to an acceptable condition?

Thanks!

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I’ve been using the little cleaning brush out of my electric shaver to reach the difficult to reach places but that grime looks a bit next level to me ! :scream:

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Oh, wow, that looks bad… How does the fretboard look?? Frets rusty (and uneven), too?

You seriously need to consider what to do here in order to avoid sepsis. Some of the “blemishes” are cosmetic, but some will impact the playing pleasure and potentially your health. So, new strings is the bare minimum, I would say. With the old strings off (and wear some gloves while you do that), you can do some cleaning. If you need to polish the frets, it gets a bit more complicated, but the entire fretboard might benefit from a “rub down” with a very fine steel wool. Saddles might need a tiny bit of oil, and so on…

Since it is not your own bass, I could see why you’d want to keep your cleaning efforts at a minimum, but I would definitely change the strings. You should be able to get a set for about 10-15 Euros.

PS: in any case, check with your friend first… he/she might be attached to all that grime :crazy_face:

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@Mac @joergkutter

Thanks both for the tips!
I did my best over the past week and managed to bring it to an acceptable condition.
That said, the cleaning messed up the saddle heights and I am having trouble setting up the action myself.

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Oh, wow, that looks like a brand new bass!! Your friend is lucky to have you and he owes you big time!

It would be cool if you could take similar close-up photos as you did in your original post, for nice before/after pictures!

Now for the setup: is your friend doing ANYTHING? There are other threads in here discussing setups in more detail and linking to useful videos that can guide you through. The search function should get you to those threads!

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Noob here with a first post. I use Windex with a soft cloth to clean the body and back of the neck. Years ago on a motorcycle form I became aware of Turtle Wax Ice. I use the paste version.

If you apply 3 or 4 coats you will have a glass like surface that is easy to keep clean with a dry cloth and it will shine like a diamond.

On the finger board I hit it with Windex to clean it. Then two light costs of Teak oil to condition it. Then two or three coats of Turtle Wax Ice to seal it and make it slicker that a baby’s behind.

Rock On!

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Welcome to the Forums, @GR001 . . . :slight_smile:

Never tried Windex before, but have used Pledge furniture polish.

Cheers, Joe

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Now that you’ve got it all pretty, I recommend whipping it down quickly each time you play with a dry suede cloth and for the occasional cleaning, I recommend Music Nomad “The Guitar ONE” cleaner. Keeps my instruments looking prime! A 12-oz bottle will last for ages.

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Amazing transformation after cleaning, looks like a new bass!

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To the post above. The Windex was used to clean the guitar. Then 3 coats of Turtle Wax Ice car polish was applied. Here are pics of a P Bass that I just finished detailing with that method.
Rock On


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Very nice job, @GR001 . . . looks really great :+1:

Cheers, Joe

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