How Do I Know The Table Is Clean When Using Naphtha And Steel Wool

Keeping your guitar clean is i of the best means to guarantee its health, prevent costly repairs, and increase its longevity. While the relic movement is cool, it doesn't requite you a gratis laissez passer from properly caring for your guitar.

But if you make clean your guitar improperly, yous could end upwards doing more harm than you would only by playing information technology. Then what exactly is "proper care?" Nosotros waded through all of the sales and marketing speak to get to the real upshot – how to clean your instrument without doing impairment.

To answer this question, we enlisted the assistance of Matt Brooker, a Technical Counselor for repair shop supplier Stewart MacDonald. StewMac fields repair calls from all over the land, and many StewMac employees fifty-fifty run their own musical instrument repair shops.

Matt talked with us about the all-time practices for cleaning your guitar's finish, hardware, and moving parts.

Polishing Your Guitar's Finish

How to care for a glossy stop is the main question StewMac receives nigh cleaning. We all know that at that place's nothing like that brand new instrument look before the glossy finish fades under countless finger smudges. One time your guitar is a chip likewise filled with character, it'due south time to reach for the polish to bring back that old luster.

But wait – not just whatever smooth will do. Information technology'south important to make sure that you're using the right production based on your instrument's finish. StewMac recommends a silicone-free cleaner. They make a product called "Preservation Smoothen," which is safe for all cease types.

"Once your guitar is a chip too filled with graphic symbol, it'due south time to reach for the polish to bring back that old luster."

The silicone and micro-grits in aggressive polish restores the shine by sanding abroad the scratches in a muddy finish. However, these silicone-based products add together a layer to the guitar'south existing finish, making repairs really hard – glues and new finish have difficulty attaching to the new layer of silicone. Instead of polishing your guitar'due south finish, you lot should be cleaning the end.

Matt warns that nitrocellulose finishes are always frail, so accept care to not be besides aggressive with your cleaning. If you have a very muddied stop of whatsoever type, Matt recommends naphtha, which is a denatured booze and the main ingredient in lighter fluid.

While naphtha is safe on catchy nitro finishes, it's important to be extra careful. Nitro takes a very long time to cure, and Matt estimates that most Gibsons are shipped with less than 6 weeks of drying time.

Every bit a Gibson owner myself, I utilise just my breath and a dry cloth to clean the back of my new guitar's neck for about two years. After two years, the finish is settled enough to graduate to a damp rag for cleaning. Matt suggests using Preservation Polish when a more thorough clean is needed. Think: nitro is ever sensitive, and so less is more than in all cases.

Another common question is how to clean a matte finished guitar. Matt recommends using dust-free polish with light pressure to clean matte, semi-gloss, and satin finishes. He stresses that satin finishes do non become glossy if they are cleaned properly. With these finishes, information technology is especially important to stay away from aggressive polishes, as the grits will mar a satin stop and silicone will build up upon the finish unevenly.

Cleaning Your Fretboard

Fretboards are past far the areas on guitars that crave the most consistent cleaning. Finished maple boards demand petty more to exist wiped downwardly with a dry out or clammy rag betwixt cord changes, while unfinished maple boards are best left lonely. For rosewood, the level of grime determines the course of action.

StewMac Fingerboard Guards

For very a dirty rosewood or baked maple board, Matt suggests wiping it with a clammy naphtha rag before using fine steel wool to remove the grime. He emphasizes that steel wool can be especially messy effectually pickups, so brand sure that you're careful.

Matt also notes that naphtha tends to dry out the surface of the woods, so information technology'due south best to follow upwardly with a light lemon oil application. Nether normal conditions, this should only exist washed once or twice a year.

Matt believes that taping off the fretboard to clean the frets is more work than necessary and recommends using StewMac Fingerboard Guards instead. For light fret cleaning, 3M flexible polishing papers in the finest grit are the perfect product.

Taking Care of Hardware

For hardware, Matt suggests using a soft-bristle toothbrush to brush away most grime between string changes. For heavier grime, Matt advised giving the parts a bathroom in naphtha and a few drops of 3-in-one oil or Tri-Flow. The naphtha will lift off rust and full general grime, and the oil will add a bit of lubrication to the parts.

Information technology is particularly important, Matt warns, to accept extra care with the plating on all hardware – especially gold. Removing the gilt hue past over-polishing is easier than you think. A clammy rag is usually all that is needed to restore the smooth to most plated hardware.

Using the Right Lubricants

Moving parts, such every bit vibrato/tremolo units and truss rod nuts, are oftentimes neglected until it's also late, and they've become potent and corroded. For cleaning and lubing the contact points of Strat and Floyd-style tremolos, Matt suggests using a tiny bead of Tri-Flow.

"Cleaning an instrument is best done sparingly, just proper care volition keep it functioning at its highest capacity for years."

I've used 3-in-one oil to lightly lubricate a stiff Bigsby arm, also. Also, a tiny bit of vaseline on a truss rod can salvage hundreds of dollars on future repairs – a dab on a Q-tip is all it takes. Always beginning with a tiny amount of lubrication before adding more if needed. Be safe, and ever have a rag around in case you lot miss!

Cleaning an instrument is all-time done sparingly, but proper care will keep it functioning at its highest capacity for years. Later all, your instrument should last longer than you do. Be smart, use the correct products, and y'all'll never take to deal with rusty parts and cloudy, gummy finishes.

Matt's Final Warning

A customer once brought in their original 1959 Les Paul 'Burst to Dan Erlewine's shop. Before Dan could stop him, the customer covered the guitar in aggressive car smoothen and polished like his life depended on it.

When he was through, all of the patina was gone, as was the vintage vibe. The customer had paid $180,000 for this guitar, and his misguided cleaning attempt depreciated the guitar so much that he was only able to resell it for $60,000.

The lesson? Always avoid working on a vintage finish.