If anyone has any tips for guitars, I posted the same topic on the Flatpicker hangout.

Juan Solo

There are various commercial items for the cleaning that you mentioned above. The best thing you can do besides using those products is to wipe the instrument down each time you finish playing with it. You can wear a wrist band to keep the arm rest clean. Wipe down the strings and wood with the same cloth each time you put the banjo in its case.

Bobby

I'm fond of Deering "Care Cloths" although I'm sure there are alternatives. The white does a nice job buffing plated parts, and the yellow can buff out wood / lacquer surfaces.

https://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/banjo-maintenance-tools/products/deering-care-cloths?variant=371621275

For the head I just put a little dish soap on a paper towel and that seems to clean up any dirt / grease that gets on there.

For the fretboard, seems the choices are endless, but I've been using F-One Oil as it seems to do a good job (and since my first bottle is no where near empty, I'm unlikely to be considering an alternative anytime soon, but will be interested to hear what others have to say)

https://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/banjo-maintenance-tools/products/fretboard-f-one-oil

Nothing special about it. Wipe it down with a soft cloth. Clean the fretboard when you change strings. I tend to use an old, soft toothbrush for the frets.

If you choose to oil the fretboard, I find straight mineral oil works fine. I oil mine when they look dry...maybe every 5 yrs or so. Wipe on, Wipe off. Opinions vary widely on fretboard care. I'm on the "it is cosmetic rather than necessary" side.

Wash your hands and keep your nails trimmed.

Once every so often wipe it down with a soft cloth like a cotton diaper.

Don’t wipe or smear oil all over it, it does not need it. ALL of those products are basically just mineral oil with artificial citrus scent.

I would suggest always wash and dry your hands before playing any stringed instrument. I have used lemon Pledge and a soft cloth to clean the neck, fretboard and resonator for years with no issues. Simichrome is excellent for polishing the nickel plated parts.

For decades, plain 100% cotton rags have been the recommended choice for wiping wood and metal instruments. Old cut-up T-shirts are ideal. In recent years, microfibre cloths have been recommended and sold by instrument and accessories makers.

Some makers say nothing more than a slightly damp rag to wipe the finished wood parts. I like the liquid instrument cleaners/polishes that come in pump bottles (not aerosol sprays).

Currently using Gibson Guitar Polish. Previously used  Smith Pro Formula Polish. These are very mild. Safe for metal parts, too. But I usually just wipe the metal with a dry cloth. I also wipe the strings with a dry cloth after every jam, gig or long practice session. Once every 10 or 15 years I might disassemble a banjo and polish all the metal with Simichrome -- if needed. 

Some people recommend occasional -- very infrequent -- oiling of the fretboard with mineral oil, lemon oil, or products sold specifically as fretboard oil. I have some banjos on which I've never done that.

Do not use household cleaners and polishes on an instrument. Especially those that contain silicone. Maybe a drop of liquid dish detergent in the water you use to dampen a cotton rag. But that's only if there's actual dirt and grime on the finished wood, which should rarely happen.

Banjos get dirty. The side of the pot facing us as we play gets stuff on it. Stuff accumulates on the flange where the flat surface meets the bead. Stuff accumulates on the band of rim wood and tone ring skit behind the hooks. Maybe once a year I try to pull a cloth through there.

I generally don't clean heads for fear of staining the coating and making it look worse. I've tried pencil eraser or Magic Eraser for pick marks. Works ok. I don't like the look of worn heads, so I change them when they get bad looking. I spread my playing across two primary banjos and don't play as much as much as I used to, so my heads stay good looking longer.

I use a slightly damp Mr. Clean pad to clean my heads. Never had a problem.

Simichrome is not recommend for plated metal. In fact, no “polish” manufacturers will recommend their products for plated metal.

They are all abrasive… even the ones that claim “non abrasive”. Each polish will remove your nickel plate requiring more frequent “polishing” as the plating is removed. You will cut through pretty quick.

Anecdotal “I’ve polished my banjo every month for 30 years” is not proof, but this will be posted by someone.

Thanks for all the answers. I've been using an old Wrangler cotton bandana, it sounds like that is all I need.

Juan Solo

A good habit to develop, to keep your instrument clean & healthy, is to simply return it to the case, instead of letting it sit around for any length of time. (I always think of dust as one of an instruments' main enemies).

Windex works fine to clean. WD 40 works for fingerboard if needed. Old school treatments.

Save the windex for glass windows.

Windex contains ammonia, which I don't think you want on your banjo. I suppose non-ammonia Windex or Glass Plus might be mild and safe enough.

I'll admit to having wiped the inside of one banjo's pot and the inside of the resonator with a dilute vinegar solution to fight a musty smell. Did finally work. 

I play out and about a lot, festivals and farmers markets, or just jamming with friends. Washing my hands every time I pick it up and keeping my banjo spotless just doesn't work for me. Also I always seem to get sunscreen all over it. Frankly, I spiff it up when I change strings, otherwise it takes care of itself.

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Originally posted by BG Banjo

I play out and about a lot, festivals and farmers markets, or just jamming with friends. Washing my hands every time I pick it up and keeping my banjo spotless just doesn't work for me. Also I always seem to get sunscreen all over it. Frankly, I spiff it up when I change strings, otherwise it takes care of itself.

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Sunscreen all over your banjo? lol Ive never heard of a banjo getting a sunburn but... maybe it gives it an even tan!

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Originally posted by JohnnySilver

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Originally posted by BG Banjo

I play out and about a lot, festivals and farmers markets, or just jamming with friends. Washing my hands every time I pick it up and keeping my banjo spotless just doesn't work for me. Also I always seem to get sunscreen all over it. Frankly, I spiff it up when I change strings, otherwise it takes care of itself.

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Sunscreen all over your banjo? lol Ive never heard of a banjo getting a sunburn but... maybe it gives it an even tan!

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Well it does collect dirt where it rubs off on it. ;) So there might be something to that. 

Stuff like sun screen and bug spray will eat right through the French Polish that many classic era banjos are finished in. They can soften and make polyester sticky as they can breakdown the plastic.

Banjo players are a strange bunch… guitar players go to great lengths, and even pay big bucks to make their guitars look all grungy and rusty and distressed. And here we are trying to keep our banjos all clean, spotless and shined up…

I do use goo gone on the heads of my banjos to get the black marks off. Other than that, just a damp cloth at string changes. When a banjo gets too grungy, it’s time for a tear down, deep clean, assembly and fresh set up. Frosted heads are calibrated perfectly for this… when the coating breaks through and the gross bare spots shows up, it’s time for new head and overhaul

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Originally posted by Joel Hooks

Simichrome is not recommend for plated metal. In fact, no “polish” manufacturers will recommend their products for plated metal.

They are all abrasive… even the ones that claim “non abrasive”. Each polish will remove your nickel plate requiring more frequent “polishing” as the plating is removed. You will cut through pretty quick.

Anecdotal “I’ve polished my banjo every month for 30 years” is not proof, but this will be posted by someone.

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I've used Simichrome for years on chrome plating on cars (there's another tube of similar stuff I have in the garage as well, name escapes me right now...but works just as well )

It's really a case of moderation--you can indeed remove plating with polish (although it does take a while). 

What I was faced with on my banjo was some discolored/tarnished plating (it was stored for years in a closed case with a leather strap which had moisture and/or some other chemicals that caused "spots" on the plating). My choices were a) live with it, b) replace parts, c) try to polish it.

Ended up taking everything apart, and using Simichrome (knowing there was a risk of polishing off the plating). It did work (quite well). BUT - I stopped short of a "perfect" job (as there are still some spots visible). I also replaced some parts (e.g. hooks) that were easy / inexpensive to replace. 

It's quite passable now--and unless you're holding it and examining it up close, it looks great.

So in summary--I'd DEFINITELY try Simichrome if you have discolored / tarnished plating. It'll improve things (but may not make things perfect). Adjust your expectations, and be aware of the risk of "polishing through" your plating, and you'll be fine.

And consider - if you're going to play your banjo, it's going to develop a patina over time, and for me that's ok--it gives it character. If however you want it to be "showroom perfect", well...not playing it is really the only way to do that.

Car guys face a similar dilemma--cars look great when restored, but many folks then don't drive them, and end up just trailering them to different car shows.  Me--I'd rather drive my car, and play my banjo.