Ask the Banjo Teacher - Cleaning your banjo
Cleaning your banjo by Wil Huckabay
First, lets talk about your fretboard.
Every time you change the strings, you should oil your fretboard with lemon oil...NOT lemon polish. Lemon polish, such as Pledge will gum up your wood with wax. The lemon oil should be wiped on with your fingers as you rub it into your board. This should be done about once a month. So just get in the habit of changing your strings once a month, taking them all off all at once so as to completely expose your board.
The dust and dirt in the cracks of your pot is a different issue. Probably about once a year to 18 months, depending on how much you play outside, you should completely bust your pot down and clean it. The dirt that accumulates in the cracks can severely hamper the vibrations that give your banjo its voice and volume. If continued to be ignored, you'll notice your banjo losing its punch and sustain. While this can be a bit scary to the player that has never dismantled their banjo, it really is no big deal.
If your banjo is nickel, I recommend a cleaner such as Silvermate to wipe the hardware down once you've taken it apart. If your banjo is gold, do not use an abrasive cleanser. You can use something like Windex and a soft cloth. Martin Guitar Polish is good to use on the resonator.
If you have a question for the banjo teacher about learning the banjo or about banjo setup please email those to angiesumpter@aol.com
First, lets talk about your fretboard.
Every time you change the strings, you should oil your fretboard with lemon oil...NOT lemon polish. Lemon polish, such as Pledge will gum up your wood with wax. The lemon oil should be wiped on with your fingers as you rub it into your board. This should be done about once a month. So just get in the habit of changing your strings once a month, taking them all off all at once so as to completely expose your board.
The dust and dirt in the cracks of your pot is a different issue. Probably about once a year to 18 months, depending on how much you play outside, you should completely bust your pot down and clean it. The dirt that accumulates in the cracks can severely hamper the vibrations that give your banjo its voice and volume. If continued to be ignored, you'll notice your banjo losing its punch and sustain. While this can be a bit scary to the player that has never dismantled their banjo, it really is no big deal.
If your banjo is nickel, I recommend a cleaner such as Silvermate to wipe the hardware down once you've taken it apart. If your banjo is gold, do not use an abrasive cleanser. You can use something like Windex and a soft cloth. Martin Guitar Polish is good to use on the resonator.
If you have a question for the banjo teacher about learning the banjo or about banjo setup please email those to angiesumpter@aol.com
Keep on Pickin'
posted by Angie @ 9:47 AM
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