What do you use to clean your SCGC?

[Barber Derek]

Quick question, what do y’all use when it comes time to do a deeper cleaning of your SCGC instrument?

I know the SCGC site recommends Prestige guitar polish, but does this also clean smudges, sweat marks and the like?

I do wipe down my guitar with a microfiber clothe just about every time I finish playing it, but any recommendations for more stubborn grime, etc. that may have accumulated?

There are many products on the market and I’ve even seen pro luthier on YouTube using naphtha to clean acoustic guitars, but, of course, I want to be very careful I don’t do any damage to my beloved SCGC 00.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[indexless]

Richard talks about it in a few podcasts, soft rag and water sparingly, go slow, it’s a nitro finish

• This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by indexless.

[Barber Derek]

Thanks, I’ll look forward to that podcast… number 100 coming up soon!

[capodx2]

Sorry if this is off topic…

I must have “acidic” oils in my hands…5 years or so ago, I had a guy try to replace the neck finish on my 30 year old OM.  The neck finish was kinda “cratered”, and thus the re-do.  It did not last more than a year, and the “craters” came back.  I confess I do not wipe it down, I just play it.  🙂   I finally gave up and “sanded” the finish off.  I have no idea what in the long term it will do, so we’ll see.  I recently cleaned and polished the top, back and sides on the OM with “Virtuoso”, and it seems to be fine.

I recently acquired (4 – 5 months ago) an H-13 from SCGC, and I note the finish on the neck “feels” different than that on the body and top, and don’t know if that is my imagination or not.  So far no issues with the H-13, but as I said it is fairly new.

For what it is worth, I also “cleaned” a “glued-on” pickup on a Mandolin with lighter fluid, and it did not hurt the finish at all.  My understanding is the faster the product evaporates the less possibility for damage – but I could be completely wrong.

One obvious recommendation whatever you use – try a small area on the under side of the bout, where it won’t show, unless you play standing on your head.  🙂

Again sorry if this is off topic.

[Barber Derek]

Great to have your comment, appreciate it.  Generally SCGC will do a satin finish on the back of the neck and gloss finish on the top and body, so that may be what you’re noticing.

As for acidic sweat, I don’t happen to have that particular affliction, but one of my close friends does.  He actually has his guitar strings get a dark crust on them, which I didn’t even know was possible! : )

Thank you for your thoughts, especially the one about starting with a small, inconspicuous area.

[dwarfrat]

Lighter fluid aka naptha has many uses.

I use SCGC polish every few years. Otherwise, a soft. clean washcloth moistened with water.

I clean the fretboard with a new scrubbing sponge or clean washcloth.

I don’t have the acidic swest problem

 

[BOWIE]

The one critical thing is the rag you use. It doesn’t matter if it’s cotton or microfiber, but any debris that gets trapped in there will haze your finish. Many people assume it’s the product they’re using, or the type of rag. It’s almost always small particles trapped in the rag. I did professional finishing a while back and the first thing my boss taught me was; if the rag falls on the ground, it never touches a finish again. Keep them in a plastic bag.

 

Many guitar cleaning products do the same thing and all that matters is which one you like the smell of. They all leave a little residue so you’re best off using a dry cloth. If that isn’t enough, lightly dampen it. When you do a string change, consider using a guitar cleaning product to get the grime off. And, naptha is great for an annual deep clean as it gets everything off and leaves no residue.

 

Your fret board does NOT need to be “nourished”. Every time you oil it, a trace of that oil remains in the wood as a tacky residue. If you like the look of a shiny board, you can can safely use a minimal amount of oil a couple times a year.

Me personally, I wipe down the strings and any contact points on the body after every play session. I’ll use a guitar cleaner when changing strings. Naptha if I’m doing repairs. And, I’ll only oil a board if I’m about to take pictures of a guitar I’m going to sell.

[Barber Derek]

Thanks, great tips!

[capodx2]

As long as I am at it…a guy gave me a little “kit” which consists of a small piece of “scotch brite” and a small piece of micro fiber cloth, which I was supposed to use to keep the strings cleaner.  Again I confess to not using it (much), and don’t know if anyone else has tried it and any result…

[BOWIE]

I personally don’t use scotch brite on my strings because it leaves grit/dust when used on the wound strings. A cloth after playing is enough. If you really hate changing strings, running the cloth under the strings helps a little. Since I started using SCGC strings I easily get a year out of the strings just by wiping the tops of them after each play.

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