How to Clean a Guitar Like a Boss 

How to clean the guitar like a "boss"? - make your employees clean it for you. that literal exact thinking.

The rammstein method is to pour lighter fluid on the guitar and actually set it on fire

As a luthier, I want to point out a couple very important things here. These problems stem from colloquial terms and semantics. The use of the term "lemon oil" was never intended to mean pure, actual, lemon oil. It was used as a generic brand name for products under that label. Like calling tissues "kleenex". People just took it literally and used actual lemon oil, which is indeed very stupid. The "lemon oil" intended, is mineral oil with lemon scent, naptha, and trace amounts of citric acid to help it dissolve gunk. The lighter fluid thing is a bigger problem. It was actually popularized by Dan Erlewine, who is one of the best guitar technicians/repairmen in the world. When he recommended using lighter fluid, all lighter fluid was pure naptha. In the past ten years, lighter fluid has sometimes been manufactured using different chemicals, which *might* ruin finishes. Pure naptha, however, will not ruin any guitar finish (except FRESH varnish and possibly shellac) and is used regularly by luthiers(luthier supplies sell it by the gallon). Naptha is actually an excellent solvent for cleaning guitars as it leaves no residue and dissolves virtually all residues and oils. So.. It's ok to use "lemon oil" And "lighter fluid" if they fit this description (most of them do).

7:01 i thought that any second Back in Black would start

"Never use lighter fluid on your guitar!" *gets residual fidget spinner glue on guitar* a true authority in guitar maintenance

I use the t-shirt I'm currently wearing.

I seem to remember Hendrix using a bit of lighter fluid on his guitar !

That fretboard looks really dirty Tyler, mine is so clean, like really clean, how did you get it so dirty...........oh .........maybe I shuld practice more.

The Dunlop 65 Guitar Maintenance Kit has never done me wrong

the amount of stuff i learned from this video is bigger than i expected.. thanks man! also those fretboards getting cleaned up is the most satisfying thing i have ever seen

when MIW and samuraiguitarist post at the exact same time 🙏

Goby wins because of it's name and it has a fish on the bottle. Any other arguments are invalid.

Normally just run it through a carwash and then throw the strings in the washing machine, works great :D

Hey Tyler! I personally discovered (and used) the Dunlop maintenance kit... And it is amazing! It contains cleaning/polish spray and wax to protect your guitars from sweat (which is especially useful during summer on my acoustic guitars.) Fingerboard cleaner AND conditionner, so you can clean your fretboard a little more regularly without the concerns you mentionned when using conditionner, a fast fret type conditionner for your strings, and a little piece of really smooth sandpaper to polish your frets! I did a full cleaning of my acoustic guitar 1 month ago and it blew me away how much it affected the tone and comfort. As soon as I'll get new strings for my electric guitars I plan on doing the same! Cheers from France, keep up the good work!

I just buy a new guitar when i need a restring or when it needs cleaning...

I use "big bens nut sauce" Edit: It was on ryan bruce's channel. Aka fluff.

Thanks for this, mate. Excellent video! Amen to your comment about letting the oil sit on your fingerboard for 20-30 min. From the very first time I started doing that, many moons ago, fretboard happiness has ensued. And if my fretboard is happy, I'm happy. Cheers!

Most guitars are finished in nitrocellulose or urethane, neither of which react with naphta/lighter fluid. I don't use it to clean my guitar routinely but it's great for removing stickers off used guitars you buy without leaving a trace and dissolving grease from a heavily used fretboard. It will destroy an oil finish but once again they would also be damaged by many products and they're not too common as a finish.

finaly someone who knows what he is talking, i have been trying to explain lots of players not to put lemo n oil but they never listened.....thats why they dont have a guitar now and i thank you for sharing that

My favorite cleaner for the body is macguire’s car polish... it will drastically reduce any minute scratches and leave a gorgeous high gloss shine

Another great cleaner is dunlops 65 series cleaning kits. If you just want to use something around the house. You may use pledge or an indust IF AND ONLY IF IT IS A FINISHED SURFACE. So not for rosewood or ebony. Must have clear coat or sealer on finish to use pledge.

I normally use Eucalyptus or green tree oil, feels nice and looks good. Its great for removing all the gunk and leaving the guitar smelling nice and fresh. Never had any problems, been doing it for a few years now. thanks for all the content Tyler!

I actually just bought a DIY guitar kit and I was going to use lemon oil on the fretboard, so this was really helpful.

Hi Tyler, I have guitars with unfinished, or uncoated maple necks and/or fretboards. I used a VERY small amount of Danish Oil wood treatment on a cloth, to give some protection to the fretboards. It works perfectly well, and stops the maple from absorbing most of the sweat and grime from your hands, so it also keeps looking good for longer too. I just forget where I picked up this tip, but it seems to work, and my guitars are perfectly fine and play great. Thanks for all the great content buddy, I've learned loads from you, keep it going. 👍❤️

My luthier is a qualified string instrument repairer (ie violins, violas, cellos and basses), who does guitar work as a side line. He recommends olive oil for fingerboards and fretboards (the cheapo stuff - extra-virgin olive oil goes smelly and sticky). It'll also remove gunk, although you can use a mineral-oil based cleaner first if the fretboard is really crapped up. Apply very sparingly and polish off with a dry cloth. I use a lint-free cloth very lightly moistened with olive oil to wipe down the fretboard about once a week. Keeps the fretboards clean and slick (and stops the strings from going gunky and rusty). The lemon-smelling stuff used in some fretboard cleaners is D-limonene, a degreasing solvent extracted from citrus fruit peel.

I have been using Dunlap 65 for guitar polishing for nearly 15 years of my 34 years playing. One thing you should do while you have the strings off is also take off any pick guards or pickup rings to get under them because they will get dirt up under them like it or not after years of playing. You should also avoid directly spraying your volume, tone, and selector switches. Its better to apply it to the cloth sparingly and wipe on and polish off. I don't care what it is an says its safe, no liquids of any kind is good to get around electronic parts or the chance of seeping down into them.

This video has been very helpful. I have been putting lemon oil on my fretboard everytime I change strings, and kept wondering why my strings would get so grimy and disgisting so quickly.

I did some work with a luthier over the summer, and he always made me use Old English Lemon Oil on rosewood fretboards

Hey Tyler you should make another satisfying guitar video and make a timelapse on cleaning your dirtiest guitar

Dude! Neverrrrrrr spray any product directly onto your guitar! Always spray it onto the cloth. If you spray it right on the guitar, it could come out too fast or drip into the electronics and ruin something. Even if they say it’s safe, it’s better to err on the safe side. Always spray onto the cloth!

I use Boss Detailer and the detailer cloth. Always happy with there results

that blue guitar is very beautiful, thanks for the advice!

Music Nomad fretboard conditioner. Natural oils and zero lemon oil. Best stuff there is IMO.

The only time it's OK to pour Lighter Fluid on a Guitar is if you are Jimi Hendrix.

man, i love your PRSs. such beautiful things lol

thnx for the video, really helpful! The guy at the local music shop gave me a dunlop cymbal cleaner to polish/wipe the metalic parts of the guitar. ......i cannot say that i am happy with the results. On the contrary, now my pickup covers look tarnish.

I have a Dunlop 65 guitar maintenance kit. It comes with a string cleaner that extends the life of strings, a fretboard cleaner, a fretboard conditioner, a wax for the body that is great on little scratches, and body polish. It's a great little kit, comes with a microfiber cloth, maybe two if I remember right. I use the fretboard cleaner to get the gunk off the neck, then the conditioner to treat the wood once it's clean. That seems like a better process than what Tyler does here, but to each his own. Just thought I'd share since I love that kit, very convenient to have everything in one package. And it was only about $20 on amazon. Rock on everyone 🤘🏻🎸

I have been using planet waves lemon oil for quite some time. I guess they also use the mineral oil with just the lemon scent. I surely hope so.

And it works phenomenal

ive been using a Wampler bag to clean my butterscotch tele and it has radically improved my toan

Time stamps for me 6:35 guitar polish 1:22 fret board

I wipe my guitar with dry cloth everytime after using it also the strings to keep it clean at all times, cause i love my guitar

Just now seeing this Tyler, going to add this video to my Guitar Technical playlist. :)

Sweet I legit just got kyser lem oil and the myser polish good to know you also use i paid a pretty penny for my schecter hellraiser and its not even 2 weeks old yet I am really trying to keep this one brand new looking

The examples of lemon oil displayed here are not lemon oil - they are lemon-scented petroleum distillates (i.e., mineral oil.) Food-grade lemon oil, available in gourmet food shops, is an entirely different beast. If your goal is to remove finger gunk, the oft-criticized Olde English furniture polish (it's actually mildly-lubricating and not harsh) is good for occasional cleaning and for the worst cases, there's naptha (which WILL dry out your fretboard.) Follow that up with a bit of real lemon oil or "bore oil" for the moisturizing finish.

Most lemon oil isn't oil from lemons, it's lemon-scented mineral oil. I use Old English furniture polish, it's lemon-scented mineral oil. It's designed for wood.

lovely video loved your work.

I use Dunlop Fretboard 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil. I like that it has an applicator on the bottle.

i thought the fretboard looked cleaner after the goby labs one

So I was always told to never take off all strings at once because of the neck tension. But also if you do, not to leave them off for too long. Is there a time limit for having all the strings off at once?

I use Dunlop 65 guitar polish and cleaner on the body, the neck (not fret board) and headstock. Then for the fret board I use Gerlitz GGH guitar honey fingerboard oil. Been using that combo for about 7-8 years now, hasn't steered me wrong yet. :).

Great video, mate! Very helpful, thanks!

*_Deep cleansing_*

It's not important that you say it's NOT sponsored, it's only important to let us know when it IS sponsored

I use lemon Pledge on my guitars, rosewood and maple.I use an old clean teeshirt, cut into squares and my fingernail to clean the grit above and below each fret.

Wow thanks. This was really helpful. I always used Dr ducks axe wax. It doesnt really have was. But imma try this stuff now

7:00 sounded like the intro to Back in Black

Pet (cat) owners have difficult time cleaning the guitar. We need to clean it after we've cleaned it because of fur :D

I use Pledge orange oil to oil my fretboards and to overall clean my guitars and it works amazingly well!

I was about to leave a lengthy comment when you said don't use lem oil until I saw you pulled out the kyser lem oil which I've been using for years

"I've been using lighter fluid on my guitar for years." How many people will *slap* that like button.

6:29 when she takes her top off

I use the "Deluxe Guitar Care system" Fender CS cleaner kit. Works fine - Nice video BTW :)

you make the best videos

I use lemon oil

I clean the fretboard & neck of my Suhr Modern Satin with lighter fluid. This is a recommendation from Suhr Customer Support. I'd love to see you slapping John Suhr's face, because you're so smart.

I use Nevr Dull (original) to clean/polish the frets (available at auto shops), and once a year, I rub in a small drop of F-Oil on the fret board (not maple) in between each fret to nourish the wood. Use another rag to wipe off any excess. I typically use a damp rag to wipe the guitar body. Never thought to use polish.

I was that guy with the lighter fluid 😅 hate lemon oil always used orange oil. Thanks for the vid Ima check out those fret board conditioner and polish 👌🏼

7:01 who else heard the beginning of back in Black

Who here uses the age old technique of spit and a t-shirt? :P

For years i just used a very light damp soft cloth to remove the gunk on the fretboard . then buffed with dry cloth until felt enough moisture was removed that i may have put on.but just now i am researching to find the best conditioner for my rosewood.heard good things about the f-one oil/conditioner so i might try that.steer well clear of anything with lemon or oil in the name period.most folks should know that anything citrus contains delamin.

One big Game Changer for me was cleaning the frets itself with 3600/6000 grit sandpaper because while playing you make the frets quite rough, especially when playing live. So clean them and have a nice "new guitar" feeling :D

i use Dunlop 65 ultimate lemon oil. it doesn't state how many % of lemon oil in there.. is it good for rosewood fret board?

Oh man, the conditioning oil only goes after you've already cleaned your fretboard with alcohol swabs , cause the oils won't clean the wood for the most part, they generally only seal the dirty instead of removing it

I really enjoy your videos man been watching for a while it seems and the content has just gotten better and more entertaining - and it already was great to begin with. In regards to addressing sponsorship, I feel like I assume you aren't being sponsored by something unless you specifically say so. Cheers, Also a Tyler.

I don't know the exact manufacturer for Gibson guitar polish (it says manufactured for), but I think it really gets the job done for any guitar.

What about the back?

Hey man I have been a sub since 300subs man u r so cool

I just put abit of fast fret on the fretboard when I restring but it only last for abit but once you apply it to the strings a few times it feels like a smooth fretboard even though you haven't touched the fretboard in a while I love it because It can revive old strings to sounding a week old and looking brighter

Great video They all are Thanks Tyler.I do like to remove the knobs and clean under them as that stuff builds up and looks like underneath a fridge after a while lol also now is the time to use what ever you use to lube the string slots on the nut if your not using a graphite nut that is heck take a little pencil lead (graphite) powder this helps if you have a stock plastic nut and get that little ping as you tune it at times Its a string catching there then popping as it frees and moves inside the slot

Years ago I bought a pint of good old fashioned Mineral Oil from my local Pharmacy for $1.99 for fretboard conditioning. That same day I whipped by my local Hardware Store and grabbed a quart can of Naphtha for $7.99 to clean my solid body electric guitars. This was over a decade ago and both work just as well as the high dollar guitar store crap. I also use 000 steel wool on the fretboards to polish the wood (a little) and the frets (a lot). So in the last decade, I have spent around $11.00 on my guitar cleaning supplies, and I have not even come close to using 25% of any of it!

The way he says "slap" gives away as a Davie504 fan

I used some wood polish stuff with a bee on it or something and it cleans your fret board quite a bit as well as keeping it from drying out.

I use Gibson polish. Spray on a cloth and wipe down the neck and fretboard after each session. I find this keeps my strings brighter for longer and it also feels fast each time I pick her up. Use the same on the body too.

Looks more like lemon oiling your grime that's already on there. Now you have oiled gunk. Would be better to have a CLEAN fretboard first before oiling it. Kind of like waxing a car AFTER a carwash. Not before.

Am I ruining my guitar by using Dunlop lemon oil

I use dunlop lemon oil on fretboard and works pretty well

Finally got everything going to clean by bass and guitar!

Well fuck, I've been using washing up liquid and steel wool for years.

Missed a spot

Thanks for the advice about maple neck guitars

Big Bends Fretboard Juice is some pretty awesome stuff...Jim Dunlop 65 Guitar Polish & Cleaner

Like if Goby Labs did better.

Can't we just use a baby wipe?? That's what I do. My guitar looks perfectly fine

I have been using Dunlop lemon oil 65 for the fretboard and the Dunlop 65 cleaner & polisher for the body. It's an old squire I had for like 20 years so I wasn't worried about issues. I just use It to try out the products before moving on to my other guitars. An so far I like the results. But the brands you talked about did a nice job. So I might just pick some up and see if their better than the Dunlop brand.

God I love this channel

I usually just dump my guitar into a tub of bleach, in fact it actually improves the guitar tone

I just put my guitar in the shower on the stand and a little old spice body wash. Smells great after.

I use the Dunlop 65 "guitar maintenance system" kit. Works really well for me. I also like my frets to be shiny, and fretboard cleaner won't do that. But steel wool (super fine 0000 guage) is the best thing for the job! It'll take off any dead skin, sweat, grease (if you eat pizza before playing lol), etc. off the frets and WILL NOT scratch the metal.

I use Roche Thomas finger board oil. I like using an old toothbrush to apply. I use Gibson pump polish for the body.