Cleaning Your Electric Guitar

Cleaning Guitar Finishes

The type of finish (gloss, satin, lacquer, poly...) and physical condition of a finish can help determine the best method of cleaning.

If we were to compare cleaners to sandpaper, we are choosing the least abrasive cleaner that will do the job. Let's look at our choices...

Polishing Cloths

While a nice flannel cloth is adequate for many players, those trying to polish dark finishes will find that a high quality Microfiber Cleaning Cloth is a better choice. Microfiber is very soft and adds less swirl marks than more abrasive materials. It is hard to avoid tiny swirl marks in any finish that is cleaned frequently, so you want to use the softest material possible on dark finishes to keep them to a minimum. Excessive cleaning and rubbing on dark finishes and gold plated hardware should be avoided to lessen the effects.

While cloths alone don't remove heavy dirt and grime they are excellent choices for players who like to wipe their instrument off after playing.

Spray Cleaners

Spray cleaners are liquid cleaners that contain a fair amount of water. They are good for a quick cleaning where removal of smudges and fingerprints is the basic requirement.

Satin / Flat Finishes

Spray cleaners are also preferred over paste cleaners for non-glossy finishes. Satin finishes take on a somewhat shiny appearance with age, particularly in areas subject to constant contact. In order to slow the process, overzealous polishing should be avoided as friction creates shine.

Very Dirty Finishes

Using liquid spray cleaners on very dirty instruments can create a bit of a mess.
I see this most often on instruments that are heavily soiled, think "dirt so thick you could scrape it with a fingernail".

Dirt will absorb the water in the spray and turn white or yellowish. While the sight can cause a moment of panic, it too can be cleaned...but obviously not with a water based spray cleaner.

At this stage I resort to using paste polishes or compounds for removal of dirt, usually accompanied by allot of elbow grease.

Paste Polishes

When cleaning more heavily soiled finishes or trying to restore the natural gloss to a dull shine, a non-abrasive paste polish is often helpful. These cream polishes will usually remove dirt and very fine scratches.

Dried polish turns white when dry. Avoid using paste polishes on raw wood (fingerboards) and use caution when polishing near cracks or finish chips to avoid impacting them.

When cleaning older instruments or one who's finish is not without blemishes, I recommend applying the polish directly to the cloth as opposed to the finish itself. Working the polish into the cloth helps reduce the amount of build up that can form if one gets polish in pores, cracks or finish chips.

Buffing Compounds

Obviously not all scratches can be removed with non-abrasive paste cleaners....and that's a good thing, because we don't want to accidentally be buffing thru our guitar's finish. (Btw, as a teenager I enjoyed hand polishing my 1985 Mustang so much that I eventually polished thru the color coat to primer...by hand).

Polishing compounds are similar to sandpaper in that they come in many different grades and abrasions. Most of us use them in conjunction with a machine buffer due to the time and strength required to do it by hand.

Deep Scratches

In order to literally polish a scratch away, you must remove enough finish to get to the bottom of the scratch and have it level with the surrounding finish, that's what makes it disappear. It is very unwise to attempt that on very deep scratches.

As an easy rule of thumb I would say...if your fingernail can make a clicking sound when picked across the scratch, it is too deep and should be touched up or simply left alone in some cases.

I have restored and improved many finishes by lightly wet sanding and buffing the instrument's finish. Again, this is something best left to someone who has the experience required to avoid a catastrophe.

Waxing Guitars

Waxing your instrument's finish is a choice. Having a coat of wax on the finish not only makes it look shiny but it makes it easier to clean in the future and gives the finish a slippery feel. Waxing the back of your guitar's neck may provide a faster feel when playing the whole neck.

Regardless of your brand preference, avoid using anything on your instrument that contains silicon as it makes finish repair a nightmare.

Contrary to some crazy sayings, we are not "nourishing" the wood when we polish or wax a painted instrument, we are cleaning and protecting the finish. If what we put on our finish can make it down into the wood, we've got a big problem! :) lol

Cleaning Fingerboards

Unfinished Fingerboards

While 0000 steel wool is still a staple around my shop for light cleaning, I hate the mess it makes.

I frequently use Dunlop's Fingerboard Cleaner in my shop and really like it. It does a good job of cleaning heavy dirt without having steel wool hair everywhere. Make sure to use a rag you intend on tossing afterwards as a filthy board will make a mess of your nicer Micro fiber polishing cloths.

Oiling A Fingerboard

Oiling an unpainted fingerboard makes the board look good and may help to prevent dryness which can lead to cracks. While there are many oils safe for fingerboards, some may leave a sticky residue which attracts dirt. Mineral oil, danish oil and lemon oil are all popular choices. Weekly oiling is not necessary or recommended.

In general, oiling the fingerboard a few times a year should be sufficient for average playing use. Severe cracking of the fingerboard can be a sign of dryness and the instrument should be properly humidified to avoid more damage.

Painted Fingerboards

Some fingerboards have been clear coated, Fender maple boards and Rickenbacker come to mind. On painted fingerboards I use paste polish, not steel wool, to clean the board and frets.

Polishing frets with paste polish will turn your cleaning cloth black.

If cleaning a maple fingerboard with worn finish and exposed wood, avoid contaminating those areas with the blackened cloth.

Fingerboards sprayed with a flat or satin finish can become glossy with repeated polishing and friction.

Cleaning Frets

Clean and polished frets are not just pretty, a highly polished fret crown makes for some slick string bending. While steel wool certainly cleans fingerboards and brightens up dull nickel it does little to create the super fine polishing that's associated with a first class fret polish.

Micro-Mesh polishing cloth is one of my favorite products for polishing frets. Micro-mesh is available in several grits, just like sandpaper, but is fine enough to use without fear of changing the fret's height.

For the do-it-yourselfer who is frequently cleaning their frets and is not looking to mask the entire board and spend a good deal of time polishing the frets, a product such as Planet Waves Fret Polishing Kit (pictured) or the popular Gorgomyte Fret Cleaning Cloth will do the trick.

Cleaning Electronics

Pots, switches and jacks can be cleaned with electronics cleaner. My favorite is DeOxit spray cleaner.

Once cleaner has been sprayed into the pot or switch, move it back and forth repeatedly to clean the contacts.

While spray cleaner is great for cleaning it can be a bit messy for certain applications. When that's the case I use the DeOxit with applicator tip for precise application.

Noisy electronics that continue to produce scratchy sounds that can not be cleared up with contact cleaner are often worn to the point of needing replacement.

Cleaning Hardware

Plating which becomes pitted or wears off will not return to it's original condition unless re-plated. Most plating is quite thin and overzealous polishing should be avoided. It's understandable to want to polish neglected hardware, but if one were to use a cream polish week after week on their gold hardware, well, they'll hit pay dirt eventually, just as I did on my '85 Mustang.

Polishes are still abrasives, albeit very gentle one's. However, just as we remove finish from our guitar when we buff it, we are working away at the plating as we polish it. Nickel and gold are the most vulnerable.

Once hardware has been successfully cleaned it can be easily wiped down with a microfiber cloth when needed.

For very dirty hardware, like knurled knobs, bridges and the other parts with small crevices I usually start with Naphtha and a toothbrush.

Products I've used to polish hardware:
Nevr Dull
Naphtha (aka Lighter fluid)
Blue Magic Metal Polish
Gold Cleaner (for jewelry)
Microfiber Clothes