Humidity and Heat
If you do not understand the importance of humidity in relation to your guitar, please refer to the article Humidity and its effect on musical instruments. Understanding how to preserve your guitar in optimal condition is vital. Failure to control these factors can be disastrous.
Heat can be a real problem. Guitars are usually assembled with glues that break down with heat. More than one person has left a guitar in the trunk of a car on a hot day, only to return and find the bridge pulled off the top, the finish embeded in the lining of the case or a ready to assemble "kit" in the case. These are extremes but they do happen. Less drastic are things like warped necks. Be warned do not leave the guitar in direct sunlight, or in a car. Just think that if you do not like to be somewhere because of the climate, then your instrument is no different.
The Finish - and cleaning the fingerboard
There are many different finishes on musical insruments, but there are still a few things that remain the same in how to care for them. Finishes may range from French Polish (sheallac) to the modern Polyurethanes and Polyesters and everything inbetween. Regardless of the finish, it should be kept clean. It is best if you can wipe the guitar with a soft cloth every time you have finished playing it. This removes dust, sweat and oils. If you do this the guitar will seldom need anything more than a wipe.
If the need arises to clean the instrument, then it is best to first try just a damp cloth. Any solvents or cleaners should be used with great care as damage to the finish may be the end result. One of the best cleaners that can safely be used on most finishes is a product used by the automotive industry. This product is called a "glaze" and is basically used as a polish. It is silicone free and can be used on just about any surface, even Shellac. It leaves the guitar finish smooth and shiny and is especially good for necks. Try to avoid any polishes that contain silcone. Waxes are Ok, but they build up on the surface and do not leave a smmoth slippery surface. They are too sticky for necks, and are difficult to apply.
The best time to clean the instrument is when you are planning to change the strings. Usually it is best to change just one string at a time, but if you are going to clean the guitar it is best to remove all the strings and do the fretboard and frets as well. Set your guitar down on a flat surface with a soft padding underneath. First we will clean the fretboard, and to do this we need some 0000 steel wool and some linseed oil (the pale boiled is the best). Wet the steel wool with the oil and proceed to clean and polish the frets. It is Ok to polish across the grain of the wood and along the frets. The 0000 steel wool is too fine to scratch the hard ebony. Take great care to get all the gunk out from along the sides of the frets. Do this for the whold fret board. The steel wood is very good for polishing the frets. Leave the oil to soak into the fingerboard for a few minutes and then wipe off the excess and polish the fingerboard with a dry soft cloth. This process will clean and nourish the wood and will also help increase string life as well as making the guitar much more pleasant to play and look at.
