Cleaner for thin water based satin finish on acoustic guitars

[Talk2Me]

Originally Posted by jseth

This should ALWAYS be your first step with questions about your guitar... contact the maker and find out what they recommend!

Seems so obvious to me; I don't understand why it is not the default setting for so many people... especially in this day and age, with the ease of email and free telephone calls.

Just call 'em up and be certain you're doing the right thing...

Exactly! I think it's funny that people ask at an open internet forum first. Way to get a ton of misinformation.

Here's the folks that will know for sure (from the Taylor website):

Contact us at 1 800 943 6782 or email us at [email protected]

[BigTim]

Originally Posted by Talk2Me

Exactly! I think it's funny that people ask at an open internet forum first. Way to get a ton of misinformation.

Here's the folks that will know for sure (from the Taylor website):

Contact us at 1 800 943 6782 or email us at [email protected]

You guys may think it may be a little funny since I just forked over 4k for a guitar but too cheap for the correct specific brand name cleaner and why not just call Taylor?

I already have some nice cleaners from reputable brands, Dunlop, etc and I just wanted to see who else uses what I may have already on their thin water based finishes.

Isn't this what the forum is for???


I appreciate the information though regardless but if I can get the same results without spending 30 bucks for a specific bottle of cleaner that's mostly H2O with 1 part mild soap....I can just make my own

And use the 30 bucks toward something else like strings or whatever.

See Taylor used to recommend spray on automotive wax/cleaner for their regular gloss finishes and I do have a bottle of that left....but since I no longer own a gloss finish acoustic I dare not spray that on this one as I knew already the silicon would fill the pores up on this open grain wood and eventually deaden the sound

And of course the old tee shirt and spit always works too.....but I do not feel like taking the time to fill up a little spritzer with my own saliva....although I hear that Bohemian Saliva is what someone really wants to clean the coveted vintage pieces with but that stuff is pretty rare in these parts in TN where I reside and probably cost much more than I would want to spend anyway��

So again, I thank everyone for their advice and I mean everyone too!!

[Bowie]

There are people who just trust that the builder (who happens to sell a cleaner) knows best and that you shouldn't question. But, I respect the inquisitive mind that wants to know if there's a better way. I can't imagine how boring my collection would be if I didn't always wonder if there was something better.

And, regarding the comment about "misinformation" online, I got a little laugh from that. Sure but, in my line of work, there is a LOT of "less than ideal" info published on builder websites because the builders either sell a companion product, service, or various other reasons. Just trusting a large company to think for me isn't the way I like to do things and I can't wrap my head around people being told not to seek information.

[Talk2Me]

Originally Posted by Bowie

There are people who just trust that the builder (who happens to sell a cleaner) knows best and that you shouldn't question. But, I respect the inquisitive mind that wants to know if there's a better way. I can't imagine how boring my collection would be if I didn't always wonder if there was something better.

And, regarding the comment about "misinformation" online, I got a little laugh from that. Sure but, in my line of work, there is a LOT of "less than ideal" info published on builder websites because the builders either sell a companion product, service, or various other reasons. Just trusting a large company to think for me isn't the way I like to do things and I can't wrap my head around people being told not to seek information.

I never stated that any company should just be trusted. What I was getting at is that the creator of the item is usually the first place to get info about it (including how to best care for it). If you feel that's tainted by bias and sales then so be it but it's a jumping off point as opposed to the open internet where people can just say anything about anything no matter what their biases, opinions or factual misinformation they believe.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by Talk2Me

I never stated that any company should just be trusted. What I was getting at is that the creator of the item is usually the first place to get info about it (including how to best care for it). If you feel that's tainted by bias and sales then so be it but it's a jumping off point as opposed to the open internet where people can just say anything about anything no matter what their biases, opinions or factual misinformation they believe.

If someone does not have the judgement or ability to discern good advice from bad, then yes, they should stay off of forums. I generally find the people on this forum are capable of collection information, keeping what's useful, and discarding the rest. That's the purpose this forum serves so it seem odd to me that a forum member with hundreds of posts would advise against getting advice from a forum ("I think it's funny that people ask at an open internet forum first. Way to get a ton of misinformation.").

That's all I really have to say about it and and I hope you can agree to disagree. I'm not going to extend this into a back and forth.

[Iain1231]

Originally Posted by BigTim

Hey guys, I am just curious what some of you use for just average wipe down for a clear satin water based finish with out clogging up the finish any.


I was thinking mild soap and water would work well but I want to see what some of you guys might use.

How bout virtuoso polish, and it may also give it an amazing shine

[phavriluk]

Originally Posted by BigTim

You guys may think it may be a little funny since I just forked over 4k for a guitar but too cheap for the correct specific brand name cleaner and why not just call Taylor?

I already have some nice cleaners from reputable brands, Dunlop, etc and I just wanted to see who else uses what I may have already on their thin water based finishes.

Isn't this what the forum is for???


I appreciate the information though regardless but if I can get the same results without spending 30 bucks for a specific bottle of cleaner that's mostly H2O with 1 part mild soap....I can just make my own

And use the 30 bucks toward something else like strings or whatever.

See Taylor used to recommend spray on automotive wax/cleaner for their regular gloss finishes and I do have a bottle of that left....but since I no longer own a gloss finish acoustic I dare not spray that on this one as I knew already the silicon would fill the pores up on this open grain wood and eventually deaden the sound

And of course the old tee shirt and spit always works too.....but I do not feel like taking the time to fill up a little spritzer with my own saliva....although I hear that Bohemian Saliva is what someone really wants to clean the coveted vintage pieces with but that stuff is pretty rare in these parts in TN where I reside and probably cost much more than I would want to spend anyway��

So again, I thank everyone for their advice and I mean everyone too!!

Those nostrums-in-a-bottle sold off the backs of virtual medicine wagons....slightly damped old t-shirt (wash it first) will do just fine and is all but free. No agonizing over how to waste one's money, no overthinking needed.