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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.
Also, it’s a nitrocellulose finish, so be careful what chemicals you put in contact with it. Even alcohol can sometimes be a problem. Nitro is soft and even using a paper towel can potentially haze the finish.
Trying to use a solvent without knowing the material isn’t ideal. Though, naptha is generally safe.
I’d use a mild buffing polish as it will not only remove the paint, but the abrasion marks from the impact as well. I do a good number of repairs and there’s always some kind of mark left in the finish when you have contact like that. Hopefully it’s not so much that you’d have to level the surface. After that, a finishing polish after that will give it the original gloss back.
I think it’s a great idea, so long as the contents are moved and not deleted.
Also, small recommendation; I would name the main section “general” rather than community. Community sections of forums are usually social/get-together sections. Main discussion sections are usually called general, or something along those lines.
I only had one chat with Frank. It was a highly technical one and he was incredibly candid and humble. Amazing guy and I hope his website stays for years to come as it’s an absolute treasure.
I’d love to hear more details about this. I’m a big believer in hide glue, having some many repairs using it.
I tune to D and D# and I just use the standard sets, light for my 00 and H13s, and mediums for the 000 and dreads. I’d normally never use lights (12’s) down to D but my SCGCs stay so focused sounding it isn’t a problem. For other guitars I’ve needed thicker strings.
Living in Phoenix, the winter weather is uplifting for me. I become very productive. Our summers are like winters elsewhere, we stay indoors and become moody.
There’s an old video on YouTube showing an SCGC master luthier tuning the top then signing it. It’s very well done and pretty much answers part of your question. They have a specific process (or series of goals) for top tuning so the results should be roughly the same, regardless who signed it. I believe one of mine has two signatures.
