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Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | A close friend of mine just bought a big baby Taylor and a local shop had a Taylor tech on site for free tune ups and free guitar re-stringings. I met her there and while talking to this guy my friend, who's always willing to learn everything about guitars, asks him whats best to use to clean her guitar. Which polish? I'm standing there listening and expecting to hear some expensive polish Taylor makes or endorses, when I hear him say, "water, just wipe it down with a wet rag."
Well I nearly choked.
What do you all think? :eek:
Anita |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | That is how I clean my Ovations...
For a Taylor, I would recommend a Brillo pad. |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | I use sand. |
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Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Come on, guys, water on all wood!?
Anita |
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| A urethane or catalyzed polymer finish is impervious to water, so as long as you're not soaking bare wood it wouldn't do any harm. You wouldn't want to do that with a lacquer finish, though.
Any good furniture polish will do. Just don't use anything containing silicone oils. If those do get into the wood they'll play hell with any future finish re-touching or repairs. |
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Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | I don't know how they finish their guitars, but I think I'd stay away from water, finished or not (unless it was an O :D ) till I was very sure of what I was dealing with.
I used to be a bit of an amatuer woodworker, built 1/2 inch dollhouses, helped my best friend build her house, built decks and stuff.
Anita |
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| I use a damp cloth. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Okay... Use 'Deck-Seal' first. :D
In real life, I usual just use a dry old t-shirt, but if I drool on my guitar, or sneeze, I use a damp cloth and then dry it off.
Even for bare wood that should hurt anything. The tree used to like rain!
If the wood is that dry that it just sucks-up water, something ain't right.
I haven't bought an expensive little bottle of cleaning stuff, cuz I ain't sure what to get anyway.
But I would avoid anything with alcohol, silicon, petroleum distillates, animal proteins, abrasives...
That leaves WATER! |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | For me:
Hardware - dry polishing rag
Wood and plastic - dry polishing rag. If something won't come off I use water, followed by the dry polishing rag
Fretboard - soap and water with a toothbrush, followed by water, followed by dry polishing rag, followed by mineral oil |
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Location: PDX | Micro fiber cloth after playing. If some sweat or oil builds up i put water on the cloth, and buff it out dry.
_____
gh1 |
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Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Okay, I've learned something today. I guess thi old gal can still learn afew things....now remembering them is something else :D
Thanks everyone.
Anita |
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Location: Vernon CT | Ok this may not go over well, but, I have done this since I started playing with NO problems. A barely damp clothe and 1 "squit" of window cleaner. Gets all the oil finger prints and dirty smudges off (glossy tops only) |
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Location: Portland, OR | Naptha (lighter fluid) sparingly with 000 steel wool works really well on fretboards. Follow with lemon oil or somesuch. Body - microfiber rag with just some Dunlop 65. |
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Location: South of most, North of few | I just sell them when they get dirty. |
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Location: Vernon CT | Originally posted by Trader Jim:
I just sell them when they get dirty. Why do I believe you Jim? ;) |
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Location: VENISE-EN-QUEBEC CANADA | For a Taylor sand blast should work fine :D
for an Ovation the finest polish in the world ;)
Daniel |
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Location: Madison, Wisconsin | When you want that "Showroom Shine"
When you want the abalone to sparkle under the lights and pierce the eye,
When you want the guy in the back to say: "That's a beautiful guitar"
It's Dunlop 65 you want.
I use it on Christmas and Easter. It really puts a nice sheen on the face of my guitars and cleans up the drool and sneeze. Lemon oil on the fretboard and a damp rag on the bowl. |
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Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Originally posted by Trader Jim:
I just sell them when they get dirty. I'm getting that impression Trader Jim. What's your dirtyist guitar right now and how much?
Anita |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | What part of your guitar are you trying to clean? |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | And how do you clean your instrument? |
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Location: Four Corners New Mexico | I have one of my dogs breathe on it, which melts the finish, and then I smooth it out with a rat-tail comb. :•} |
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Location: Gig Harbor, Washington | Hey, Lady...here's my process:
First I strip the strings, then I "snug" all hardware (wood shrinks gradually over time - so screws get tighter in their holes, but the hardware they attach is not as snug).
Then I apply Formby's Lemon Oil on all exposed wood surfaces, working into the grain with my fingers and working the grime out of the frets with a soft toothbrush. Then I remove all the grimey oil with one of Dave's dry polishing rags and re-apply another coat of lemon oil and then I go play another guitar for an hour or so while the oil invigorates the exposed wood...
Then I wipe down the enire guitar with one of Dave's rags and then pull a set of fresh strings off the shelf and prepare to install.
Having done so - I finally wipe down the entire guitar - especially the sealed surfaces (the hard-shell polyurethane) with Gibson Guitar Polish on, yes, one of those famous Dave rags!
Once a year or so I'll polish the fretboard and frets with some 0000 extra fine steel wool after the 1st de-grime lemon oil treatment.
Do I sound a little retentive...sheesh!
(p.s. I only poke fun at Dave's rag because I have so much respect for him!) |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | pledge |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by MisterGolf007:
Do I sound a little retentive...sheesh!
I use the same process with two exceptions. I use mineral oil on the fretboard. When I first receive a git, I'll normally remove and polish the tuners also.
HERE"S an example of where polish wasn't enough. |
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Location: Utah | I use Dunlop 65 cleaner on the all surfaces except bare wood such as the fretboard. Then I use Dunlop Carnuba wax on all those surfaces except the metal ones.
For the fretboard I've been using a spray fretboard cleaner that came with an Alvarez Yairi I bought new in 1977. A little goes a long way! Presumably it is a mineral oil type of product.
Tarnished frets may start to see some dremel action with jeweler's rouge. |
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Location: Reno, NV | Dunlop 65 on the top.
Gerlitz Guitar Honey on the fretboard. I'll use a Q-tip and Guitar Honey the rosewood bridge too.
Once a year or as needed I'll use masking tape and tape off the fretboard leaving the frets exposed. Then with a 3 part fingernail buffer use the white side to smooth out any pits or edges, then with the grey side buff them to a shine. Folllow up with Mothers billet polish. This make the frets smooth like glass and shine like jewels. |
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Location: Nashville TN. | Originally posted by ladylaw:
Come on, guys, water on all wood!?
Anita Its a polyurathan finish
you litterally wip it off with a damp rag.
Dunlop 65 likes works better. |
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Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Originally posted by an4340:
And how do you clean your instrument? On my ovations
Lemon oil on the fretboard, neck and headstock twice a year and Gibson polish on the round back.
Anita |
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Location: NJ | car wash |
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Location: Brighty in Blighty | Fingerboard / bridge - mineral oil (AKA laxative), courtesy of a very generous OFC member -- you know who you are!
Wood top - Dunlop 65
Adamas top - no idea! Never done it! A damp cloth perhaps?????
Neck - Gerlitz No. 1 Carnauba Wax |
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| Originally posted by alpep:
car wash If you want to save a few dollars just take it down to the river when you're doing your laundry, soak er up real good and then beat er against the rocks along with the cloths etc. |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Works every time!! :D
Saliva on the fretboard, just ask Dan Erlewine
AJ |
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Location: south east Michigan | "Lizard Spit" brand top polish and "Lizard Spit" brand fretboard conditioner.
Just because I like the name. |
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Posts: 60
Location: Long Island | i have a some vintage Tazmanian buff master & filth repellent i use sparingly.
on the back it says conceived in the brutish outland of Australia,manufactured in the former British colony of America.
Stringer Industries, Inc Warren NJ |
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Location: enid, ok | Hey, Hobo-maybe we should ask Mr. Hillage and see what he uses (or used) for cleanage.. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | "On my ovations
Lemon oil on the fretboard, neck and headstock twice a year and Gibson polish on the round back.
Anita"
OK, that's wrong. Remember we are talking cleaning here .... Most lemon oils have detergents, and the polish does nothing for the round back.
Clean the top, back of the neck, headstock and bowl with Dunlop 65 or a damp cloth.
To clean your frets, assuming you've been gigging and they're dirty use, wd-40, then clean the frets and fretboard and exposed wood surfaces with a soft tooth brush and naptha, if they are dirty. Once dry, about an hour later, apply mineral oil to areas where the wood is raw, the kind you get at the drugstore. On the back of the neck use butcher's wax. |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | I clean the finished surfaces (top, peghead) the way I would clean my eyeglasses. Breathe on a spot, then wipe with a clean white t-shirt. Do this all over the top, and you are not as likely to get fingerprints as you would if you use polish. If a guitar is really dirty, I will use Lemon Pledge though. It blows my mind the way people don't take care of their guitars. One time I had a guy bring one in for a re-string that not only had spaghetti sauce splattered on it, but there was a dead fly stuck to the peghead! I usually put the strings on for free if you buy them from me, but that guy got charged!! |
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Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Thanks everyone for your help. I appreciate it.
Anita |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Anita,
With all this 'help', what's your cleansing game plan now?  |
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Posts: 815
Location: Colorado | When needed, but usually at string change:
Strings off, mask off fretboard for some 0000 steel wool on frets (only if needed), lemon oil on fretboard, Butcher's Wax on neck/headstock.
Once a week:
Pledge on a rag for the guitar top. The Pledge actually gives the black carbon top a nice sheen to it. |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Interesting, but I don't spend much time cleaning my guitars. They start off new or in very clean condition, and I don't really deposit much body acid on the guitars, so there isn't really anything to clean. Since everything is hanging on walls in a very controlled environment, they're not subjected to much bad stuff. The infrequently played gear will accumulate some dust which I'll generally just wipe off from time to time. The regular gear doesn't collect much dust. During string changes, I'll use some Dunlop 45 and Dunlop fretboard cleaner on the neck and frets, but that's about it. |
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Location: SoCal | What the Prof said. I'd only add that I go over the bridge with Howard's Feed N Wax. Darkens them a little and keeps them from getting too dry.... |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Boil 'em in oil for 32 seconds right after we deep fry the Turkey on Thanksgiving. Kills all those nasty mould and mildewy things that grow around this climate.
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Posts: 335
Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Originally posted by CanterburyStrings:
I clean the finished surfaces (top, peghead) the way I would clean my eyeglasses. Breathe on a spot, then wipe with a clean white t-shirt. Do this all over the top, and you are not as likely to get fingerprints as you would if you use polish. If a guitar is really dirty, I will use Lemon Pledge though. It blows my mind the way people don't take care of their guitars. One time I had a guy bring one in for a re-string that not only had spaghetti sauce splattered on it, but there was a dead fly stuck to the peghead! I usually put the strings on for free if you buy them from me, but that guy got charged!! Better for the environment too. Spaghetti sauce? Well, that explains the fly! I wouldn't be able to take my guitar to be cleaned unless it was all polished up, but then I'd be the one who would clean before the maid came. ;)
Anita |
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Location: SoCal | Boil 'em? In college, when I couldn't afford new strings, I would take off the wrapped ones one at a time and soak them in boiling water, then wipe them down with a rag. The green crap that would come off of them would be disgusting, and they would sound harsh and crisp for a while, but it got another couple of weeks out of each set..... |
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Posts: 335
Location: Reisterstown, Maryland | Originally posted by 2ifbyC:
Anita,
With all this 'help', what's your cleansing game plan now?
Anita |
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Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Anita,
Check your PM. I responded to yours. |
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How do you clean your instruments?