Heritage H-575 Refurbishing Gummy Grover Tuners

[Hal]

Hi All,

Any suggestions on how to clean and lubricate closed back Grover tuners?  I emailed Grover and they said closed back tuners are not meant to be lubricated or cleaned.  

So here is what I did:

Step 1-remove the tuners from the guitar by first unscrewing the nut and washer on face of the headstock then remove the screw from the backside of headstock ** Be careful when removing tuner it may be stuck to the finish, if so,  SOFTLY tap the post from the top side of the guitar, if it doesn’t come out don’t force it as you can do the lubricating while they are attached.  I would not do any clean as the cleaning fluid could damage the finish of your guitar, just lubricate.

Step 2 -take out the screw at the top of the knob and remove the metal and nylon washer at the bottom of the shaft   Pic#3

Step 3- spray carburetor cleaner down the 2 posts(string and knob), let dry for 1/2 hr.    Pic #1 and 2

Step 4- apply 2 drops of silicone lubricant down each post and work the tuner back and forth until it operates properly, wipe off any excess lubricant that may drain out.  

Step 5-reassemble the tuner, when screwing on screw to the knob don’t over tighten just a very light snug is fine.  You can clean the chrome with a few drops of Brasso, and reinstall. ***Keep in mind just tighten the top nut just a very little otherwise it will leave an indentation around the washer of the headstock face.  Good luck!

[kbp810]

Nice work to get some extra life out of the tuners

I always tend to just replace them when they start feeling gummy or gritty; but then that sometimes means having shiny new tuners on an otherwise naturally aged guitar (I suppose perhaps swapping over the buttons might be a good compromise there; assuming replacing with same or compatible brand). But about the same amount of effort to try cleaning them. 

 

 

[kennyv4]

Thanks for the step by step instructions.

[DetroitBlues]

Nice work!