How to clean wax oil and string a Taylor "the Elixir way" !

[Run]

Hi, I'm no so sure I could treat my Gib SWD this way but I'd surely appreciate your opinion about this. This is a two parts video.

 

http://www.elixirstr...n_acoustic.html

[blindboygrunt]

wheres the second part ?

i refuse steel wool , i use a toothbrush instead, but everything else is pretty much just how u do it

[j45nick]

I differ from this process in several ways. First, I do not use steel wool on the frets and fretboard. Instead, I use bronze wool, which is both non-magnetic and non-rusting.

 

Second, I used only guitar polish, rather than automotive wax. Many automotive waxes contain petroleum-based products, some of which might possibly damage a nitro finish. I believe (but may be wrong) that Taylor uses polyurethane finishes, which are generally highly-resistant to solvents.

 

Be sure if you are using linseed oil on the fretboard that you used only boiled linseed oil. Raw linseed oil, like a lot of organic oils, leaves a tacky residue after it dries, which is the last thing you want on a fretboard. I generally use Planet Waves Hydrate instead.

 

Once a year, I go over the fretboard at each fret/board interface with naptha on a cotton swab, which removes any finger crud embedded along the edges of the frets. I then re-oil the board, as naptha tends to dry the wood.

 

As an aside, when restoring dirty fretboards, I sometimes scrape the board between the frets, with the grain, using a new, sharp utility knife blade or single-edge razor blade. Be gentle and careful if you do this. I then use either fine sandpaper on a thin stick such as a tongue depressor, or fingernail sanding boards, to clean up and renew the surface prior to oiling.

[TommyK]

Any kind of metallic wool seems a bit severe for sprucing up wood. Along with fret corrosion, the wool removes wood, steel more so than bronze or copper. I'm not thinking this is a good idea on an instrument you intend to hand down to your grandson, or even play for the next 25 years. I like the plastic kitchen brush or wool-like plastic scrubber. Sure the frets won't be show room shiny new, but I don't think it's worth the risk to the wood.

 

btw bronze is about half copper. As such it does corrode. It turns green. Not sure if this will show up on the wood, but you may see the green grunge accumulate near the frets... or not.

 

I have seen stainless steel scrubbing wool, but what I've seen is quite coarse for pot scrubbing.

[Run]

I have four (two electric) guitars with rosewood fretboards and a SWD with an ebony one. I ordered Fret Doctor from Edund W. Boyle to use on all these...have anyone tried it.

What is the best product to use on a nitrocellulose finish?

 

http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

[Run]

wheres the second part ?

i refuse steel wool , i use a toothbrush instead, but everything else is pretty much just how u do it

The second part is clearly mentionned.

[j45nick]

Any kind of metallic wool seems a bit severe for sprucing up wood. Along with fret corrosion, the wool removes wood, steel more so than bronze or copper. I'm not thinking this is a good idea on an instrument you intend to hand down to your grandson, or even play for the next 25 years. I like the plastic kitchen brush or wool-like plastic scrubber. Sure the frets won't be show room shiny new, but I don't think it's worth the risk to the wood.

 

btw bronze is about half copper. As such it does corrode. It turns green. Not sure if this will show up on the wood, but you may see the green grunge accumulate near the frets... or not.

 

I have seen stainless steel scrubbing wool, but what I've seen is quite coarse for pot scrubbing.

 

Tommy,

The bronze wool I use is ultra-fine, and doesn't tend to shed, so I don't get any green stuff as residue. The rust stains you get from steel wool can show up months later, and can be nearly impossible to remove. Bronze wool is actually softer than fret wire, and will only remove oxidation, to the best of my knowledge. It's probably not much different than 1200 grit paper. Yes, over time it will remove some material. So will a plastic pot scrubber.

 

You have to use any abrasive material with caution.