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I have had my classic for about two years, and don't do anything to it other than wiping dust off the guitar and replacing the strings when needed(about every month or so).

I've had a sponge type of "thing", they called it fret cleaner. I normally wiped it over the strings gently and wiped the excess off with a cloth that came with. That did not do much for the fretboard itself, but the strings appeared to last longer against corrosion. The fretboard only became like slippery, and my slides tended to go further what I expected - so I dropped that all-together.

I want to know what would the best chemicals would be to clean an classic guitar. The fretboard, being made of a plastic substance, doesn't absorb oils, and it only makes it more "slippery" as I said above. Currently I use normal wood oil for the body, and don't do anything to the fretboard apart from wiping it with a damp cloth every week.

Is there anything else I need to do in order to perform better maintenance on my classical?

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  • 3
    I've never heard of a plastic fretboard (except on a rock band controller type guitar).
    – JohnOpincar
    Apr 18, 2011 at 20:42
  • I am curious - why do you need to replace the strings every month or so?
    – talonx
    Apr 19, 2011 at 9:13
  • @talonx See this question: music.stackexchange.com/questions/1538/…
    – Jduv
    Apr 19, 2011 at 12:30
  • @talonx: I have a nylon-string guitar which I've had for three years, and have only changed the strings twice. It still sounds fantastic. My dad has a 12-string fender which he has had for 30 years, and I don't think he's ever changed the strings on it (at least, not in the last 25 years that I've been alive :) ). It still sounds beautiful, and the strings are surprisingly (to me, at least) not rusting at all. So, your mileage on these things may vary.
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Apr 22, 2011 at 22:30

1 Answer 1

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Here's the link to Frets.com, a site run by a pro repairman of many years experience:

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html#Musician

Check out the "general maintenance" section. Hell, read the whole thing. It's a gold mine of information.

Not much in the way of general daily maintenance is required. Wipe the instrument down with a soft cloth, strings likewise. Clean the fretboard periodically with extra-fine steel wool and perhaps a bit of lemon oil...

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  • I used to visit Gryphon every time I passed through Palo Alto. Frank is a very solid dude.
    – Jduv
    Apr 18, 2011 at 23:58
  • Thats about all I do to maintain my classical guitars. Just wipe them down with a soft polishing cloth every time I play, and once a year or even once every two years just put a very tiny amount of lemon oil on the fretboard to prevent it drying out and keep it looking dark.
    – Devan
    Apr 27, 2011 at 23:46

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