Restoring a nitro finish's luster

[Blunote]

There's been a lot of advice given on another thread concerning how to prevent damage to a nitro finish, but I'm left wondering what can be done to restore the shine once it's dulled.

 

I notice a couple of areas on my guitars have dulled from contact with my skin. The Dunlop polish I've been using doesn't appear to make much difference.

 

Is the answer to clean, and apply touch up? Or are there products that will remove the haze or truly polish the remaining laquer?

[tulk1]

Isn't the Virtuoso stuff supposed to help do that?

[big bob]

polishing compound, and a buffer wheel, or just plain old elbow grease but don't push hard. Think wax on/ wax off. About 5 or 6 coats should do. Next a nice wax with no silicone in it. will look like new

[morg21279]

My Golden Eagle had some hazy spots, so my luthier went over the whole thing by hand with 2000 grit wet and dry paper soaked in mineral spirits, then buffed it with wax and a wheel. Looks amazing. Probably not a job for the first-timer.

[Blunote]

Good info.

 

I'll definitely try the virtuoso, or some of the low-risk fixes. Think I'll leave the sanding part to a pro if it ever gets to that point.

 

has any one sprayed on additional nitro?

[ButteredBiskit]

Use compound an go with the grain of the wood. Do NOT wax on, wax off when buffing by hand. If you do, you will cause large circular scratches on the surface. Using compound is just like wet sanding, just finer. Start with a medium or medium/light cut compound and work your way up.

[DCA]

Blunote,

 

Could you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "dulled from contact with my skin?"

 

If you were dealing with simple wear produced by normal strumming scratches or abrasion with your skin in the finish layers, your polish should have diminished them--polish, polishing compounds, or finishing sand papers are mild abrasives that grind down the finish in the area around the scratch, this process reduces the acute angle of the scratch and diminishes its ability to reflect light. When you polish you turn a bold, 24pt font captal "V" into a 9pt lower case "u". A light coat of natural carnauba wax will fill in the "u," and produce a mirror-like finish. Steer clear of silicone or space age miracle waxes or any wax that promises to be long lasting. You want a wax that oxidizes and simply flakes away. Silicones and other artificial miracle waxes bond with your finish and create problems down the road.

 

What are you using as a polish cloth? Remember, nitro is a very fragile finish and a dirty polishing cloth--no matter what it is made from, or how perfectly designed for the application--will leave "spider webs" in a finish if it is dirty. Hand polishing should involve at least three clean cloths. The first, damp, cloth is used to clean the area, the second is used to polish the area, and the third, slightly damp cloth, is used to buff the area. Each should be spotlessly clean, this is no place for comandeered bathroom washcloths. Also, you should continuously fold the cloth an use a new, clean surface during each stage. I prefer 100% pure cotton cloths. New, good quality ladies' briefs are a good, cheap source (Ladies briefs seem to be made with a softer weave than mens'). Also, you can purchase dedicated polishing cloths from various online stores, but they'll be more expensive than a package of ladies briefs.

 

Having said all that, I'm wondering if you aren't having a body chemistry issue with your finish? Your description suggests that it might be more of a clouding issue than a scratch issue? Or am I reading your question wrong?

 

Finally, is there any chance that you're wearing through your gloss coats and seeing dull stain or paint?

[tbonesullivan]

try the gibson pump polish. it did wonders for the hazy areas on my H-535 (like the ENTIRE pickguard). THe only real way to get back that showroom shine though is to use polishing compound or even get an overspray and rebuff.

[Blunote]

Blunote,

 

Could you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "dulled from contact with my skin?"

 

.... I'm wondering if you aren't having a body chemistry issue with your finish? Your description suggests that it might be more of a clouding issue than a scratch issue? Or am I reading your question wrong?

 

Finally, is there any chance that you're wearing through your gloss coats and seeing dull stain or paint?

 

DCA -The dulling I referred to earlier is more of a haze or clouding that I've seen referenced here before. I polish frequently using soft clean, cotton cloths. I don't find microfiber to work that good. I have not applied any waxes to either of my nitro finished guitars -perhaps that would protect the finish underneath.

[ledzef]

Don't know about on grain wood but I've used alot of auto finishing products on my Strats and it makes them look brand new.

[BlueMitch]

I bought a 1997 H-535 ASB a few weeks ago and was concerned with how to maintain the nitro finish. I've owned many guitars over the years and have never been sold on those expensive guitar maintenance products touted mainly by retailers. I've only used a 100% cotton diaper with a no-wax-buildup high quality aerosol furniture polish.

 

I spray the product (usually Pledge) on one side of the diaper, then polish the guitar in a gentle circular motion. I turn over the diaper then polish the finish to a perfect shine - wax on, wax off. My routine is to polish the instrument every time I change the strings, then throw the diaper in the laundry so it will be clean each time I use it.

 

All of my guitars look like new, even the Martin acoustic that I bought new over 20 years ago. I tried it on my Heritage and the result was amazing. The guitar was kept in a case for almost 10 years and had a little buildup on some of the chrome and on the pick guard. Now it looks like it just came off the assembly line.

 

There are probably a few people who would disagree with me but you can't argue with the results.

[smurph1]

The combination of Virtuoso cleaner and polish did a nice job on my 140..Shined her up nice and purdy, and I sweat alot..I am going to try to start wearing a lightweight long sleeve shirt though..