Cleaning / Polishing

Building/Repair
#1

I just received my first shamisen from a dealer on Etsy. It is in incredible condition and it is more than likely 25+ years old.

With that being said, it came in a case and everything is still in tact (thank God)! But because I enjoy keeping all of my instruments in excellent condition, I would like to remove some dirt and marks on it.

What kind of wood cleaner is recommended? And I know for fretless guitars, sometimes a polish or wax is used on the fingerboard. Is this necessary on a shamisen? I realize for woods such as ebony you generally leave them alone but I’m curious as to what people recommend.

I posted some photos on another topic but really asking here for some pro advice. :wink:

#2

It depends on the gunk involved.

I clean my shamisen with a microfiber cloth (saofuki) after playing to remove sweat and whatever debris my hands may have left. Twice a year, I give the necks(and fingerboards) a rubdown with an extremely small amount of camellia oil.

Stickers or the like should be changed once a year or sooner. You can push this to two years, but it will make clean up harder since the glue seeps into the wood.

When dealing with adhesive residue (such as from an old dou gomu or fujaku), I have used lemon oil based solvents to remove the filth and then applied camellia to re-hydrate the wood.

In the past I’ve been instructed to use mild soap and water to clean that funk off but concerns about warping dissuaded me.

If I decide to clean my skin up, i’ll use a barely damp cloth (and lots of care); or sometimes a soft eraser will do nicely.

Be aware that when cleaning you have to take special care with the edge of the skin. You should avoid getting that wet. Natural skins are held on by rice glue which breaks down with water.

I have generally not done any work on my metal fixtures, since if those get lubricated you’re in for a bad time :p.

@jonnyfive can give you additional input.

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#3

Thanks for the info! The fujaku has probably been on for a minute so I’m considering to take it off entirely. It’s technically my practice instrument but again I’m a fan of keeping my music equipment in tip-top shape.

Not a lot of gunk so I’ll probably stick with the basics. Much appreciated!

#4

Hi, just want some clarification on a few points here.

I have a kouki shamisen that I’ve had since 2022 and I’m only just hearing about using camellia oil. How should one go about applying this? With a clean rag or something else?

Regarding the cleaning of the skin, does the approach you mentioned apply for natural or synthetic skins? Mine is synthetic and has lots of grooves I’ve had trouble cleaning so any input here would be helpful

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#5

I do not use synthetic skins, so I cannot offer tips on them unfortunately.

Here is a thread where Jon went over some cleaning tips.

As for camelia/tsubaki I usually work it in with a very soft cloth, tissue, or a piece of old washi… A little goes a very, very long way.

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#6

Thanks for that, I’ll check out this other thread to see if that’s what I’m after.

I’ll also try to be very conservative with the oil based on how little you’re insisting is needed :sweat_smile:

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