A few guitar maintenance recommendatons.

DLM

DLM

Power User
I recently put a minor scratch in my Schecter C-1 FR with a screwdriver. I'm really anal about keeping my guitars clean and scratch free, so I went looking for a way to remove the scratch. I saw a lot of recommendations for Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0. I bought a bottle at Wal Mart along with some microfiber pads to apply it, and last night I tried it out. It worked really well! It won't help you if you have really deep scratches or scratches that go all the way down to the paint, but for lighter scratches in the poly finish, it really works great. It's only for use on poly finishes, but on those it works great. You can find various videos on YouTube showing how to use it and demonstrating how it works. The bottle says to use a terry pad, but for guitars, you should use the microfiber pads instead.

I also recently bought a new guitar, a Schecter Gryphon, from E-Bay. When I got it, it was in great shape physically, except for one ding and a minor dent, which I have in the shop right now getting repaired. Unfortunately, it had been left out and exposed for a long time, so it needed some cleaning up. I scrubbed it down completely with Simple Green, and then I used some Nevr-Dull to polish the frets. Nevr-Dull is absolutely amazing and does a great job for fret polishing. You can also get that at Wal Mart. Both can be gotten in the automotive section where all the waxes and polishes are, and both are cheap. Nevr-Dull is around five bucks for a can that will last you a long time, and Scratch X 2.0 is around nine bucks, and will also last you quite a long time. Just make sure if you clean your guitar and neck with Simple Green, you wipe it off thoroughly afterward. Same with the Nevr-Dull. Make sure you wipe down your fretboard good after using it.

After scrubbing down the Gryphon, I needed to oil the rosewood neck because it needed it, and scrubbing it down with Simple Green and then using the Nevr-Dull makes it essential, so I looked around for recommendations for a great oil for rosewood necks, and I saw a lot of people raving about Fret Doctor. I ordered a bottle, and I literally had it in two days. He ships it priority mail. Anyway, I oiled the neck with it, and it's nothing short of amazing. It not only restores the wood, it restores the color of the rosewood as well. Not because it's colored in any way, but because the oil restores the natural color of the wood itself as a result of how it conditions it. The oil is pretty pricey. The smallest bottle you can get is around 12 bucks with the shipping, and is a 10ml bottle. It's enough to do four or five guitars probably depending on how much you use. You can get 10, 30 and 60ml bottles. When I can afford it, I'll probably grab a 60ml and keep it around. It's really nothing short of awesome, and the guy who makes it / sells it is super nice. You can get Fret Doctor here: Bore Oil for the Fife and Fret Doctor

Bore Doctor and Fret Doctor are the same product, just in different bottle sizes. There are a lot of different oils you can use. I know of one guitar tech who swears by raw linseed oil, and if you look around the net, you'll find other suggestions as well. Fret Doctor is a blend of oils, and I found it to be absolutely awesome. Things like raw linseed oil work great, but you have to be careful with how you dispose of the rags after, because they can spontaneously combust oddly enough.

I know a lot of people already know about this stuff, but I've just recently used these products to take care of my guitars and had great results with them, so I thought I would share the info and suggestions for those who may find it useful.
 
thanks for sharing man ;)

I'd be very cautious with the simple green tho....you mentioned not leaving it on for long, but I'd prob only apply a dash on a cloth and wipe it down if I had to....that stuff will strip anything!
 
Yeah. You have to make sure you really wipe it all off after. I'd recommend using a damp cloth to make sure you get it all. The Gryphon really needed it though. You should have seen the Nevr-Dull when I finished polishing the frets. It was black. :p

The Gryphon has a lot of normal very fine surface scratches from use as well. The Scratch X will clean them up nicely when I get it back from the luthier. He should be done with it by Wednesday at the latest probably. I need to replace the push pull pot in it as well, but I do that sort of work myself. I just can't do repairs in the finish like a professional can, so I'm having that done. It's funny. When I pulled the guitar out of the package when it arrived, it didn't have a tone knob in it at all. Just a hole. I tipped the box over and the knob with the shaft fell out. Looks like the C clip that held it in the pot either broke or fell off. The pot still worked, but the coil tapping didn't, so I'm replacing it with a DiMarzio 500k push-pull pot. I'll be replacing the jack as well. It worked, but it was a little loose and when you'd wiggle the cable you could get it to scratch a little, so I figured it was better just to swap it out. I could have cleaned it up and made it firmer on the connection, but a new jack is so cheap I figured I might as well replace it.

Nice thing is, the Gryphon was in such great shape, when it was cleaned up it looked like a brand new guitar, except for the ding. I got it for a steal too. $177 bucks!
 
After too many years of buying/selling too many guitars on eBay I've gotten really good at cleaning up guitars. Depending on how much cleaning and polishing you're doing Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #10 Plastic Polish & and #17 Plastic Cleaner. #10 is great for a good polishing and #17 for buffing out light hazing - use both to look new again, you'll need something more aggressive for scratches. Works on lacquer and poly.

Dr. Ducks Axe Wax is great for fretboards and polishing lacquer, poly and just about anything else - metal, plastic, pick guards, etc.

Luthier's Mercantile has good things to say about all these:

Liquid Polishing Compounds - Information and Pricing at LMI

Dr. Duck's Ax Wax - Information and Pricing at LMI
 
I found this in a thread on another forum.

"A rep from Mequiars called today. He said that Scratch X did contain very small amounts of silicone, but also said that if any finish work did need to be done that proper surface prep take care of the problem. He didn't think that it would be possible for the product to go all the way through the finish to the wood unless you worked it way too hard. He recommended another product, the #9 Swirl remover, which is similar to Scratch X but silicone free."

So it sounds like it's not a huge issue, but you can use the #9 swirl remover, which is silicone free to do the same job as the Scratch X. I'll have to look into picking some up.
 
Looks like from what I've been reading that silicone is only really an issue if you're planning to re-finish the surface, and proper prep before finishing can remove the issue. On a poly coat on a guitar, there's probably really not much you're going to do to re-finish it without stripping off the poly first anyway since nothing will really blend with it. For my needs, the Scratch X 2.0 will work fine, but if you're planning on re-finishing at any point and want to do it without any prep, then the swirl remover would be the better way to go. I'm still going to grab a bottle just to try it out. It's only like 10 bucks, so it's worth trying. I'm still learning about different products right now, so I'll try that out and post my results with it as well. :)
 
I did some scratch removal on a Variax a while back using a machine polisher & menzerna polish:

Before:

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After:

7.jpg
 
Wow! Gorgeous job! It came out amazing! :D

I was kind of thinking about getting the machine, but I think, just because I'm that way, I'd be too paranoid about overdoing it. Besides, I don't mind a little elbow grease. :)
 
You've offered some great info there, DLM. Thanks! :) I would add a couple of things, though.

I highly don't recommend Simple Green to clean guitars with. It's a detergent, and a harsh one at that. You don't want it on anything that doesn't have an intact poly finish. You don't want it to get on bare wood, into finish cracks, or on an oiled fingerboard (it not only strips away the oil that was applied, but it also takes out the wood's natural oils).

I have two preferred products for cleaning guitars: isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol will do) and a non-abrasive automotive body cleaner (I use Mothers Pre-Wax Cleaner). Both are safe for most finishes, and Alcohol is safe for just about anything. If one of those two products won't clean it, you'll need something abrasive.

For cleaning an oiled fretboard, it's hard to beat...oil! Mineral oil or most furniture oil will do. I use Old English Lemon Oil, and IMO, it's as good as anything else. Six bucks will buy you a bottle that'll last through a hundred fretboards. A little oil and an old toothbrush will lift out most crud; if the toothbrush won't do it, it's time to break out the steel wool.

And as you said, an automotive scratch remover, applied carefully, can make short work of shallow finish cracks.
 
DLM said:
I was kind of thinking about getting the machine, but I think, just because I'm that way, I'd be too paranoid about overdoing it.
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Good call. A machine polisher can get you in trouble if you're not familiar with it, and your guitar isn't where you want to learn. :)
 
True enough Rex. The reason I used simple green on this particular guitar though is because it had had a lot of exposure and gunk all over it. While it was in excellent, near mint condition generally, but it needed a lot of clean up. I made sure it was completely cleaned off after and I oiled the fretboard post using it. Typically I wouldn't use it for more minor cleaning, but in this case it needed it. Since I take such good care of my guitars, it likely won't need it ever again. :)
 
A little naptha on a rag will clean a rosewood or ebony fingerboard before oiling (go lightly on ebony as a lot of it is dyed to get it black w/o streaks, less than 10% of ebony looks like a guitar fingerboard). Super Glue will repair a poly finish (fill cracks and dings), Stewart MacDonald has clear and black in thin, medium and thick (also works well to fill cracks in an ebony fingerboard). Stewart MacDonald also sells foam polishing pads for use with a variable speed drill, be careful with these as if you're not careful you can easily build up heat and burn through a lacquer finish.
 
DLM said:
True enough Rex. The reason I used simple green on this particular guitar though is because it had had a lot of exposure and gunk all over it. While it was in excellent, near mint condition generally, but it needed a lot of clean up. I made sure it was completely cleaned off after and I oiled the fretboard post using it. Typically I wouldn't use it for more minor cleaning, but in this case it needed it. Since I take such good care of my guitars, it likely won't need it ever again. :)
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Understood. It's definitely your call, and I know you're careful, and probably more than a little experienced. Depending on the gunk involved, I'd be inclined to try a polishing compound, scratch remover, or Goo-Gone first, at least on a poly finish.
 
MaxTwang said:
A little naptha on a rag will clean a rosewood or ebony fingerboard before oiling...
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Naphtha spooks me a bit on oiled fingerboards, because it leaches out the oil, including the natural oils that rosewood has. Sure, you're going to replace that oil, but it stresses the wood, and you really want to just add what oil is needed instead of running the wood through a drying/oiling cycle.


MaxTwang said:
...go lightly on ebony as a lot of it is dyed to get it black w/o streaks, less than 10% of ebony looks like a guitar fingerboard...
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+1.


MaxTwang said:
Stewart MacDonald also sells foam polishing pads for use with a variable speed drill, be careful with these as if you're not careful you can easily build up heat and burn through a lacquer finish.
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+1 again. Handheld power tools are a risky way to buff a guitar. :)
 
Yeah Rex, I was quick about it and washed it all off before it was on there too long. I don't know what kind of crap it was exposed to, but it looked like it had never been in a case and wasn't in the best environment. Cleaned up, it looks practically brand new.
 
I really like the stuff from Gerlitz.
Their Guitar Honey works wonders on wood necks.
Their Polish is probably my Favorite too and the Cloth in their Combo Pack is friggin awesome.
Important to know your finish though, Gibsons use Nitrocellulose which works best with the Gibson Cleaner and/or Restore solutions.
 
I've heard great things about Gerlitz Guitar Honey. I didn't know about the polish though. I'll check that out.
 
Rex said:
+1 again. Handheld power tools are a risky way to buff a guitar. :)
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Not having a firm hold on a guitar when using a buffing arbor can also be a disaster as the buffer can pull the guitar out of your hands. With the handheld power tools you have to make sure the guitar is securely held in place - and keep moving to avoid heat build up!

On a side note, Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars recently bought an ebony mill in Cameroon where only 10% of ebony is black enough to be considered usable - 90% of ebony trees cut down are left to rot in the forest. Taylor plans to import fretboard blanks, but also will be promoting streaked and non-black ebony which is tonally equivalent to what we are used to. Hopes are that all the trees cut will make it to the mill and be used in instrument or other products. Except to see even more dye come off your ebony fretboard when cleaning, personally I'd like to see the ebony left natural as it adds character.
 
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