bombershredder Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Nothing here related to building, but as a person who plays his guitar.. 1. What can I use to polish/clean the neck every now and then..often I'd say..? 2. I can see that the neck isn't raw wood something has been applied on it, what is it? what kind of finish? 3. I have seen the fret polishing tutorial on the site, and I want to clean all metals on the guitar now and then, while changing strings? 4. What can i use for cleaning and maintaining the body..? 5. Silarly the fretboard wood isn't finished and i want to maintain,take car, of that too.. i took my guitar to a shop nearby and the dummy just put some polish on a cloth and rubbed it on the fretboard and now all that white polish has gone in the tiny openings in the fretboard, very mnior but still pissing off.since that day on I've decided, guitar tech's repairmen can go to hell, unless it's a world renowned company or professional no-ones touching my guitar..anyhow, shall I just clean that with a toothbrush? I could use a medium toothbrush since I'm not too sure about hard toothbrushes since they can ruin the board though I doubt it..? 6. Also I can't find anything that I can measure 1.2,, with, a steel ruler won't do for me..it's quite impossible? I had a 6inch steel ruler and I couldn't measure with that to 1.2, very tough, any reccomendations..please no order this and that, anything simple and inexpensive.. I have seen this action measurer at stewmac, should i get that..any good...how does it work? Also i wanna take care of the electronics and I don't want them to rust up over time and stuff like that, and I wanna be able to open my guitar and clean everythingm cahnge the strings, set the action ..everything..so what would you reccomend I should buy, get, books, read up on..etc.. 7.What else can I do? Have I missed anything out on maintenance and stuff>? Thankyou alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripper Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Just pickup one of the many guitar restoring/cleaning kits made by Fender, Gibson, etc. and follow the instructions on each bottle. 1.2" is within .003 of 1 13/64" on a steel rule. I use denatured alcohol on the fretboard with a very coarse rag. Terrycloth towels work well. Make sure you don't use too much. A soaked rag is too much and might leach oils out of the wood. Hand polishing with a very clean, soft rag is about the most rewarding method for an overall shine. IMHO. Shiny ROCKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 1. Mostly, a slightly damp cloth will do just fine. If you really feel the need for a polish, get a commercial product made for it (DO NOT use Pledge or similar silicone-laden furniture polishes.) 2. What's the guitar? If it looks 'flat', it's probably satin poly, might be oil. 3. Again, damp cloth, maybe naphta, only break out metal polish if it's really nasty (can be too agressive for the sometimes thin plating on hardware) 4. Damp cloth to clean (drop of soap won't hurt either), if you must, polish made for guitars. Superfine shine/buff automotive polish is OK too, same as the very last stage of rubout on a new guitar. 5. No toothbrush on this earth will damage your fretboard. I never oil mine; just clean with Naphta if they're grungy. If you want to oil, a light applciation of fretboard oil (again, guitar store. Lemon oil, whatever) will do, but I just prefer playing it. 6. What do you want to measure? Just get the appropriate ruler. Honestly, though, you should just get a hold of Dan Erlewine's 'How To Mak Your Electric Guitar Play Great', which is a sort of basic (but in-depth) guide for players who want to keep their guitars fresh and clean. The Guitar Player Repair Guide if you want more in-depth info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombershredder Posted January 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 2. What's the guitar? If it looks 'flat', it's probably satin poly, might be oil. Ibanez Rg2020TB... Also I have seen alot of products, cause uptil now it was a piece of cloth only, but i saw this extreme metal polish and then this and then that and there are tons of books on maintenance and tons of things that cna happen to your guitar over the years...thus i was asking, so what about all these products? like extreme metal polish, guitar polish etc..and comparison with lemon oil, I bet there's alot of Info, but anything's fine just want a general idea so that I can use this guitar for years to come and not have to replace it or regret not taking care of it..also what you would do or do ..thanks people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 On an Ibanez, I'd wager satin poly. My general approach is minimalist: you don't need to 'feed' your finish, or do weird things to your wood to keep it 'happy'. Just keep it clean, keep it in a relatively controlled environment (not too hot, not too cold, not too dry or wet..), give it a clean occasionally, a polish if it really needs it, some fretwork when required, and that's that. All this 'nourish your finish' stuff seems nonsensical to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 exactly what Mattia said. When i change my strings, i give the whole guitar a good cleaning with a slightly damp rag, and use a wood cleaner on the body, back of neck, etc... Other then that, if i dont play it for a couple days (get tied up with work/social life) i just dust it off before i play it. Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 one of those air can or a compressor is good for blasting all the dust out of the bridge/ trem, elswhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.