Cleaning an old guitar

[Singin' Dave]

I just acquired a beat up 70's Guild S-300D for cheap and it's pretty filthy. I tried to clean it using my old faithful Googlies guitar polish, which I've used for years on acoustics and older guitars etc. with great results.

The polish typically will sit on the finish and shine it up but in this case, it soaked in right away on contact and when I wiped the guitar, it basically smeared the dirt around.

This is an old guitar with I believe a poly finish, but there are hairline cracks, some chips down to the wood etc.

So how do I clean it and get it shining as best it can? Soap and water followed by a buffing agent of some sort (Mirror Finish #9 et al)?

Any tips are much appreciated.

Sorry..no pics yet of this thing.

[Dom]

NO WATER! Use naphtha (lighter fluid) and a cotton rag to get the filth off, then proceed with a damp microfibre cloth and guitar polish.

[gkoelling]

windex and then polish

or

lemon oil and then polish

Some will raise a stink saying they would never touch a guitar with windex but guitars are finished with either nitro, or poly. Both are tougher than windex. Heck, they used to paint cars with nitro. Can you imagine a car finish that delicate?

The lemon oil is good for your fret board too. Like windex, people will freak about lemon oil on rosewood, let 'em. I've been using it almost 30 years and have never had a problem. I asked a builder about it once, he said, "Greg, it's wood! It's not that fragile, just use lemon oil but not more than once or twice a year."

[AzCat]

Originally Posted by Dom

NO WATER! Use naphtha (lighter fluid) and a cotton rag to get the filth off, then proceed with a damp microfibre cloth and guitar polish.

+1 Someone should sell naptha branded as "Miracle Guitar Crud Remover".

[DonW]

After you've got the crud off Virtuoso Premium Cleaner/Polish will help rejuvenate the finish. It's worked wonders bringing back surfaces that had been buried for many years on a couple guitars of mine.

[GtrDr]

Maguires #6

[1bender]

+1 for Virtuoso Premium Cleaner/Polish...great product and only $10 a bottle.

[old goat]

The fact that your polish soaked in suggests that there may not be much original finish left--you may be looking at the stain under the finish.I don't know enough to tell you what to use but I can tell you that what you use on an intact finish may not be safe on bare wood. Water will raise the grain, anything with oil or any color will stain the bare areas. If in doubt try whatever you use on a piece of bare wood, as well as on an inconspicuous area of the guitar with intact finish.

[Reeltarded]

No... it's MISERABLE GOO! THAT IS DNA! YUCK!

Simple. You need GoJo Original Hand Cleaner.

NOT Citrus, please not Pumice! Original. Brush it on thick, let it sit two minutes, and rub hard, redo, redo, redo.

It will also keep a '50s Les Paul from checking. Who'd have known?

[gkoelling]

I didn't know they still made that stuff!

[Rosewood]

I've cleaned with just about everthing but never used Go Jo. Do they still make the original? I still remember what it smells like.

[magnido45]

Originally Posted by 1bender

+1 for Virtuoso Premium Cleaner/Polish...great product and only $10 a bottle.

+2...You don't need Billy Mays to sell this stuff...it sells itself!!!

[Singin' Dave]

Thanks guys! I do have a jar of naptha around and will try to find some Virtuoso - do thet sell that at GC?

[magnido45]

Originally Posted by Singin' Dave

Thanks guys! I do have a jar of naptha around and will try to find some Virtuoso - do thet sell that at GC?

yes

[Reeltarded]

They do make GoJo still, and some other generic hand cleaners. Just look for a big tub with no pumice, and lanolin.

Like washing a baby. Leaves nothing but the originality. You could clean the Sisteen Chapel with it.