The guitar is a familiar instrument for many people, even if you don't need to be a professional musician or too rich to own a guitar.
But do you know how to maintain and clean your guitar so that it always stays new and in top condition?
So, how often should I oil my guitar fretboard? This article will show you a small, simple, and easy-to-follow tip.
Surely if you follow this way, your guitar will have more durability, and you can use it for a much longer time.
How often should I oil my guitar fretboard?
Normally, we should clean our guitar by wiping it with a clean cloth and oil after each use. In addition, oil regularly every 6 months to keep the instrument in the best condition.
You can use regular oil or periodic oiling to clean your guitar
Regular oiling
People often forget to clean their guitars after each practice session. This may be because they do not know and disregard its importance.
But to keep your guitar looking new, it's very important to clean it after use. Is it that important? Let's find out more below.
After every play, whether it's just a few pieces of music or a whole day of practice, you should clean your guitar carefully before putting it away.
This doesn't require many tools, and it just takes a little while for your instrument to last longer.
As you play, dirt, excess oil, and your dead skin will more or less be left on the strings. Then if you do not clean it right away and let this situation go on for a long time, it is easy to cause rust, even broken strings, for your guitar.
Cleaning after each play is very simple; you just need to prepare a clean and slightly damp cloth to do this.
Specifically, you should use that towel to wipe the entire surface of the guitar, the strings, and especially the places where the hands often touch for maximum cleaning.
Periodic oiling
Regular cleaning is something you should do after every play. Even if you don't use the guitar, you should clean it daily to prevent your guitar from getting dusty.
However, these manipulations are not enough to ensure the best performance of the instrument. To always keep your guitar in top condition, you should have it checked and cleaned at the store with professional tools and oil periodically, usually every 6 months.
Of course, you can bring your guitar to the instrument maintenance center or you can also invest in a complete guitar cleaning kit that includes: cleaning cloth, cleaning solution, conditioner, brush/broom to clean your guitar at home.
Periodic oiling will help your guitar not only clean but also become shiny like new, achieving high aesthetics.
In addition, this process can also help add moisture to the guitar, limiting cracking or breaking in the body. Especially in dry and hot climates, users need to pay more attention to oiling regularly.
Routine oiling usually takes longer and requires more technical expertise to avoid damage or loss of parts during cleaning. Therefore, many people are often quite afraid to oil their guitars.
However, people can choose a fixed time of the year to take their guitar in for maintenance, replace a new set of strings, and clean and oil it easily.
You also need to pay attention to how often you oil your guitar.
The guitar only needs to have a certain amount of moisture, which means that if you oil it too often, this not only wastes oil but can also cause excess moisture, mold, and even breakage.
The advice for you is to pay attention to the wood in the body to choose the right time.
Normally, oiling time is periodically every 6 months, or you can also consider earlier or later depending on the weather, environment, temperature, and frequency of use of your guitar.
Steps to oil the guitar
With regular oiling
- Prepare a soft, clean, and damp towel
- Wipe the entire surface of the guitar, the strings, especially the parts that come in contact with the skin of the hands
- Let dry in a cool place or wipe with a soft dry cloth
With periodic oiling
- Disassemble the strings before cleaning
- Wipe the music mold with a soft cloth and specialized cleaning solution
- Polish the entire body with oil
- Cleaning the frets and bridge
- Polishing and lubricating pickups
Tips for cleaning the guitar
- Use a soft cloth during cleaning and lubricating oil
- Use a specialized cleaning solution
- Choose the right polish for your guitar's wood
- Use an appropriate amount of cleaning solution
- Do not pour cleaning solutions or oils directly onto the guitar surface
- Keep the instrument in a cool, dry place after cleaning
- Using a sponge to soak up the cleaning and the wiping solution will make it easier for you to control how much oil you take.
Conclusion
Instrument players in general and guitarists, in particular, need to pay attention to cleaning, maintaining, and preserving their guitars.
Daily cleaning usually does not take much of your time and effort to ensure that the instrument is always in top condition.
The guitar has a fairly simple construction so that you can find replacement materials, but not all are suitable, and, in many cases of replacement parts, the guitar will not return to the way it was.
If you are subjective and overlook cleaning the guitar every day, it will be difficult for you to detect small signs of damage.
Since then, the impacts have become more and more severe, making repairs difficult and expensive.