3 Steps to Keep Your Instrument Looking & Playing Its Best

by Dunlop Staff Contributor
// Accessories
09-30-2022

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by: Dunlop Staff / 09-30-2022
Accessories

Regular maintenance of your instrument is a must if you want it to look, play, and sound like it should. Here are three simple-and-easy steps you can take to make your guitars and basses going for years to come. 

Clean & condition your instrument’s fingerboard

Don’t let your fingerboard get all dried out and grimy. Why? Dead tone. 

The solution? Fingerboard 01 Cleaner and Prep and Fingerboard 02 Deep Conditioner Oil. First, take your strings off. Apply some Fingerboard 01 Cleaner to a clean cloth such as the Dunlop Polish Cloth. Rub the cloth up and down the fingerboard, using extra elbow grease wherever you find any gunk buildup. Let everything air dry.

Next, apply some Fingerboard 02 Deep Conditioner to another clean cloth, and rub it into the wood of your fingerboard. Wipe off any excess, let dry, and admire the replenished natural beauty and character of the

Make sure to follow instructions on the bottle. Repeat this process once a month or so.

Polish your frets and lubricate your nut.

Freshly polished frets and well-lubricated nut are essential for your instrument to function properly. All you need on hand is the System 65™ Fret Collar Kit and the System 65 Superlube® Gel Pen.

Start with the Fret Collar Kit. As with gunk on the wood of your fingerboard, gunk on your frets will kill your tone, and it’ll also corrode the metal itself. To get the grime off, just slip a fret collar over a fret, and use the included Micro Fret Polishing Cloth to remove buildup and bring back the nice, natural sheen of the metal. Do this once a month, whenever you clean and refresh your fingerboard.

Next, you’ll need the System 65 Superlube Gel Pen. Just apply some Superlube Gel to the empty nut slots with the flexible spatula tip, and that’s that. Do this part of the step every time you change your strings for best results. Hot tip: the Superlube Gel Pen is also great for lubricating your instrument’s other moving parts.

Clean and polish instrument’s finish—body and back of the neck.

Cleaning and polishing your instrument’s finish isn’t just about the looks. If gunk builds up on the back of the neck, it’ll make it harder for your fretting hand to do what it needs to do.

For this step, you’ll need Formula 65™ Polish & Cleaner, Bodygloss 65™ Cream of Carnauba, and a Plush Microfiber Cloth.  First, wipe the surface of your guitar’s body with the Formula 65 Polish and the Microfiber Cloth. Then, use some Bodygloss 65 Cream of Carnauba to give it a great looking moisture and stain resistant barrier. Do the same with the back of the neck.

Make sure to follow instructions on the Formula 65 and Bodygloss 65 bottles. But otherwise, that’s it. Seriously. Do this once every one or two weeks, and you’re good.

Make it a habit.

There’s a reason the world’s top guitar techs take these products out on the road with the best musicians in the world. If used regularly, they’ll protect your instruments from wear and tear and make sure that you play and sound the best that you can every time you pick it up. The process is simple, easy, and well worth making it part of your routine.