Goo-Gone Anyone?
 

So, I'm sitting here at my desk removing price stickers from a couple of books I got today (I don't know why some of these book stores use those things) and got to wondering how well Goo-Gone would work as a guitar body and fretboard cleaner.

Their web site is no help and the only thing it says on the bottle is that it's good for "most" surfaces. Active ingredients are shown as "petroleum distillates".....I've never used it on a guitar's body OR fretboard....

Anyone have any experience with using this stuff on their guitars?? I think it would be less abrasive than some of the so-called guitar polish I've seen.

And, it sure has a nice "lemony" smell to it. Any opinions?

I did use the Goo-Gone brand stuff on some guitars to remove adhesive (from camera tape or velcro)
No trouble to date.
BUT (disclaimer) : I would test on some not so visible part of the finish before commiting. I wouldn't be considered responsible of a disaster.

I don't know, either, if the stuff could be good to clean the fretboard. I never clean my fretboards, anyway.
Goo-Gone is not sold as a wood protecting product. Who knows what's inside the bottle ? Handy for a lot of things, tho. And nice lemon smell indeed.

Jean-Paul Bataille
www.fingerstyle-guitar.com/jean-paul_bataille/

Coincidentally, last night I used some to clean pickguard goop off the top of my Guild CO-2, which has a nitro finish. I tested it on a comparatively inconspicuous place, saw no sign of ill effects, and proceeded to use quite a bit of the stuff. Twenty four hours later, the smell is almost completely gone, and the finish is fine.

Of course, YMMV, and all that, but I thought it was funny, as I'd just decided, somewhat on a lark, to try it last night.

The guitar, btw, looks much better w/out a guard. :D

I just used Goof-off to remove pickguard goop.. earlier tonight. On my Silvercreek T170 which is a poly finish I think. No issues as well. Messy though...

http://www.kmvhuang.net/vincent/pics...s/SCT170_3.jpg

Vincent

:eek::eek::eek:! Man! At first glance I thought you were going to say your finish was peeling away after looking at that picture, Vincent! Glad it's just PG Goo! :D.


Ryan

If I were me I'd stick with plain ol' naptha. I"ve never seen it hurt any kind of finish yet, and I've used it on almost every kind of finish you can think of - lacquer, shellac, polyurethane and old-fashioned varnish.

It's clean, evaporates quickly, and relatively cheap.

Jeff

I just edited my post above, I used Goof-off and it left no residue. Squeaky clean!!

Vincent

I'd only use goo-gone (or any other solvent) on a well finished (poly not laquer) surface. I would NOT use it on an unfinished wood like your fingerboard. If your fingerboard is dirty, use a good wood cleaning product followed by a good wood conditioner. A very dilute Murphy's oil application would work for cleaning. Pledge makes a revitalizing oil. Don't use petroleum-based solvents on naked wood, they can dry and check it.

Ive used it a couple of times on a really dirty fingerboard when i bought a used guitar - and then when it dried I used lemon oil on it-worked well for me ( Rosewood fingerboard )

I agree about naphtha -- it is, after all, the Erlewine approved solvent. I just didn't have any on hand, I had some Goo Gone, and I was too lazy/impatient to get naphtha -- so I gave it a whirl. I expected a critical failure, even on the small test spot. But it turned out just fine.

So, while it may not be the best, it can work with care.

We recently bought a new washer-dryer set (high-end front loads equivalent in cost to the street value of new 800-series Taylor) which has the plastic front doors you can see through. The delivery guy said NOT to use Goo Gone on those doors as they would cause it to become hazy and harder to see through. Instead he recommended using WD-40. We did and it worked PERFECTLY. I don't know if WD40 would work as well on guitars but if it left the finish "clearer" than the goo gone on the washer, it may do the same on guitars. You would probably want to search a bit on the internet to see if anyone else has used it on guitar finishes.

Maybe I'm out of the loop on this, but I can't believe anyone would consider using a petroleum distillate on wood, or for that matter, anything that wasn't enamel or stainless steel. And WD-40? Wow. I oil hinges with that.

I've used Oops -- a naphtha product -- to pull many pickguards, and it's very kind to poly finishes. Never e hiccup. For the fingerboard, a drink of lemon oil to quench a winter thirst. As God intended. ; )

I believe naptha IS a petroleum distillate, isn't it?

Jeff