How to Clean, Restring & Maintain Your Electric Guitar
A Practical, Bench-Tested Guide
Regular guitar maintenance doesn’t need to be mysterious, expensive, or time-consuming.
With a small set of tools and the right approach, most electric guitar owners can clean, restring, and refresh their guitar in 30–60 minutes — and see immediate improvements in playability, tuning stability, and feel.
This guide walks you through the exact process I use on customer guitars, broken down step by step and written so you can confidently do it yourself at home.
This isn’t theory or forum advice — it’s what actually works on the bench.
What This Guide Covers
By the end of this article, you’ll know how to:
Safely remove strings and prepare your guitar for maintenance
Clean the body, electronics, fretboard, and frets properly
Avoid common mistakes that damage finishes or electronics
Restring and stretch strings for better tuning stability
Finish your guitar so it looks and feels its best
How Long Does This Take?
For most guitars:
30 minutes — light clean + restring
60 minutes — deeper clean including fretboard and frets
No specialist training required — just patience and care.
Step 1: Remove the Strings
Start by removing the old strings completely.
This gives you access to areas that rarely get cleaned and lets you properly assess the condition of the fretboard and frets.
Step 2: Remove the Neck (Bolt-On Necks Only)
If your guitar has a bolt-on neck, removing it makes the process easier and safer — especially when working on the frets.
⚠️ Important:
This only applies to bolt-on necks
If your guitar has a set (glued-in) neck, skip this step entirely
Once removed, store the body somewhere safe while you work on the neck.
Step 3: Clean the Guitar Body
Wipe down the body to remove fingerprints, sweat, and surface grime.
Use a non-abrasive guitar polish or cleaner, applied with a soft cloth. Avoid household cleaners — they can damage guitar finishes.
This step alone often makes a guitar feel “new” again.
Step 4: Remove Dust from Hidden Areas
Dust and debris build up in places you rarely see:
Pickup cavities
Control routes
Around bridges and hardware
Compressed air or an electronics-safe air duster works well here. Don’t force dirt deeper — gentle bursts are enough.
Step 5: Clean the Electronics (Scratchplate Guitars)
If your guitar has a scratchplate, remove it to access the electronics.
Use a dedicated contact cleaner designed for pots and switches.
⚠️ Important:
Do not use regular WD-40
Always use a contact cleaner, not a lubricant
This helps eliminate crackling pots and intermittent signal issues.
Step 6: Clean the Fretboard
This is where most guitars reveal years of hidden grime.
Using a suitable wood cleaner and lint-free cloth or shop towel:
Work along the grain
Remove built-up dirt around frets
Take your time — this makes a big difference
You’ll often be surprised how dirty a fretboard really is.
Step 7: Polish the Frets
If your frets feel rough or look dull, a light polish can dramatically improve playability.
For bolt-on necks (with the body removed), fret polishing is straightforward.
⚠️ Critical safety note:
Steel wool sheds tiny metal fragments.
If the neck is removed: store the body safely elsewhere
If the neck is not removable: cover pickups and cavities completely with masking tape
After polishing, clean away all metal dust before continuing.
Step 8: Oil the Fretboard (If Appropriate)
For unfinished fretboards (rosewood, pau ferro, ebony):
Apply a small amount of fretboard oil
Let it soak briefly
Wipe off all excess
Do not oil maple fretboards with a finished surface.
Step 9: Reassemble and Restring
Reattach the neck (if removed) and install your new strings.
Once strung:
Tune up
Stretch the strings gently
Retune and repeat
This improves tuning stability and saves frustration later.
Step 10: Final Clean & Finish
Finish with a final wipe-down using a clean cloth and guitar-safe polish.
This removes fingerprints and leaves the guitar looking and feeling its best.
How Often Should You Do This?
As a rough guide:
String change: every 1–3 months (depending on use)
Full clean: every 6–12 months
Fretboard deep clean: when visible grime builds up
Regular light maintenance is better than infrequent heavy work.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using household cleaners on guitar finishes
Oiling finished maple fretboards
Leaving steel wool dust near pickups
Rushing the process
Slow, careful work always wins.
Want the Full Setup Process?
This guide covers cleaning and maintenance, but a proper setup also includes:
Neck relief
Action height
Nut height
Pickup height
Intonation
That’s why I wrote Electric Guitar Setup & Maintenance Guide.
It documents the exact setup process I use on customer guitars, with:
Clear measurements
Bench shortcuts
Tool recommendations
No guesswork or forum myths
If you want repeatable results — not trial and error — the book picks up where this guide leaves off.
👉 Available to buy now.
Final Thoughts
Learning to maintain your own guitar:
Saves money
Improves playability
Builds real understanding of your instrument
You don’t need to be a luthier — just willing to slow down and do things properly.
Real-world guitar knowledge. Built on the bench.