How To Clean An Acoustic Guitar With Household Items

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What household products good for guitar cleaning/polishing

Thread starter RevolutionMan
Start date Nov 3, 2007

Hey guys, Ran out of gibson guitar polish, have used that for years. Taking a few dusty ones off the rack today for new strings/cleaning, etc. have to get a few back in rotation.

What houselhold stuff is good for cleaning and polishing guitars? Is something like pledge ok to use on a fretboard?

I use pledge on my fretboards for years no problem. Spray on a rag then wipe em down-not directly on the board. For the finish I use Mothers car wax with cleaner. Super shine and takes out light scratching too. Both are readily available and work great. Bob

Eric Johnson mentioned using Fantastic anti-bacterial on the the Harmony Central interview to improve his tone, but he was just kidding.
Do not try this at home!
Never used Pledge, it has silicone in it. Good for strippers,not so sure about guitars. Use Lemon Oil on Rosewood or ebony fingerboards.

Moved to correct topic area.

Never used Pledge, it has silicone in it. Good for strippers,not so sure about guitars. Use Lemon Oil on Rosewood or ebony fingerboards.

Yes...there is often debate about that...I was told ages ago to never use wax or silicone on a guitar as it clogs the pores in wood...it is more applicable to acoustics but hey...wood doesn't need wax or silicone.

-Dunlop Formula 65 for the wood and finished stuff
-Dr Ducks AXWAX (no wax in it!?) for fingerboards
-Finger Ease on strings (yes, even new strings)

Household stuff? That's for household stuff...but if you must...clean rag and warm water.

most household cleaners and car products have silicone in them are should not be used on instruments. once the silicone gets into the wood you can't get it out completely. Always use silicone free products designed for instrument care.

Good old Zippo type lighter fluid (naptha) is great for removing any sticker residue, built up wax, excess fingerboard crud, & general "old guitar grime". It takes that oily coating off of chrome too & works great on gold hardware. It doesn't hurt even nitro & can clean gunk out of string windings too (great to freshen up wound bass strings). Clean a guitar with naptha & then hit it with non-silicone Preservation polish!!

@#$%!

(tosses Pledge out of the guitar room, makes note about silicon)

Pledge anywhere near a stringed instrument=bad. I don't care what Roy thought (actually, fantastic musician as he was, I disagree with a bunch of choices he made. Anyway...) If you care at all about your instrument, do not let Pledge get into the bare wood. And on wound strings, in my experience, nothing deadens them quicker.

I recall that Tom Anderson recommended Meguiars Quik Detailer. I do use that every once in a while. Nice and thin with no buildup of its own. Smells nice, too. Otherwise, a bit of water on half of a plain white Viva paper towel followed by the other dry half is really all you need. If there's dirt buildup that plain water just won't cut, a light rub with plain white vinegar (again followed by a dry Viva) will work wonders and evaporate without a trace.

Thanks guys! I knew you all would have some good ideas

Pledge anywhere near a stringed instrument=bad. I don't care what Roy thought (actually, fantastic musician as he was, I disagree with a bunch of choices he made...

well yeah, including one very bad choice right at the end there.

a bit of water on half of a plain white Viva paper towel followed by the other dry half is really all you need. If there's dirt buildup that plain water just won't cut, a light rub with plain white vinegar (again followed by a dry Viva) will work wonders and evaporate without a trace.

never messed with the vinegar, but +1 to the water (and the viva or bounty paper towels). i've found that whatever naphtha won't get, water will, and vice versa, all with no leftover residue.

The only household polish I used was Guardsman, put out by Lilly industries a company that makes products for the pro finishing industry.
It had no silicone, wax, or abrasives.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure they still make that one. It seems their newer household spray no longer mentions no silicone hummm....

Excellent for strings = Blitz Cloth. One or two quick swipes does the trick.

FWIW, Lemon Pledge is the product of choice for final wipedown of instruments leaving the PRS factory.

I can't believe nobody's said this yet ... Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes. Dispenser is like those sanitary wipes, they've got a string cleaner, fretboard conditioner and polish. Great product!

I just buy a new guitar after its played more than a hour , cant be to careful , expensive but actually kinda fun.

Good old Zippo type lighter fluid (naptha) is great for removing any sticker residue, built up wax, excess fingerboard crud, & general "old guitar grime". It takes that oily coating off of chrome too & works great on gold hardware. It doesn't hurt even nitro & can clean gunk out of string windings too (great to freshen up wound bass strings). Clean a guitar with naptha & then hit it with non-silicone Preservation polish!!

+1 to naptha for the gunk.

+1 for mequires

Naphtha is a great all around cleaner used in the wood working industry. Won't harm lacquer either. But it's a good idea to apply lemon oil to rosewood after as you will see it will dull it down a lot.

FWIW, Lemon Pledge is the product of choice for final wipedown of instruments leaving the PRS factory.

Correct. In addition, PRS treats their rosewood fretboards with a combination of Pledge and linseed oil.
I've used Pledge for years on my Strats, LP Jr., and PRSi with no problems.

If you ever need to touch up the lacquer, you will have a tougher time after using silicones