Most guitarists want to take care of their guitars and maintain them, so they can be played for years. One of the major ways any guitarist can take care of his guitar is to clean it regularly. The only problem is many guitarists don't know how to clean their guitars. In this article, I will show you how to clean your guitar and what products are safe to use.
I know what you are thinking. Big deal, cleaning my guitar won't help it last longer. That is just wrong. Cleaning your guitar will not only help it last longer; it will also prevent future guitar repairs. When you clean your guitar on a regular basis, you tend to look at it more and notice more things like if it is dry or swelling or in need adjustment. All of these early warning signs can prevent damage and prevent future guitar repairs.
Okay, enough about the warnings. Let's get started cleaning. There are tons of different cleaning products out there for guitars and most of them are pretty good. However, it is not necessary to buy over priced cleaning products just because they are "made for guitars." Some simple furniture cleaners will work fine. I like to use a combination of products to clean my guitars and my customers' guitars that come in for guitar repairs. Here's what I like to do.
How to clean your guitar body
Most guitars have glossy finish. This is good because in most cases glossy finish is easier to clean than flat finish. There are two main kinds of cleaning products: sprays and pastes or gels. Personally, I only use spray products on my guitars. I think these products do a good job removing the dirt and fingerprints while providing a smooth shine. My favorite spray cleaner is Dunlop Formula 65 Polish Cleaner.I usually just spray a few squirts around the guitar body. On electric guitars, make sure not to spray your pickups, as any kind of liquid can cause corrosion on the pole pieces. Then take a soft rag, usually I use an old t-shirt, and swirl in the cleaner. Once the dirt is removed from the guitar surface, I grab a clean cloth and buff the finish to a high shine.
If your guitar has cracks in the body or any exposed wood, just make sure not to use any kind of cleaning product on the exposed wood. This can make the wood swell and ruin the finish. This is an example of another unneeded trip to the guitar repair shop.
How to clean your guitar fretboard
Most guitars with the exception of some Fenders and Gretsches have unfinished fretboards. The most common unfinished fretboards are usually made out of ebony and rosewood. Unfinished fretboards are easy to clean and look beautiful. It is important to clean your fretboard and moisturize it every time you change your strings. Fretboards can dry out and crack. You don't want to take your guitar to the guitar repair shop because of something that could have been prevented. Here's how I like to clean my fretboards.
There are a number of special fretboard cleaning products out there, but I like to use Murphy's Oil Soap the best. Oil soap not only helps clean your fretboard, it also helps condition and moisturize it. The oil soap will prevent your fretboard from drying out and cracking. It will also give your fretboard a new clean shine.
I like to drip a small amount of oil soap on the fretboard. It does not take much-a little goes a long way. Then I use some #0000 steel wool and rub the oil soap into the fretboard while removing the dirt buildup. Just make sure you cover your pickups so that pieces of the steel wool do not get magnetically stuck to the pole pieces. It is usually a good idea to polish the frets while the steel wool is soaked in the oil soap. That way the entire fretboard and all the frets look shiny and new at the same time. After the fretboard and frets are cleaned, you can wipe away the excess oil soap with a piece of paper towel. Now your fretboard is clean and conditioned and your frets are nice and shiny.
Cleaning your guitar is easy and should be done on a regular basis. You can find more easy-to-read, helpful articles and information about guitar repair at http://www.guitarrepairbench.com/. Guitar Repair Bench is a site dedicated to helping everyone learn how to repair and build his or her own guitars. Learn more common guitar repairs today!
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