Any advice or product recommendations for fretboard cleaning and conditioning?
Maintaining fretboards
First off… manufacturers recommend different things (many of which are to avoid common practices). Here’s the safe thing… removal of gunk next to frets using mechanical methods like a cloth with a fingernail, or something stiff but not hard (like pro piks) is ok for anything. Beyond that, check with the manufacturer.
As for me, I get each edge of every fret with a fingernail through a cloth. Then I wipe down the entire board. If there is something on there that hasn’t come off, I try light moisture, then naptha with a cloth. If the board is not finished and it seems dry, I will use a few drops of “lemon oil.” Note that Martin says not to do this… I suspect if you do it enough, you could affect the nitro on the finished portion of the neck. I have never had that issue. Some people use wax products. I am not personally a fan of such things.
I use gorgomyte on my frets every time I change strings. I use trewax in the fretboard. My banjo was kept in storage for years though and it was the only thing that could keep the board moisturized after I bought it.
Yeah I saw a YouTube video where they advised against lemon oil as its acidic. Maybe over time it effects the wood I don’t know?? I give mine a clean using a guitar pick close to the frets and use 0000 wire wool along the grain then hoover off any bits. The wire whool helps buff the frets too. Then I Brush it down then use F-one oil.