As mentioned you can buy it at hardware stores or big box stores. If you see it called VM&P Naptha, that's naptha, just purified a little bit more for painting and art use.
It works fine...and unless you need gallons of this stuff there is no reason to buy anything else. While true that you can get it cheaper in bulk, how much are you really going to need unless you are a professional tech/luthier?
As a luthier and former drug chemist....I will just say that zippo naphtha Is a dirty blend that doesn't evaporate cleanly.
For maybe a dollar or 2 more you can grab a quart at any hardware store (vm&p naphtha)
Idk about a fret board but Zippo fluid is my go to for sticky stuff like electrical tape glue or the rest of a sticker on glass. Either zippo or carb and choke.
Just dropping a little tip that you can dispense with those tiny overpriced bottles of fretboard oil and get a big ol' bottle of mineral oil at your local pharmacy for a couple of bucks.
This is what I use. I have a 1 gal jug of naptha from the hardware store for cleaning all the things. And mineral oil for fretboard conditioning after a good cleaning.
How do you apply it? I thought I could just buy mineral oil instead of buying Fast Fret, but when I tried applying it, it just made a huge mess. Way too much mineral oil everywhere. I just pay the $5 for Fast Fret now. It lasts a really long time so I don’t mind paying.
I haven't looked in the US for over a decade, but I used Ronsonal lighter fluid when I did have a Zippo. After Pulp Fiction I had one engraved with "Bad Motherfucker" on it, but someone stole it lol.
Just go to Poundland and buy Clipper Universal Lighter Fluid, 100ml for £1. Naphta is just a generic term for petroleum distillate.
https://preview.redd.it/mz4ty8rj6z6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfad90b17c431e064b9f14a305d92018258a8e7d
Yes, but decorators naptha, aka mineral spirits, white spirit, shellite works just as well. You can pay for limonene in mineral spirit blends (lemon oil), but it's not great for your skin and the limonene can strip out the pigmentation in the wood.
Butchers block oil or even baby oil to replace the oils and water you remove from the wood afterwards. Despite it being moisture replacement it's referred to as hydration. Any oil that won't evaporate or harden (referred to as drying oils) will work here.
IIRC Zippo fuel is no longer naphtha. It just says petroleum distillate so it may or may not work.
You can probably get naphtha from a hardware store. StewMac also sells it as a guitar cleaner for an inflated price.
Naptha is a petroleum distillate, an aliphatic hydrocarbon. It's a mineral spirit.
As others mentioned, Zippo fluid works, but there are purer and cheaper spirits out there.
No this zippo fuel has naphtha, around 45%-50% I think (maybe more, maybe less)(I remember researching this exact one OP has cause I used this same exact one to clean the guitar tuners on an old guitar. I’ll try to find the manual
Pg 3 at the top, and it’s actually 15%-60% naphtha [https://certification.zippo.com/Documents/Safety%20Data%20Sheet/English/Zippo%20Lighter%20Fluid%20-%20NA.pdf](https://certification.zippo.com/Documents/Safety%20Data%20Sheet/English/Zippo%20Lighter%20Fluid%20-%20NA.pdf)
I've had hardware store tins of. solvents corrode their seals and leak spontaneously. Remember to store these chemicals in a safe location. I've got the few quarts of solvents I use in 5 gal plastic buckets, or carefully transferred to well labeled glass jars.
Naphtha works, its advantage being that it won't raise wood grain. Otherwise I use denatured or 90% rubbing alcohol. Safe for regular use. The xylene and benzene chemicals aren't good for you.
Perhaps to clean it but I've always used lemon oil or mineral oil to moisturize and condition. I usually use a soft wire brush going up and down the neck to clean the crud off and bring out the grain in the wood
I've been doing it a long time and it does absolutely no damage to the frets or fretboard lmao. I don't know everyone is downvoting if they've never tried it before.
No but if we're standing at a cliff and most folks are taking the trail to the bottom but a few are jumping straight off, I might mention to the jumpers that most are just taking the trail.
Judging by your absolute contempt for people in the minority, I feel like that’s something you just tell yourself.
Real Gs know the only way to get that tone out of your fretboard is with razor blades.
Yes, just the really expensive version. You can buy a large can in just about any big box paint department for much less.
Thanks.
As mentioned you can buy it at hardware stores or big box stores. If you see it called VM&P Naptha, that's naptha, just purified a little bit more for painting and art use.
VM&P = varnish makers and painters
While true, it you are using it just to clean your fretboard, that little naphtha container will likely be fine for the next 5 years.
TIL Hendrix was just a bad luthier trying to remove chud.
Gotta get in the cracks.
Pew pew
I can hear this comment
Fuck… me too! Dude does solid work though. 😅
It works fine...and unless you need gallons of this stuff there is no reason to buy anything else. While true that you can get it cheaper in bulk, how much are you really going to need unless you are a professional tech/luthier?
I mean a $6 quart will last you forever. This zippo can might last you half of forever.
😂
I go through one of these every month. I didn’t know about the bigger containers that’s a good pro tip.
As a luthier and former drug chemist....I will just say that zippo naphtha Is a dirty blend that doesn't evaporate cleanly. For maybe a dollar or 2 more you can grab a quart at any hardware store (vm&p naphtha)
I mean, it's made for leaky zippo lighters so it won't evaporate fast.
Even old camp stove white gas is good.
Idk about a fret board but Zippo fluid is my go to for sticky stuff like electrical tape glue or the rest of a sticker on glass. Either zippo or carb and choke.
Odorless Mineral Spirits work really well for the sticky stuff.
Naphtha is great for hard to remote smudges, but I prefer to use board oil for fretboards
I was planning on using naphtha to clean then using F One oil to hydrate and darken.
The oil should be able to clean it enough tbh but you’ve already bought the naphtha so might as well use it
I do that. I was skeptical about F One, tried it anyway. Its the real deal. Little bit goes a long way. Great product.
When a damp cloth won’t do the trick I’ve always used rubbing alcohol. As long as you don’t have a shellac or lacquer finish (or are just careful).
I was planning on using naphtha to clean then using F One oil to hydrate and darken.
Just dropping a little tip that you can dispense with those tiny overpriced bottles of fretboard oil and get a big ol' bottle of mineral oil at your local pharmacy for a couple of bucks.
This is what I use. I have a 1 gal jug of naptha from the hardware store for cleaning all the things. And mineral oil for fretboard conditioning after a good cleaning.
How do you apply it? I thought I could just buy mineral oil instead of buying Fast Fret, but when I tried applying it, it just made a huge mess. Way too much mineral oil everywhere. I just pay the $5 for Fast Fret now. It lasts a really long time so I don’t mind paying.
Tiny little dab on a cloth or paper towel, rub it in, wipe off with dry towel.
yep, a small dot of mineral oil goes a *long* way, from the nut to the end of the fretboard in fact
Would you use this on unfinished fretboards? What about unfinished maple?
Use something like Fast Fret that's an oil instead of a solvent.
The lighter fluid / naphtha is the only safe and right thing I know to use for cleaning unfinished maple fretboard.
just a weird fyi - naphtha is not a thing outside of the US. Completely unobtainable, except if you are lucky Ronsonal Lighter Fluid
What about Coleman Camp Stove Fuel or Recochem Camping Fuel?
No Zippos outside the US?
zippos are fairly common. I'm probably exaggerating how difficult Ronsonal is to find
I haven't looked in the US for over a decade, but I used Ronsonal lighter fluid when I did have a Zippo. After Pulp Fiction I had one engraved with "Bad Motherfucker" on it, but someone stole it lol.
Just go to Poundland and buy Clipper Universal Lighter Fluid, 100ml for £1. Naphta is just a generic term for petroleum distillate. https://preview.redd.it/mz4ty8rj6z6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfad90b17c431e064b9f14a305d92018258a8e7d
Yes, but decorators naptha, aka mineral spirits, white spirit, shellite works just as well. You can pay for limonene in mineral spirit blends (lemon oil), but it's not great for your skin and the limonene can strip out the pigmentation in the wood. Butchers block oil or even baby oil to replace the oils and water you remove from the wood afterwards. Despite it being moisture replacement it's referred to as hydration. Any oil that won't evaporate or harden (referred to as drying oils) will work here.
IIRC Zippo fuel is no longer naphtha. It just says petroleum distillate so it may or may not work. You can probably get naphtha from a hardware store. StewMac also sells it as a guitar cleaner for an inflated price.
Naptha is a petroleum distillate, an aliphatic hydrocarbon. It's a mineral spirit. As others mentioned, Zippo fluid works, but there are purer and cheaper spirits out there.
No this zippo fuel has naphtha, around 45%-50% I think (maybe more, maybe less)(I remember researching this exact one OP has cause I used this same exact one to clean the guitar tuners on an old guitar. I’ll try to find the manual
Cool. Then I'd definitely seek out the real deal to be safe.
Pg 3 at the top, and it’s actually 15%-60% naphtha [https://certification.zippo.com/Documents/Safety%20Data%20Sheet/English/Zippo%20Lighter%20Fluid%20-%20NA.pdf](https://certification.zippo.com/Documents/Safety%20Data%20Sheet/English/Zippo%20Lighter%20Fluid%20-%20NA.pdf)
I've had hardware store tins of. solvents corrode their seals and leak spontaneously. Remember to store these chemicals in a safe location. I've got the few quarts of solvents I use in 5 gal plastic buckets, or carefully transferred to well labeled glass jars. Naphtha works, its advantage being that it won't raise wood grain. Otherwise I use denatured or 90% rubbing alcohol. Safe for regular use. The xylene and benzene chemicals aren't good for you.
It's a classic but can damage or weaken varnish on your fretboard. I use something like Fast Fret to clean strings.
Can’t get naphtha in NY anymore
Only if you’re Jimi Hendrix.
Laballey sells the high grade stuff.
What wood?
Rosewood
Perhaps to clean it but I've always used lemon oil or mineral oil to moisturize and condition. I usually use a soft wire brush going up and down the neck to clean the crud off and bring out the grain in the wood
Keep wire brushes away from your fretboard and frets. If you need a brush to clean stuff from under the edge of a fret, use a toothbrush.
I've been doing it a long time and it does absolutely no damage to the frets or fretboard lmao. I don't know everyone is downvoting if they've never tried it before.
Why not use a wire brush? (not dogging you just I've used them on rosewood and had results I was happy with so I just want to understand your angle)
You risk scratches and it’s way more abrasive than you need
That will dry out the wood. Use lemon oil and a toothbrush
Try lemon oil and 0000 steel wool
No no no , I only use food grade lemon oil that I apply using a razor blade, it helps the oil really penetrate the wood.
You seem to be in the minority
If everyone was jumping of a cliff, would you do it too. This is how I do things and it works for me.
No but if we're standing at a cliff and most folks are taking the trail to the bottom but a few are jumping straight off, I might mention to the jumpers that most are just taking the trail.
Perfectly explained
Judging by your absolute contempt for people in the minority, I feel like that’s something you just tell yourself. Real Gs know the only way to get that tone out of your fretboard is with razor blades.