Shining up my Avalon

[apo beg]

Any of you guys have any good tips on cleaning and shining up guitar finishes? I'm tired of buying those little bottles of Fender and Gibson polish. There has to be something around the house that won't mess up the finish.

[Smitty]

Howdy,

I have had good luck on a wide variety of guitars with GHS "High Gloss" guitar polish. If a guitar is grimy or has other polish buildup, you can rub it in with a rag and wipe it off while still wet for cleaning, then go back and put a light application, let dry, then buff off (like you would do with a paste wax.) I've had better results with it than anything else I've used.

Smitty

[Ken Jones]

My usual clean-up for a used, grimy guitar is to first clean it with naptha applied with a soft cloth. (Naptha is basically lighter fluid, but if you buy naptha at a paint store, you can get an entire quart for the same price as a small container of lighter fluid.)

The cloth will get dirty, so frequently turn it over to a clean section as you go. The guitar will be rather dull looking after cleaning with the naptha, but now all of the previous owner's beer and sweat has been removed from the guitar. This is also good for getting off the old layers of guitar polish that have been applied over the years.

I've found several guitar polishes to work out just fine - including the GHS. The "Virtuoso" polish is also good. My favorite guitar polish is Meguiar's car wax. I've found it to be very easy to apply. Unlike most polishes that leave some residue behind, the Meguiar's leaves your guitar with a "smudge free" finish. For example, on a black guitar you'll have fingerprints eveytime you pick it up. This doesn't really happen after using the Meguiar's (at least not as much).

[apo beg]

Ken, the naptha won't mess up my paint?
Sounds kinda scary.

[Ken Jones]

I know what you mean. The thought of putting LIGHTER FLUID on your guitar does seem scary, but it does work (just don't follow Jimi Hendrix's technique). You can try the naptha on a small area of the guitar (the back for instance) if you want to test it. Believe it or not, saliva is also a decent cleaner - although it's not very sanitary - but it will do in a pinch.


There's two excellent books on guitar maintenance. Both talk about using Naptha. Here's some links to these books:

Dan Erlewine's book:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0879302917/qid=1081739236/sr=1-1/r ef=sr_1_1/002-1281769-5876037?v=glance&s=books (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0879302917/qid=1081739236/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1281769-5876037?v=glance&s=books)


Ritchie Fliegler's book:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0793534909/qid=1081739318/sr=1-1/r ef=sr_1_1/002-1281769-5876037?v=glance&s=books (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0793534909/qid=1081739318/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1281769-5876037?v=glance&s=books)


Dan's is more comprehensive and describes every step in great detail. Ritchie's is more condensed. Both books have merits of their own. I've learned A LOT about guitar maintenance from both of these books.

[David W Smith]

For about 10 years now I have used "Martin & co."guitar polish on my guitars. Its wax free so there is no smugging or build up to trap dirt.My blond maple accoustic (10 years old )looks great and still shines like new.People ask me if my 2 1/2 year old Fender Tele is brand new.I ve used it to clean up old garage sale and pawn shop guitars and it does a great job.

[skip doucette]

i just got the fender 3 step kit and works well