How do you clean your the guitar body the finshed part?


Mud_Abercrombie
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Mud_Abercrombie
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02/12/2006 2:54 am
How do you clean your the guitar body the finshed part? i have no idea what to use because i screwed up my last guitar
# 1
magicninja
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magicninja
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02/12/2006 7:21 am
They usually sell guitar polish at friendly, nieghborhood guitar shops. They even sell them at musicians friend and other online places. I don't know the best brand to use but maybe some other people have some favorites.
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# 2
Kevin Taylor
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Kevin Taylor
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02/12/2006 8:02 am
A clean cloth (100% cotton flannel) and warm water. For real dirt buildup, a little naptha or liquid guitar polish. Swirl mark remover. (similar to polish but without the wax). Saliva is also pretty good. Some people like lemon oil but not all.
Stay away from silicone and abrasives.

Most times, if it's just dust and normal wear and tear around the house, all you'll need is a clean dry rag.
# 3
Cryptic Excretions
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Cryptic Excretions
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02/14/2006 1:33 am
Originally Posted by: schmangeA clean cloth (100% cotton flannel) and warm water. For real dirt buildup, a little naptha or liquid guitar polish. Swirl mark remover. (similar to polish but without the wax). Saliva is also pretty good. Some people like lemon oil but not all.
Stay away from silicone and abrasives.

Lemon oil? Since you say that some like it and others don't I assume there's a certain effect in the process that differentiates it from other types of polishing. What makes it noteworthy?
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# 4
Kevin Taylor
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02/14/2006 4:25 am
I personally like it cause I use it on my older Gibson. (75 L6S-Deluxe)
Whenever I clean the fretboard with a clean rag and warm water, it dries it out so much that the wood gets a white haze on it. I use about 3 or 4 coats of small amounts of lemon oil, letting it soak in between coats. This puts a bit of the moisture back on the neck and makes it easier to play.
I use a small dab on the rest of the body just because it gives it a nice sheen.

some guys don't like it, cause they say it reminds them of kerosene (??)
and for older vintage instruments it works it's way into and under the finish, which could cause the to lift and the wood to become saturated with oil, possibly dampening the tone..

What can I say though.. I've been using it for about 10 years or more and never noticed any problems... and without it, the neck on my guitar would have dried out completely by now.
I did a video for the beginner section showing me replacing the strings on my guitar and cleaning it, showing what the neck looks like before and after if you have high bandwidth.

*additional note: it works great on my oak coffee table too :)
# 5
jwb72
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12/05/2008 1:40 pm
What about the scratches from picks? I have the Fender care kit, but none of the 3 polishes in it got rid of the pick scratches. Any advice?

Thanks in advance!
# 6
Lordathestrings
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12/05/2008 10:13 pm
I f the surface is thoroughly trashed with pick scrtches, buffing may be the only fix.

Best to get a luthier to do this. Buffing by hand is a long, fruistrating job. A buffing machine in the hands of the unskilled can destroy the finish.
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# 7
JeffS65
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12/07/2008 2:33 am
Originally Posted by: Mud_AbercrombieHow do you clean your the guitar body the finshed part? i have no idea what to use because i screwed up my last guitar


Rule number 1, by cleaning it regularly...I almost never use chemicals. No matter what you do, when you apply a chemical to a finish, it changes it's molecular structure just a wee bit. Most of the time, that's absolutely no big deal and pretty much all guitar cleaners are fine and safe products. I tend to use a nice soft cloth and give them a semi-regular rub down and don't often need chemicals. Not a vigorous wipe down, just a nice polish up....as for the Strat that is. I have another guitar with a nitrocellulose finish and it doesn't need a polishing up, just a quick wipe down. It's nitro though so no matter what, it's gonna alter a little.
# 8
kick the baby
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kick the baby
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12/16/2008 3:49 pm
Guitar cleaning is a daily thing, and I am very picky about cleaning my guitar... but its in really good shape, so I'll outline what I do. You should get a FastAxe (little brush thing used so you dont have to take off strings), The String Cleaner, string conditioner ( I use GHS FastFret), some wax, lemon oil, a cloth, and some cleaner. Use the String Cleaner, conditioner, and Fast Axe daily. When changing strings, apply cleaner to the cloth, and polish the guitar. Then apply wax (artificial or genuine depending on the finish) and rub it around, but dont wipe it off immediately. Then you apply the lemon oil to the fret board and buff it. Then you remove the wax and add your new strings, and then you condition them... Yeah, I guess I'm a clean freak...
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Razbo
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03/17/2009 7:38 pm
Lets see how this goes :)

I use Armor All. On everything. My Hagstrom, My acoustics, my Gibson L6. My amp, my cases... You get the drift.

Never considered chemical properties, but is has never done apparent harm. And since I started using it, I have never had to buy FastFret.

Edit to add:
I have also used lemon oil on my fretboards to juice them up.
...so ever since then, I always hang on to the buckle.
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Kevin Taylor
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03/17/2009 7:45 pm
I used to use it, but I couldn't stand the smell. It's like used socks or something.
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Razbo
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03/18/2009 2:50 pm
Originally Posted by: Kevin TaylorI used to use it, but I couldn't stand the smell. It's like used socks or something.


So, I thought 'great, I never noticed before and now that is all I will smell' lol! They must have changed the formulation, though, because it has hardly any smell at all.
...so ever since then, I always hang on to the buckle.
# 12
Razbo
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11/19/2009 8:34 pm
...Because I'd remembered posting that I used Armour All on everything. I read recently in one of my build books (Dan Erlwyn's) to never use anything with an oily residue on the guitar body or parts. This includes furniture polish, and probably most non-specialized waxes.

The reason he states is it can cause problems if you ever require certain future repairs or maintenance. (He was a little unspecific on exactly what.)

Approved substances are naptha (as someone previously stated), breath, spit (on your own guitar), or specialized guitar cleaners. Lemon oil is fine on fingerboards, but should be used sparingly. (I will edit more in if necessary, I don't have the book in front of me.)

I'm not sure how important it really is, depending on the circumstances. My father has used Lemon Pledge on his ES335 with nary a problem for as long as I am old (and that's getting pretty old! :p) However, I think I will alter my own approach to cleaning hereafter.

Ironically, this info was in chapter 1, 'How to clean a guitar', but I skipped that chapter. What's there to know?? lol!
...so ever since then, I always hang on to the buckle.
# 13
Lordathestrings
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11/20/2009 4:10 am
Silicone is your sworn enemy! Even small trace amounts can make it impossible to repair the finish on a guitar. And most furniture polishes (yes, that includes Pledge) contain silicone. Because nothing can bind to it, any touch-up paint or clear-coat will come out with 'fish-eyes'.

Those of you who use Fast Fret to make your finger boards nice n' slick had better hope you never need to refinish the neck.

And if you take your axe to a luthier for a repair, you risk contaminating their workshop. That stuff is almost impossible to get rid of! It can't be washed off. Any cloth or plastic exposed to silicone will have to be thrown away.
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# 14
Razbo
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11/20/2009 12:43 pm
Armour All was even a name-brand example of silicone-based and I use that religiously. It was in fact stains, glues, paints and the like that would have a hard time being used. Guess it's "Vintage Worn" for my guitars.

Worth bringing up I figured, since it's probably a natural inclination to treat a wood guitar finish like any other piece of wood furniture. The things that make these products bad even make the guitar feel better to play (more slick), so I bet a lot of folks use them. It was certainly counter intuitive to me! :)

I wonder what the finishing and sealing properties of silicone would be? What if one embraced it and impregnated the wood with silicone instead of oil or water-based stains? Hmmmmm...
...so ever since then, I always hang on to the buckle.
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compart1
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11/20/2009 3:12 pm
Looks like my accoustic will be vintage wor n also...
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Homebrew1709
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12/23/2009 12:59 am
Gibson guitar polish for the body and lemon oil fretboard cleaner...
# 17
shaniab
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08/29/2011 10:06 pm
[QUOTE=Lordathestrings]

Those of you who use Fast Fret to make your finger boards nice n' slick had better hope you never need to refinish the neck.

[QUOTE]

UH oh....O.O
# 18
shaniab
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08/29/2011 10:43 pm
I am VERY picky in cleaning my guitar. I'll clean just the body of it every week and every six months I give it a full on super cleaning (Getting the dust out of every crevise in the pick-ups, bridge, cleaning the strings, Ect.)
I used a guitar cleaner and polish from Ernie Ball along with the rag it comes with. It works really well! I haven't noticed any wear and tear on the finish and it always looks like a mirror after it's done. I also use just a plain 100% cotton cloth to just wipe the dust off. Q-tips are also great for getting into the small areas like getting the dust out of the bridge.
# 19
Lordathestrings
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08/30/2011 2:57 am
Check the labels carefully.

Research any ingredients that you don't recognize.

Unless a product is labelled "Silicone Free" you should assume it's about as natural as Pam Anderson's bustline. :p
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# 20

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