The other day I received an Ibanez Bass that had a broken tuner. I pulled it out of the case and noticed dark streaks on the maple part of the neck. That doesn’t look so good, I thought. I rubbed at the mark, when to my amazement, I realized that that mark was at least a year’s worth of sweat. The fretboard didn’t make me feel any better.

You know the old adage “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? This is certainly true in the world of guitars. Wiping your guitar off after playing is a great way to eliminate buildup. Get yourself a cotton instrument cloth and gently wipe down the fretboard and body after significant playing, and you will also help your strings last a little longer.

Cleaning a guitar isn’t rocket science, but it only takes using the wrong thing to ruin your guitar.You normally only need two things to clean a guitar. First, start with a soft, cotton cloth. You do want your guitar to be clean, but there’s no need to scratch it clean! The second is some type of solution, the safest of which is the moist breath treatment (kudos to Dan Erlewine). Fog up the fretboard, neck, or body with your breath and gently wipe, lifting the dirt away from the surface. If the problem is more severe, use saliva before moving on to another solution. I personally like to use naptha (white gas) to get at those really problematic areas. Naptha evaporates quickly and doesn’t harm finishes. On surfaces where there is no finish (i.e. ebony and rosewood fingerboards), I will use moist breath, saliva, or naptha only. For the most difficult fingerboard buildup, a razor can be made into a small scraper, but do this only if you are confident and experienced.

I have seen many “guitar polishes” and even furniture polish used to clean guitars. What most players do not realize are the chemical additives that these “polishes” may contain. Additives such as silicone can be harmful for your guitars finish, possibly causing streaking or blushing. When use a cleaning solution, I use StewMac’s Preservation Polish. It is not only a polish, but gently cleans the finish as well. It is also important to remember to take your time when cleaning a severely dirty guitar (especially a vintage one!), removing the dirt, not spreading it around or forcing it into the finish.

Well, the owner of the Ibanez was happy that his tuners worked, but what he really couldn’t believe was how good his bass looked. Here’s to moist breath!