Polish Advice Please

[JeffB]

how often do you polish a guitar?

[Keith7940236]

I wanted to thank everyone for the advice. I picked up some Virtuoso cleaner and polish yesterday. I got up early and used the cleaner on the Eagle. It looks great!!! I'm going to use the polish when I get home this evening. Man I love the way that it brought out the grain in the mahogany, reallly beautiful.

 

I'm getting my 09 Prospect back from the luthier after getting set up later this week. I'm going to put down a good layer of polish on it also.

 

On a side note, I called Heritage yesterday. I didn't get the name of the gentleman that I spoke with, I think he said it was "Marv". Anyway, he told me that with the age of the finish ('92), that it was sufficiently cured and that if I wanted, I could use a little Lemon Pledge to shine it up.

[Kuz]

how often do you polish a guitar?

 

2-3 times per year. The Virtuoso last so long (the shiny, slick feeling) that all I do is wipe the guitar down with a clean guitar cloth after playing. It last a long time keeping the guitar looking good but also keeps the neck fast.

 

I feel Virtuoso is the best, but let's face it.... all guitar polishes are some sort of high end car polish. I have heard you can use Meguiar's car polish. It is just a marketing theme that this polish won't harm a guitar, this one is good for your car, ect..... That said Virtuoso seems to have something making it a little better than the other guitar polishes I have used.

[Hfan]

Regarding polish etc I have heard to avoid anything containing silicon as it can make any future repairs harder to accomplish FWIW. Back in the day all we used was what mom had around for the furniture and I can recall no guitars self destructing as a result. Maybe Lemon Pledge is the answer..

[tbonesullivan]

lemon pledge, last I checked it, is chock full of silicone. Trombone players used to use it to keep their slides lubed.

 

I polish my guitars once or twice a year. I also have a big dunlop microfiber cloth to wipe down the thing with, after every playing. Mainly the neck and contact points.

[bolero]

honestly, why buy guitar polish??

 

I use a damp cotton cloth once in a while...

 

in his book, dan erlewine says to use spit & polish!! as well as naptha

 

also in his book, erlewine says to avoid silicone as it will mess up any future finish repairs

 

*edited for crimes against grammar*

[Gitfiddler]

Yea, I also heard about (and witnessed) the saliva method. That's OK for small areas, but what about restoring a big area on a nasty neglected guitar's finish? Yuck!!

 

Last night I had the pleasure of cleaning a 5 year old instrument that appeared to have never been wiped down or cared for. It was like a horse that had been run hard and put away wet many times!

 

From a distance it looked fine, but close up it was a mess from headstock to end pin. I disassembled the guitar and then spit all over it!!

 

OK, no I didn't.

 

I used Virtuosso Cleaner and it brought back the guitar's original luster, erased minor finish cracks, diminished some backside rub wear and even made the gold plated metal parts shine! At this point I see no need to apply Virtuosso Polish. I may, but not now. The finish is super slick!

I can't speak highly enough about that stuff for restoring neglected finishes. Great product!

[tbonesullivan]

My issue with virtuoso is that ability to get rid of cracks seemingly. The question is, how is it doing it? is there an abrasive in the polish, or is it some kind of wax that fills in the cracks?

[bolero]

 

From a distance it looked fine, but close up it was a mess from headstock to end pin. I disassembled the guitar and then spit all over it!!

 

 

LOL!!

[MichYank]

Yup, Virtuoso and a dab of rosewood oil for the rosewood neck.

[unikh550]

Also, Preservation Polish, by Stew-Mac. Get a price break if you order 7 or more of those huge bottles.

[GuitArtMan]

Also, Preservation Polish, by Stew-Mac. Get a price break if you order 7 or more of those huge bottles.

Did you really like the Preservation Polish? Man I found that stuff horrible - left a film/haze that all the rubbing on the plannet could not get rid of. I couldn't throw the bottle away fast enough.

[Guest HRB853370]

Did you really like the Preservation Polish? Man I found that stuff horrible - left a film/haze that all the rubbing on the plannet could not get rid of. I couldn't throw the bottle away fast enough.

 

Good thing you didn't order 7 bottles or more!!!

[tbonesullivan]

I've used preservation polish, and had great success with it. It is however not like some polishes, in that you don't let it dry before buffing it out. If it leaves a residue, use it again, as it means there is something on the guitar that it hasn't cut through yet.

[unikh550]

Poster is correct that Preservation Polish should not set for any time, or it WILL leave a residue. I use the softest rags or pieces of old shirts to get it off of the guitar immediately, in a circular motion, overlapping these circles until it's mirrorlike. You do need to shake the bottle every week or so to keep the polish from being watery. Gibson and Martin polishes are far too filmy. The Martin polishes have been condemned quite a bit by posters on the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum (UMGF.com). Lizard Spit is also pretty good. Be extremely careful with Naptha; will leave marks on areas of the guitar that are impossible to take off. Is great for removing adhesives like pickguard backing, however.

[tbonesullivan]

Poster is correct that Preservation Polish should not set for any time, or it WILL leave a residue. I use the softest rags or pieces of old shirts to get it off of the guitar immediately, in a circular motion, overlapping these circles until it's mirrorlike. You do need to shake the bottle every week or so to keep the polish from being watery. Gibson and Martin polishes are far too filmy.

Which Gibson Polish? I don't like their whole "luthier's choice" polish, but the pump polish seems to be very light and doesn't leave much of anything on the guitar. It's almost more of a cleaner than anything else.

[DetroitBlues]

When it comes to pump polish or wax like polishes from companies like Dunlop, I always apply to the the cloth and rub on the guitar, then use a second clean cloth to remove the excess.

[sluggo88]

Use Novus 2, then Virtuoso cleaner, then Virtuoso polish. The virtuoso is the best product out there for nitro finishes. Also drink 3 beers while you do the polishing. Beer is the second best product out there.