Cleaning a guitar finish

hillbilly

hillbilly

Inspired
I've got a cloudy, grimy wax buildup and sweat stains on the top of my black Les Paul. Any tips on cutting through it and getting it off?
 
I'm using this:
Dunlop Formula 65 Polish Kit

However, you shouldn't use it on a regular basis (maybe once every two or three months), as most cleaners will always take some finish with them.
If you always clean your guitar with a micro-fibre tissue after playing, chances are, your guitar will never get dirty enough to actually need a cleaner.


For the fretboard, use lemon oil. Works great for removing finger fat (Best advice is to use it every time you change strings).
 
I have had my Les Paul for 32 years and just recently found something in the past three years. No matter what I cleaned it with the back of the neck became very tacky quickly. My guitar tech turned me on to "MusicNomad" products.

I use three of there products, the first. "Pro Strength Guitar Polish" this is like a compound and should not be used all that often I was told once a year/use your judgement. The first time I used it was kind of scary, was concentrating on the back of the neck at first I though I was stripping the neck what was on that rag was incredible. But it does the job and didn't hurt the paint. My neck has never been tacky since and the guitar just looked better in general. I have only used this twice in the past three years.

The next one I use is "All Purpose Guitar Detailer" this can be used with any finish but is primarily for your nitro finishes, it cleans but there is no wax or silicon. This is your daily cleaner, so to say.

The third I use is "The Guitar One" this one is for the modern finishes this is your "Clean Polish Wax" in one step.

After using these products everything else just went into the trash can since I knew I would never touch them again.

John
 
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+2 with the Dunlop polish though I don't use the string or fret board cleaners. Lemon oil for the fret board and a good wipe down of the guitar with a micro fiber cloth after each time I play, keeps the grime from building up. Of corse washing your hands before you play helps keep the strings and fret board clean. I do a compleet cleaning each string change about (15-20 hrs of play time) my guitar is always squeaky clean can't stand to play let alone touch a grungy guitar.
 
Thank you, gentlemen...I'll give these a try. I sweat like crazy onstage and the near-sandpaper-like buildup on the Paul is getting pretty gross. My other stage guitars remain unaffected, oddly enough.
 
I hate the Nitro finish on Les Pauls... my one and only Les Paul suffers from "Sticky Neck" which I've been told has to do with it being over coated prior to previous coats properly curing.

What Does Sticky Neck mean?

Basically, you polish it up, and it's like a perfect finish, and normal. After about 15 minutes of playing though, it starts to get tacky and actually soft enough that you leave fingerprints, causing drag and well just being sticky....... however, polishing restores it. Apparently, my only option is to completely strip and refinish the entire guitar....

Anyways, my point is, I have 2 dozen other guitars that are not Nitro and I just use Dunlop 65 with a microfiber cloth. No problems, I wipe down after every play (guitar and strings and neck) and store in cases and all my guitars look as good as the day I bought them and my strings last upwards of 6 months.
 
Severed - The sticky neck you describe is more likely due to someone using a cleanser that affected the finish properties. When this happens a chemical reaction occurs and the finish is permanently softened. You may want to check with Stew Mac, perhaps there is a finish hardener of sorts that can reintroduce the hardening catalyst - or perhaps your finish just needs to be steel wooled so your guitar plays well again. Who cares if the neck is "purdy" If it isn't playing well?
 
Gibson Guitar Polish works very well on grimy buildup for me. Orange and white bottle using it for years. Dunlop for a nice quick shine.
 
Regarding lemon oil for fingerboards: my luthier told me not to use it as it dries the wood. Viol is great as is standard sewing machine oil.
 
kerrlehr said:
Severed - The sticky neck you describe is more likely due to someone using a cleanser that affected the finish properties. When this happens a chemical reaction occurs and the finish is permanently softened. You may want to check with Stew Mac, perhaps there is a finish hardener of sorts that can reintroduce the hardening catalyst - or perhaps your finish just needs to be steel wooled so your guitar plays well again. Who cares if the neck is "purdy" If it isn't playing well?
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Yup, thanks, been through all this already, and the end result was determined to be the curing process from 3 different techs, including Gibson USA.

not a huge deal, I got the 2002 Les Paul Standard 2nd hand through a trade, total out of pocket for me was $800 for a $3000 guitar :)
 
merlin17 said:
Regarding lemon oil for fingerboards: my luthier told me not to use it as it dries the wood. Viol is great as is standard sewing machine oil.
Click to expand...

Sorry I have to completely disagree after nearly 30 years of using Lemon oil on over 2 dozen guitars regularly and not a single one of them has any drying out, and in fact I would put money on that my rosewood is more "moist" because of it.
 
First use Naphtha to degrease the areas and overall the guitar.

Second i recommend using the Fine compound from Stewart MacDonald and finally using the Swirl Remover from Stewart MacDonald.

The secret to achieve a mirror like look to dull finishes is to do it the right way, you have to go from Medium to Fine to Swirl Remover and USE 100% COTTON with fine and final polishing, nothing, and i really mean nothing is better the pure cotton for this.

Another thing to bare in mind is to cut your finger nails, many times over the years i have scratch my head wondering when polishing where the hell did that scratch came from, it was my nails.

Ive been restoring dead finished for a very long time and the advise i give is what works for me and gets the job done on a pro level look.
 
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