Strings go dull because of sweat, skin oils and dirt that build up on and between the windings, and that buildup also starts corrosion. Wiping them after playing is the biggest single thing you can do. A light oil clean every so often lifts what a dry cloth leaves behind.
Cleaning the strings
- Wash your hands before playing. It helps more than you'd expect.
- After each session, pinch a dry microfibre cloth around each string and run it from the bridge to the nut.
- Every few weeks, put one or two drops of Ballistol on a cloth (never directly on the guitar) and run it along each string the same way. It lifts grime and leaves a light protective film on the metal.
- Go over the strings again with a clean, dry part of the cloth so they don't feel oily.
Keep oil off the pickups, the finish and the bridge saddles as far as you can, and don't let it run onto a nitrocellulose finish.
Cleaning and conditioning the fretboard
The best time is when you change strings.
Unfinished rosewood, ebony and pau ferro
- Remove the strings.
- Clean grime from along the frets with a soft cloth, or very fine (0000) wire wool on stubborn spots. Mask the pickups first, because steel wool fibres stick to the magnets.
- Apply a few drops of oil to a cloth and wipe it lightly over the board.
- Leave it a few minutes, then buff off every bit of excess. The wood should look fresh, not wet.
Once or twice a year is plenty. Over-oiling can soften the wood and loosen frets.
Maple and finished fretboards
Maple boards are usually lacquered. Don't oil them. Clean with a barely damp cloth and dry straight away.
Other instruments
The same approach works for bass, ukulele, banjo and mandolin strings, and for the metal tuning pegs and hardware on most stringed instruments. On valuable vintage instruments, ask a luthier first.
