My new (to me) BT6!

[Michele Caramazza]

Thanks! I haven't done any fret cleaning myself but I bought the bass from the Uk shop where luthiers Martin Petersen and John Chapman make their Sei Custom Basses, so maybe the bass had a fret cleaning and basic setup there before it was shipped to me.
The first four/five frets have wear from the previous player as I explained before, but still the bass have an amazing low action and no buzz... truly a testament to the exquisite craftmanship behind Smith basses.

[Michele Caramazza]

Ken, given that my bass has the lacquer finish and that it 's gone leaving bare wood in many parts, especially the neck, which product you'll recommend to use for cleaning and polishing?
Any reccomendation for tbe bare wood areas?
Also, I have some green grime build up into some parts of the bridge and on two of the screws that secure the bridge to the body. Should I use metal/brass polish on it and should I replace the bridge screws?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Michele Caramazza

Ken, given that my bass has the lacquer finish and that it 's gone leaving bare wood in many parts, especially the neck, which product you'll recommend to use for cleaning and polishing?
Any reccomendation for tbe bare wood areas?
Also, I have some green grime build up into some parts of the bridge and on two of the screws that secure the bridge to the body. Should I use metal/brass polish on it and should I replace the bridge screws?

Polish does not replace worn finish. Polishing worn areas next to finished areas can creep under the wood and lift the finish. You can try some varnish in the wood and seal it in some way. A full refinish is the only cure. Stained wood might not clean up all the way.

Tarnished screws may have lost their plated covering so nothing will put that back. Only new screws can look new.

Rubbing the gold in anyway might rub the gold off so be careful. We do not send old parts out for re-plating.

[Michele Caramazza]

Ken, thanks for your reply.
Actually, I'm not for a refinish job. First, I'm a firm believer that if a refin job is for whatever reason needed, the instrument maker is the only person entitled to do that. So, given distance and costs, my BT stays the way it is.
Second, I actually LOVE the signs of time on my bass.

My goal is not to make the bass shine like a brand new one. I just want to take some of the previous owner DNA off

NECK:
The back of the neck is bare wood in the frets 1 to 7 area: down there it's really smooth from years and years of hand friction. The rest still have lacquer but at the headstock end of the neck, just before the Coat of Arm carve there's some nasty, sticky grime build up. Same on the body end of the neck, where the lower horn cutaway is.
Could I gently rub the grime away using naphtha? To my knowledge naphtha (or white petroleum..that it is) is safe on bare wood but under the grime there's still lacquer...

BODY:
The body really has almost all it's lacquer on except for the spot between the pickups (thumb resting), the "I plucked the hell out of it" area, the right forearm rest area.
I guess that I could safely use a lacquer polish product. Just a little amount, sprayed on the cloth and not getting into those worn areas to avoid what you said about the product finding it's way under the finish. I have the Alembic polish handy and I've previously used it without harm even on nitrocellulose lacquer.

I would also add that I have a bottle of Howard's Feed and Wax. Carl Thompson gave it to me when I picked a bass from him years ago. He uses it all over his basses. The bass is gone, the Howard's I still have.
It's a mixture of wax and essential orange oil. Could I use this product to feed and give some protection to the worn area of the neck? Could I use it also on the fingerboard?

[Ken Smith]

Do not use any polishes. Naptha or soap and water. If you get polish in the wood, finish will never stick to it in the future and can also start to lift the finish where it meets bare wood. Be careful.

[Michele Caramazza]

Thanks, Ken. That' great... I'll just take gunk off with naphtha then.
Do you recommend pure lemon oil or the Howards for general fingerboard cleaning and maintenenance?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Michele Caramazza

Thanks, Ken. That' great... I'll just take gunk off with naphtha then.
Do you recommend pure lemon oil or the Howards for general fingerboard cleaning and maintenenance?

Smith Classic Wax Polish with a Smith Polish cloth since you asked.