It depends on the chemical composition of the "oils" of your hands.  
On my lute the mark tends to turn a green colour. I have been told to  
use a little "spit" put-on with a finger to help remove this.  
Apparently the spit "digests" some of the oils. I was also told to  
wipe the lute frequently with a lens cloth (micro fibres).
Anthony

Le 13 mai 07 à 16:01, Narada a écrit :

> When I bought mine I was advised to use egg white to clean the
> soundboard, but I'm going to leave it as I think it adds a bit of
> character to the instrument. I was also advised not to varnish or  
> stain
> the soundboard as it would detract from the sound of the instrument.
>
> N
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: 13 May 2007 14:54
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [LUTE] Novice question - cleaning a soundboard.
>
> Hi - this is SO basic that I'm ashamed to be asking...  but here goes.
>
> My little student lute has an unvarnished spruce soundboard.  I  
> wash my
> hands before playing, but because spruce is so light in colour and
> there's no varnish to repel smudges, I can already see that it might
> eventually end up looking pretty grubby.
>
> Am I right in thinking that taking a damp cloth to the thin  
> unvarnished
> wood would not be a good idea?  Failing that, is there any recommended
> cleaning method, or should I just come to regard some smudges as  
> part of
> the instrument's 'character'?
>
>
>
>
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