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Cleaning Your Guitar
by Tom Leeman, Guitar Repair
Here are some basic cleaning procedures to keep your guitar looking it's
best.
General Cleaning
Most surface dirt and dust can be removed with a soft, clean rag. Cotton
T-shirts or 100% cotton flannel work the best. Some companies sell buffing
rags made of flannel, often packaged together with a bottle of guitar
polish. If your guitar has spots that won't come off with a dry rag, moisten
your cloth slightly (don't get it sopping wet!) with warm water and clean a
section at a time, turning the cloth frequently to avoid putting the dirt
back on the guitar. After this procedure is done, you can buff the
instrument with guitar polish and a clean rag to remove any other surface
dirt and shine the finish. If you have a hazy or sticky spot where your skin
frequently touches the guitars finish, try cleaning with a dry rag first,
then with polish. It may take several buffing sessions over a period of time
to get rid of a cloudy finish.
Dirty Finishes
If your instrument is extremely dirty, clean it first and then use
polish. If you polish a real dirty guitar, you will end up just pushing the
dirt around or putting polish on top of dirt. First, wipe or vacuum off any
loose particles of dirt. Then clean with a soft rag moistened in warm water
as described above. You can remove really stubborn dirt with Naphtha (a
solvent), but make sure you use gloves and work in a well ventilated area to
avoid breathing too much of the fumes. Next, use a good quality guitar
polish (Martin® or Gibson® brands are good), and then buff with a
clean, soft rag to bring out the shine.
Vintage Guitars
Older guitars often have a thin finish that actually enhances the tone.
Always clean these with a soft, dry rag first - polishes are designed to
penetrate a finish and add softness and flexibility - this may not be
beneficial to an old guitar, especially acoustic instruments. Be careful
with vintage finishes that are thin or "checked" (small cracks in the
instrument's finish). If you polish these with commercial guitar polish, you
may end up forcing polish through the cracks and into the wood! Warm water
(slightly damp rag) can be used, but again, be careful of working water down
into the cracks. A good cleaning method to try for these cracked or thin
finishes is to get your face close to the instrument and breath warm, moist
air onto it and immediately wipe off the dirt with your cloth. Some older
instruments (especially those made before the 1930′s) may have a finish made
of lacquer or varnish that has become soft or sticky. Don't try to rub or
polish these finishes as you might make the condition worse! Consult your
local repairperson as to whether the finish can be restored.
Fretboards
Products are sold to protect fingerboards, but generally these are not
needed. The natural oil in your fingers will be absorbed somewhat by the
fingerboard and usually will be enough to keep the wood conditioned (unless,
like me, you have really dry hands). Occasionally a fretboard may develop
tiny, hairline cracks due to an extremely dry climate. To avoid this
condition, rub a few drops of mineral oil (linseed or lemon oil works good)
into the fingerboard once a year to restore moisture and keep the wood from
drying out. Make sure that you wipe off any excess oil with a dry rag. If
your fretboard has built-up dirt and grime on it, you can remove this with
some extra-fine #0000 steel wool. Pinch a piece between your thumb and
forefinger and use your thumbnail to get into the corner between the fret
and the wood. If the dirt is especially thick, try using the edge of a
credit card or any other thin, stiff piece of plastic to scrape the dirt off
of the wood. Follow up with the mineral oil application.
As a final note–don't use furniture polish on your guitar–most of these have
oils in them that stay on top of the guitar's finish. Most modern
polyurethane, polyester or even new lacquer finishes that are free of
checking can be cleaned and polished quite frequently. Consult the
manufacturer of your new guitar about the type of finish and recommended
cleaning procedure.
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