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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Hi,
been playing a Applause AE127 for some time and just upgraded to a 2nd hand Elite Special S868 natural finish, WOAH! :D Now there was pleasant surprise!!!
Anyhow want to clean the natural finish as it has a few greasy marks etc.
So any ideas people?
THANKS!!! |
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Location: South of most, North of few | Welcome Mr. Zappa. Dunlop makes a great guitar cleaner/polish and also carnuba wax to finish it off. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Jim Dunlop 65?
I presume it's OK for that particular finish which is quite a matt finish. |
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Location: NJ | Dun65.
But make sure you get the Dunlop65 GUITAR Cleaner (brown label).
(for some reason) They also make a Dunlop65 STRING Cleaner with a blue label (which sucks, btw). |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | So the 65 for cleaning / polishing?
Do I really want to wax? Will that not shange the subtle / light finish?
Whats the purpose of waxing?
Thanks for answering all my stupid questions. |
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Location: NJ | ". . Whats the purpose of waxing? . ."
So that when you go to the beach, you don't look like you have Larry Fine in a ScissorHold . . . |
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Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | :D |
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Location: enid, ok | The purpose of waxing for most of these guys is so they don't have to shave their legs as often. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Please stay on thread - silly answers whilst sometimes droll aren't all that helpful.
I was clearly refering to waxing a natural finish Elite Special :-( |
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Location: closely held secret | If you refer to your own questions as stupid, you really shouldn't complain about silly answers. |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by dweezil:
Please stay on thread - silly answers whilst sometimes droll aren't all that helpful.  |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Its just a saying, don't get too hung up on semantics.
Look I don't mean to be stroppy but so many forums / posts descend into banal / flippant comments off thread. I just don't think it's helpful. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
If you refer to your own questions as stupid, you really shouldn't complain about silly answers. Quote of the month !!! |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | And there was me thinking that an innocent post about how best to maintain my Ovation would be answered sensibly on an Ovation forum.
Sadly I was so wrong.
So let's try again...
Does the Elite Special natural finish have a waxy finish on it when it leaves the Ovation factory? Or is it just polished using a similar product to Dunlop 65? |
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Location: NJ | If y'feel the need to wax it, I'd recommend Butcher's Wax . . . |
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Location: closely held secret | You're probably in the wrong place then.
There is a huge wealth of information concerning not only Ovations, but guitars, recording, performing, gig bags, picks, tequila and llamas to be found here.
And it's more a family than most boards, complete with weird uncles from Joisey and gene-challenged cousins from Virgina.
You most likely WILL get an answer to your question, but you sometimes have to wade through a bit of muck before it finds you. Just like most families.
If you aren't willing to endure a little good natured fun until the one who KNOWS the answer to your question gets around to reading it, well... that's too bad. 
If you are, then WELCOME!  |
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Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | Dude, you're cleaning a guitar, not transplanting a kidney! Lighten up! |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by dweezil:
Jim Dunlop 65? YES
Originally posted by dweezil:
So the 65 for cleaning / polishing? YES
Originally posted by dweezil:
is it just polished using a similar product to Dunlop 65?? YES
Exactly what part of this is not clear ??? |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | my guitar is precious to me like my own kidney |
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Location: NJ | join th'Club . . . |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | @ Tupperware,
Where does anyone say in the above thread that the Elite is just polished not waxed? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Wax or not is up to you. Some people do it others do not. It's your choice. |
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Location: Atlanta, GA. | so many forums / posts descend into banal / flippant comments off thread. But we do it faster and better than any other forum!
WELCOME, Dweezil. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Originally posted by cholloway:
so many forums / posts descend into banal / flippant comments off thread. But we do it faster and better than any other forum!
WELCOME, Dweezil. |
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Location: Warren,Pa. | The issue you're grappling with here is this: There are several people who will read your question and post helpful info, and then another 100 or so who don't have a life outside of the OFC and simply can't resist posting SOMETHING.
Or it could be that phenemenon I discovered when I moved from Jersey to NW Pa. 20 years ago. In Jersey you'd ask a question and expect the other guy to get right to the point and give you a concise answer. Time is much more valuable than human interaction in Jersey.
When I moved here, I found it was necessary to spend a few minutes (at least) exchanging pleasantries before you got down to the business at hand. Ahh...life in the country!
So...if you're in too much of a hurry around here to be patient with the ones who just wanna be friendly, you run the risk of alienating all those folks who may one day be your friends in this club. Maybe none of that is important to you. Let us know now.
And welcome. John <>{ |
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| Three ways to go here.
1. We could all get a humorectomy and declare you leader of our little gang of neanderthals, but only if you feel willing and able to devote the time necessary to bring us up to your level.
2. You could f@ck off and troll somewhere else.
3. You could use the Planet Waves 3 step cleaning system which I like a lot. Takes more time, costs a little more but works great. Not that popular with the rest of the board but as you will have noticed most of them can't count to 3 without taking their mittens off.
Hope this helps. |
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Location: NJ | Like it or not, droll, banal, flippant remarks is oft-times de rigueur around here . . .
. . . being smarmy just paints a target onto your back . . . |
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Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | "and then another 100 or so who don't have a life outside of the OFC and simply can't resist posting SOMETHING."
I resemble that remark! |
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| You talkin' t'me? Huh? |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by schroeder:
Three ways to go here.
1. We could all get a humorectomy and declare you leader of our little gang of neanderthals, but only if you feel willing and able to devote the time necessary to bring us up to your level.
2. You could f@ck off and troll somewhere else.
3. You could use the Planet Waves 3 step cleaning system which I like a lot. Takes more time, costs a little more but works great. Not that popular with the rest of the board but as you will have noticed most of them can't count to 3 without taking their mittens off.
Hope this helps. Now, see? One post that embodies everything I was talking about!
1 - Cutting humor. A bit sarcastic in nature, but so is Schroeder. Not very helpful, yet entertaining.
2 - Brutally straightforward suggestion to solve the problem.
3 - Solid advice born from experience using a certain product for a certain purpose. Tempered with a humorous afterthought, slightly tinged with a little bitterness, probably stemming from his failure to get permission from his wife to be part of the Incident in Fernandina.
All followed up with a hearty wish for success!
Excellent! |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | The Elite Special natural (at least mine) has a very 'matt' finish (it's not raw wood but almost)and I wonder whether a product like the Dunlop 65 cleaner and polish will do just that, clean and polish.
Polish to me sounds like it's going to produce a non matt finish, of course I might be wrong. Anyhow I've ordered some and I'll try a little section.
Now all this has been fun and diverting but I really have to get back to the wood shed. |
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Location: Cincinnati | I have a "matt" finish Martin and the Dunlop 65 does not produce a non-matt finish on it. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Excellent, thanks |
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Location: closely held secret | "I saw something nasty in the woodshed".
Ada Doom |
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Location: Huntington Beach, CA | I once waxed a satin finish Ovation. It looked ridiculous! Found a good wax remover (non-abrasive and not too acidic) and brought it back to what it was. I've used Dunlop 65 ever since.
If you have spots that have penetrated the top finish, you may be looking at a lot of work and I haven't the experience to advise you.
I know that wax is recommended for oil finished wood like necks and headstocks but, it isn't easy to work with in tight areas, tends to darken the wood and I'm not sure how much protection it provides for all the effort.
Some here evidently wax their legs (women I hope), others wax poetic, still others are just whack. You will get good advice... just need to enjoy the various personalities you meet along the way.
Hope you like your new guitar. I have the S778 and REALLY like it. Very woodsy/folksy. Good luck.
-Eman. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | @ Eman
Thanks for the info - just what I needed. I don't think anything has penetrated the top it just could do with a light clean. There is a small section that looks like it's been polished -- it's just where previous owner has been resting on the body whilst playing - perhaps it has worn through - hard to tell.
I have also just ordered a 6778 LX :-) |
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Location: Jet City | I used to use a touch of beeswax in mineral oil for fretboards. I use dunlop 65 too, but I'm glad this post happened cuz I wasn't sure if it could be used on the satin finish on my 6774's neck and headstock.
Now I know.
And Dweezil, a wide sense of humor (and sometimes just as much patience) is required here. I think your papa would have appreciated the humor and sarcasm. Those were some of the main building blocks of his music! |
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Location: Vermont USA | Dunlop 65 on top of guitar
Butchers wax on neck
Mineral oil on fret board
Pauly |
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Location: Warren,Pa. | One thing you will notice over time (as did Pauly) is that, where your arm rests on the guitar, top the matt finish becomes shiny after a while. I never did hear an answer as to what to do about that. Pauly saw that creeping up on his Elite Special and wrestled with what to do. What DID you do, Pauly?
John <>{ |
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Location: Warren,Pa. | Seagull recommends WINDEX on their guitars with matt finishes.
BTW...what's "smarmy"? |
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Location: NJ | It's a term used by those in Jersey who are purpoted t'have "no life" . . . . you wouldn't understand. |
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Location: Vermont USA | I like shiny things :D |
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Location: Michigan | Polishes clean and shine and allow whatever is under them to breathe but offer no long term protection.
Waxes seal and protect.GWB |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Cleaned and polished with Dunlop 65 - awesome stuff - thanks O people... |
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Location: Tennessee | Ah good ... another convert. Glad you stuck it out through the hazing initiation Dweezil. It seems to me that you have acclimated quite well. ;)
BTW, matte finishes can be polished up to shiny. BHB talked about that earlier, and essentially repeated rubbing of the matte finish turns it shiny. I know people who have changed matte finish to gloss by using some form of polishing compound (i.e Maguiar's car polish -- not the wax tho!) and working it until they brought the finish to where they wanted it. Basically the same thing happens with your arm on the top ... it just takes a lot longer. So do not be surprised if you start seeing glossy spots on your soundboard where you have contacgt with it. And if you wanted to change the entire cedar top to gloss, you can do that. But the process is not reversible. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Thanks stonebobbo,
I don't really mind the worn in shiny parts as it looks lived in so to speak just didn't want to glossify it unnaturally.
I used in on the neck too to clean the crap off and it worked well but perhaps some Dunlop oil would be good after a clean eh? |
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Location: Vermont USA | Butchers wax on the neck.
Oil Dunlop or mineral on the fret board.
Pauly |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | O'Kay! I will finally ask...
Which Butcher's Wax.
"Bowling Alley Wax", "Boston Polish", "Black Bison"?
[When I first read y'all talking about "Butcher's Wax", I thought you meant Animal Fat :confused: ] |
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Location: Vermont USA | "Bowling Alley Wax"
It would be a cold day in West Bolivia when I would rub animal fat on one of my guitars, although my dog would probably love it.
Pauly |
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Location: Huntington Beach, CA | The best stuff I've found (and recommended by Ovation/Kaman) is Trewax Clear Paste Wax with Carnuba. I bought a 454g tin that will easily last my lifetime. In fact, I think it takes about a half gram worth to do the neck so I have enough for close to 1,000 applications!
If you're going to use animal fat, I recommend Possum. I'd like to think those things are good for something!
-Eman. |
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Location: SoCal | Been using Guitar Honey on fretboard and bridges...nice
By Gerlitz...about $6.95 a bottle |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Any idea where I can get Trewax? |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | So I'm going for
Dunlop 65 Cleaner and Polish for body
Dunlop 65 Lemon Oil for fretboard
Dunlop 65 Cream of Carnauba wax for neck |
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Location: Tennessee | I like the Dunlop 65 for the guitar.
For the fretboard and bridge, I really like this stuff: FRET DOCTOR . Nothing I've ever tried comes even close to how good this stuff works.
I'm probably odd man out, but I find no reason at all to wax the neck. If they are gloss, they never need anything except for a wipe down with your guitar cloth. On the natural necks, I find the natural oils in my hand are all they ever really need ... although I will wipe them from time to time with the rag I use to wipe off the Fret Doctor from the fretboard (I use the same rag every time). |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | That stuff looks interesting and it does say...
"If a fife or a fret board is made from wood that has been properly and slowly air dried (not in a kiln), and most stresses in the wood have been relieved at the time of construction, chances are nothing bad (cracking) will happen to it later on. So, in a sense, we are treating a non-problem here" |
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Location: Montréal, québec, Canada | Windex on a seagul?????
I tought I read nonwax polish in the owner's manual ????
ever tried Gibson polish?? |
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Location: Tennessee | Bernard ... yes. I used the Gibson polish (orange bottle) for years until I found the Dunlop polish about 6 or so years ago. I always thought the Gibson was fine, but the Dunlop just seems to work a bit better.
Dweezil ... he's probably right but I don't have perfect environmental conditions nor am I sure every guitar has perfectly air-dried wood ... and I really use it for the way it makes the wood look and feel more than I worry about the fingerboard cracking. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | StoneBobbo - he certainly has a convincing argument. Might just give it a whirl. |
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Location: Montréal, québec, Canada | Stonebobbo, thanks , I shouls of ask one week ago !!!! just bought the Gibson....
By the time it's empty I will be getting old...
I already use Dunlop lemon oil .
Should of stick with that Dunlop stuff.. |
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Location: Tennessee | Dweezil ... I am seriously sold on the stuff. I especially like the way it makes the bridges look ... brings out the grain, colorizes and makes the wood shine. Takes a bit of time for the full effect. But I can tell you that the carved walnut bridge on my 1187-8 is really starting to come in nicely. In another year or so, it will have the depth and shine that you see on the original slotheads. You'll also see an immediate difference in your rosewood fretboard.
Bernard - the Gibson stuff is just fine. It all may be doily knitting anyway ... I know a fairly trustworthy expert who swears by Pledge. ;) |
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Location: Rocky River, Ohio | the Ovation factory uses Dunlop 65.
It works great on my cedar balladeer that has a similar satin finish to your elite.
Trewax can be found at most hardware stores. My local Ace and True Value carry them.
Waxing the neck is something I only do yearly. I play maybe a couple hours a week on my balladeer. |
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Cleaning Elite Special S868 natural finish?