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  #1  
Old 12-11-2009, 01:11 PM
phamtasticxd phamtasticxd is offline
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Default How to clean

So I havent been able to play my guitar because of school and it's sitting there collecting dust =( I am a noob when it comes to cleaning guitars because I usually just wipe it with a cloth when I replace the strings. As you can see, I'm a noob =p I was wondering if you guys know any good cleaning kit that I can get at guitar center since I also have to replace my strings. =( And any tips/steps on how to clean. thanks. haha
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Old 12-11-2009, 01:44 PM
muscmp muscmp is offline
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welcome to the forum!

don't waste your money. just use a soft cloth and your breath. you may want to also clean the strings with a lint-free cloth.
mikeB.
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Old 12-11-2009, 01:48 PM
owlshead owlshead is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by muscmp View Post
welcome to the forum!

don't waste your money. just use a soft cloth and your breath. you may want to also clean the strings with a lint-free cloth.
mikeB.

agree with this... that is all I have been doing this 26-27 odd years...
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Old 12-11-2009, 02:05 PM
Jeff M Jeff M is offline
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The only "kit" I'd recommend is a clean cloth, some liquid soap, a bit of a wipe, and for the fretboard, a drop or two of mineral oil applied sparingly every year or two with a cloth then wipped off.
Less is more.
From Frets.com;
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musi...leaning01.html

Keep in mind that "guitar polish" acts by abrading away the surface layer of finish..thinning it out.
That's find for dealing with scratches/blemishes you can't remove with some liquid soap and a clean, damp cloth.
Other than that....I prefer to keep the protective value of a guitars finish at it's maximum.

AVOID any products that contain (or may contain) silicone.
If you need a polish, I'd recommend Virtuoso Polish or Petros Polish....a tiny bit....rarely.
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Old 12-11-2009, 02:28 PM
Tunes Tunes is offline
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I use Jim Dunlop Formula 65 guitar polish and cleaner. I don't think there's anything wrong with this either - and for a few bucks it came in a little kit with a nice polishing cloth.

On the bottle it does say for some strange reason it is designed for everyday players - and I play everyday - but I believe this means it is designed to be used every day if you wish.

Here is another thread that discusses the Dunlop product. YES - it does contain silicone according to this thread.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...ad.php?t=31312
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Old 12-11-2009, 02:43 PM
Jeff M Jeff M is offline
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Re; silicone and guitars....from Willilam Cumpiano's web site...an article titled "Don't Love your Guitar to Death".;
"The chemical industry provides thousands of products for home and industry. In the process, untold thousands-more compounds result: you try to create one useful chemical, in the process you end up with half a dozen other chemicals as by-products which you must get rid of. Or find a new use for. As a result, another industry has risen which busies itself in finding uses for all that stuff. Is it slick and oily? How about fingerboard oil!. Does it dry slick and shiny? How about furniture polish! Or guitar polish! Well, if its slick, and stays slick, it's probably loaded with silicones, and as a deep-throat-secret industry insider once revealed to me, many of the over-the-counter spray-on or rub-on guitar-care products are just that: silicone-based secondary by-products from the chemical industry.

Now silicones are really oils that never, never dry out. Now that could be a good thing, but that means that the stuff can "migrate" forever. You get some on your guitar, then on your hands, and you touch the table and leave some on the table, or the guitar leaves some on the case fabric, and then someone else touches the case fabric and carries some onto their guitar, and the stuff migrates every where and forever, because it just stays slick and sticky forever. For people who work on guitars, the stuff is hellish because NOTHING will stick to it, wherever it happens to be. Glue, finish, nothing. Whenever I see the lustrous, oily-slick, sticky film on a guitar from a well-meaning owner who has been persuaded that the guitar will somehow "die" or "dry up" because they're not lathering it ("nourishing it") with some commercial fingerboard oil or spray on guitar goop), I go into hazard-avoidance mode: I quarantine the case and take a roll of paper towels and disposable plastic gloves and wipe as much of the goo off as I can, and then go over the whole guitar with a good guitar "cleaner" (Martin makes one) and then toss all the paper and cloth debris into a plastic bag and ditch it. Then I wash my hands with soap and water. Then I start work on the guitar."

Cumpiano is a luthier, author of a highly recommended book on luthery.
Builders/guitar techs will tell you that silicone should be avoided.
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Old 12-11-2009, 02:50 PM
chistrummer chistrummer is offline
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I use Pledge.
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Old 12-11-2009, 03:38 PM
Tunes Tunes is offline
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If a guitar polish that is supposedly made for guitars STILL has potenitial issues with it (and it well may ...), frankly I can't imagine what "Pledge" or any furniture polish would potentially do to your guitar.

I would humbly, personally not recommend this. It is made for furniture - your guitar is not furniture.
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Old 12-11-2009, 04:38 PM
Jeff M Jeff M is offline
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I don't use any polishes on my guitar....furniture or otherwise...for the simple reason that they are not needed. Doesn't "protect" the guitar, and you can clean a guitar easily enough with a damp cloth and, if needed, a bit of liquid soap.
Combine that with the potential for problems such as can exist with using products containing silicone, the ubiquitousness of silicone in various products...labeled or not....no reason to risk it.
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Last edited by Jeff M; 12-11-2009 at 04:45 PM.
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  #10  
Old 12-11-2009, 04:49 PM
edman edman is offline
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I don't advise leaving a Taylor 814 sitting around out of the case for extended periods of time. Keeping it in it's case will keep it clean and safe.
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Old 12-12-2009, 12:16 PM
phamtasticxd phamtasticxd is offline
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thanks guys. I leave it outside the case because i remember someone tell me on the forums that I shouldnt leave it in. haha.
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Old 12-12-2009, 01:26 PM
Jeff M Jeff M is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phamtasticxd View Post
thanks guys. I leave it outside the case because i remember someone tell me on the forums that I shouldnt leave it in. haha.

Never seen that advice before.
Other than wanting to keep a guitar more "handy" to pick up, there is no reason NOT to keep a guitar in it's case.
It's protected from accidental bumps/crashes, and is in a controlled humidity environment.

Always kept mine in their cases...and they are in great shape.
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  #13  
Old 12-12-2009, 02:17 PM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Hi pham…
Something that has not been mentioned so far is Naptha (otherwise bottled under the Lighter Fluid category).

It is a great solvent, will not damage finish, and when it evaporates, leaves no residue.

I try a cloth first, a little moisture (breath) next, and if all else fails, then the Naptha. The only difference between me and my luthier is I buy it in 1/2 pints bottled for Ronson as lighter fluid, and he buys it in gallon cans.

A little naptha on the corner of a cotton rag will cut through the most troubling body oils or other residue on the body of a guitar.

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Old 12-12-2009, 02:50 PM
Howard Klepper Howard Klepper is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by petelor View Post
I use Pledge.
Silicone city. A mistake. You may never suffer the ill effects, which arise mainly if any refinish or finish touchup is ever needed. Less often, it can impede gluing.
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