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Clean and Polish


Sunfist

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Does Epiphone recommend any particular brand of cleaner/polish for their guitars? Mine are both starting to look a little grungy and could do with a good cleaning and polish. Have any of you found a particular item that works wonders for cleaning and polishing your guitar? I was wondering also about the fretboard, both guitars are barely a year old so would they need to be cleaned/conditioned at this point in time? If so what would you use there as well. I have read that whatever I use should have a bit of lemon oil in it.

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Does Epiphone recommend any particular brand of cleaner/polish for their guitars? Mine are both starting to look a little grungy and could do with a good cleaning and polish. Have any of you found a particular item that works wonders for cleaning and polishing your guitar? I was wondering also about the fretboard, both guitars are barely a year old so would they need to be cleaned/conditioned at this point in time? If so what would you use there as well. I have read that whatever I use should have a bit of lemon oil in it.

 

Anything really (except household cleaners which have additives that are not excellent for the instrument)

 

Something like a bottle Gibson Pump Polish would be fine. A lot of ppl like Virtuoso Polish and Cleaner.

 

I have some, works great.

 

a good cleaner is this stuff Gerlitz Smudge finish safe for just about any and every thing. There is also nothing wrong with taking a clean cotton rag, and damp it with warm water and take of any hand, arm cheese with that.

 

Rosewood Fretboards are generally in need of rehydrating once or twice a year. A lot of folks use boiled linseed oil, or you can also find things like Gerlitz Guitar Honeywhich is a rosewood spirit which will rehydrate the wood. I have used this stuff for a # of years now. Works like a charm

 

One method a lot of repair shops use for cleaning a fretboard is 0000 steel wool. Cover the pickups with blue painters masking tape first! then buff the neck down with the steel wool, (going DOWN the length if the neck, not crossways in between frets. (if you polish the body first, the little shreds of steel wool with clean off much easier and not damage the finish. just dust em off with a clean / new soft pain brush)

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There's no need for a special cleaner- just a bit of dish soap on a damp cotton cloth will remove 99% of whatever gunk is on your guitar. If you have to scrub off something stubborn, don't worry too much about using a stronger cleaner, the poly finish that Epiphone uses is impervious to just about everything (including most paint removers). To polish the body, I like to use 3M swirl remover from the local auto body store, followed with a very light coat of car wax. For the fingerboard, I wipe it down first with the dish soap/damp cloth, let it dry, then rub in some oil I have for my woodwind instruments that you can get at just about any music store that sells band instruments. It's designed for rosewood and doesn't feel greasy.

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Not to disagree with anything already posted but, I've read where just plain water and a damp cloth will remove most any "stuff" if you will. Won't dispute the dish washing liquid thing, though I've never tried it. As for the fretboard, do your homoework. Some swear by lemon oil (although I've read where it can go "rancid"), and most people make the mistake of using too much, too often. I'm a home player only these days and use Gerlitz Guitar Honey https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/gerlitz-guitar-honey-fretboard-treatment?source=3WWRWXMB&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%5BADL%5D%20%5BNon-Brand%5D%20%5BUS%5D%20%5BEnhanced%5D%20-%20Keyword%20DSAs&utm_term=accessories%20&utm_content=CATEGORY%3Daccessories&kwid=2326566604387484x1196268885924598x313105793

about once a year. No affiliation (and the MF link is for reference only), works for me, and always, YMMV.

Apologies in advance for any duplicate information.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Damp cloth if need be.

 

Mankind will die out before the lemon (mineral) oil debate does. I find that, if you use it, do a deep cleaning with Gorgomyte every two years before oiling the fretboard.

 

I oil anually, before winter. Swedish winters get real dry and cold. If I liked in, say, L.A., I'd probably oil once every five years or something. Tops. Depends on the climate.

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Damp cloth if need be.

 

Mankind will die out before the lemon (mineral) oil debate does...

 

I oil anually, before winter... If I liked in, say, L.A., I'd probably oil once every five years or something. Tops. Depends on the climate.

Don't disagree with your points on over oiling fretboards, but "LA" is kind of generalizing (Not arguing, just sayin'). We have several "micro climates" if you will, that can vary widely within a 20 - 30 minute radius. My rule of thumb (I'm in a coastal climate) is once a year or "if it looks like it needs it" which comes back to your "depends on the climate" comment.

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For polishing I use Meguier's Scratch X 2.0. Granted, I initially bought it to use to eradicate some scratches I inadvertently put on a guitar while making a repair but I discovered that it does a great job as a polish and protectant. I usually put on 2 to 3 coats. Wonderful stuff.

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