CBA713 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Hi again friends. Just got my new (used) AJ-500R in the mail! Seems to be a great instrument... this one was pretty well taken care of, with only a few slight biffs here and there. Nothing noticeable, though. So I'm quite pleased, but I want to touch it up, as it looks like it may have never had a case as a home. First off, the 500R has gold tuners, and there is quite a bit of, uh, dirt goo on the buttons. I can kinda scrape it off with my fingernail, so I know it's not deep rust or anything. What would you recommend to polish those up a little bit? I also want to clean up the nut, as there is some goo on there, too. Are there basic household remedies that can be used? Does a bit of soap and water do the trick, or should that not ever be used near an acoustic guitar? Thanks for the tips. I'm going to get some new strings on this one and it will be in great shape. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesjoc Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Hi again friends. Just got my new (used) AJ-500R in the mail! Seems to be a great instrument... this one was pretty well taken care of, with only a few slight biffs here and there. Nothing noticeable, though. So I'm quite pleased, but I want to touch it up, as it looks like it may have never had a case as a home. First off, the 500R has gold tuners, and there is quite a bit of, uh, dirt goo on the buttons. I can kinda scrape it off with my fingernail, so I know it's not deep rust or anything. What would you recommend to polish those up a little bit? I also want to clean up the nut, as there is some goo on there, too. Are there basic household remedies that can be used? Does a bit of soap and water do the trick, or should that not ever be used near an acoustic guitar? Thanks for the tips. I'm going to get some new strings on this one and it will be in great shape. CCongrats on the AJ 500R i absolutely love mine. Every guitar i buy i always put new strings on them. I remove the strings and spray the fret board down with simple green and give it a good scrubbing with a tooth brush to remove any old DNA from the last owner, let dry after whipping down with clean cloth then i linseed oil the fret board and bridge after i wipe that clean i use never dull on the frets and tuning machines and restring hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I use guitar polish (Gibson) on the gold hardware tuners of my AJ-500R. Most guitar polish will remove the goo there and will coat and protect the gold plating to stop it from tarnishing. Gold tuners on any guitar can become tarnished and stained if oiled finger prints are left to etch on them. (this happened to my bought used Taylor tuners and permanently ruined them from the previous owner. My Martin, bought new, eleven years ago, the gold tuners have remained perfect with a coat of Gibson polish on them done occasionaly. Makes them shiny and smooth too. It goes on easy, and wipes off the tuners easy, and keeps them shined and protected from finger print oils. ....I use Kaiser Dr Stringfellow pure lem oil, made for fret boards to clean and moisturize them. Linseed oil works just as well. Both should be put on wiped down and then wiped OFF. To much fret oil can ruin a fret board by causing it to swell. But if the fret board becomes dry looking it needs the oil...I oil my fret board no more than once per year, and very lightly, not saturated......On the body of my Satin AJ-500R I use regular Gibson polish, rubbed on with a VERY SOFT COTTON cloth, and immediately wiped off....expect the polish NOT to come off as easily as it would on a gloss finish. It will take considerable more "gentle rubbing" with the cotton cloth to get the polish off of satin, but this will clean the body and put a light coating on its surface, and you will not likely need to do that often. But you must continue to rub the satin till the fog of polish vanishes. (other polishes may work as well as Gibson, but I just happen to have Gibson) ....also note that some people do not polish a satin finish at all...ever. They simply wipe it down with a very soft damp cotton cloth, because polish can be hard to rub off a satin finish. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I use guitar polish (Gibson) on the gold hardware tuners of my AJ-500R. Most guitar polish will remove the goo there and will coat and protect the gold plating to stop it from tarnishing. Gold tuners on any guitar can become tarnished and stained if oiled finger prints are left to etch on them. (this happened to my bought used Taylor tuners and permanently ruined them from the previous owner. My Martin, bought new, eleven years ago, the gold tuners have remained perfect with a coat of Gibson polish on them done occasionaly. Makes them shiny and smooth too. It goes on easy, and wipes off the tuners easy, and keeps them shined and protected from finger print oils. ....I use Kaiser Dr Stringfellow pure lem oil, made for fret boards to clean and moisturize them. Linseed oil works just as well. Both should be put on wiped down and then wiped OFF. To much fret oil can ruin a fret board by causing it to swell. But if the fret board becomes dry looking it needs the oil...I oil my fret board no more than once per year, and very lightly, not saturated......On the body of my Satin AJ-500R I use regular Gibson polish, rubbed on with a VERY SOFT COTTON cloth, and immediately wiped off....expect the polish NOT to come off as easily as it would on a gloss finish. It will take considerable more "gentle rubbing" with the cotton cloth to get the polish off of satin, but this will clean the body and put a light coating on its surface, and you will not likely need to do that often. But you must continue to rub the satin till the fog of polish vanishes. (other polishes may work as well as Gibson, but I just happen to have Gibson) ....also note that some people do not polish a satin finish at all...ever. They simply wipe it down with a very soft damp cotton cloth, because polish can be hard to rub off a satin finish. Good luck! Good advice by GutarLight. Just make sure that if you use linseed oil (which I recommend), you use the BOILED variety, and NOT RAW. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBA713 Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Cool... thanks for the detailed advice! I wonder if you can get linseed oil from yer local Whole Foods or such... I bet I could find some there. I'll have to get some Gibson polish at ye olde guitar shoppe this afternoon. I've got quite a few guitar cloths around... hopefully those count as a very soft cloth. I may do some damp cloth-ing on the body, but probably won't polish that. My main thing is the tuners and buttons, so I'll concentrate on those, and then give a little oil to the fretboard. I'm sure it will be in tip top shape after that! Thanks again, C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Red 333 is right about using the Boiled linseed oil, and can be bought by the can at almost any hardware store like Home Depot etc. Yes guitar cloths are very soft cotton generally, and they are perfect for your AJ-500R ! ....BTW...cleaning your open back Grover tuner gears with an old toothbrush will do wonders to remove gunk from them! A drop of linseed oil on the backs of the tuners, and a tooth brush will get them to look like new! A can of compressed air used to blow computer key boards will blast out the dirt too...just don't let the spray of the air get cold by spraying too close to the tuner, you don't want to ice it in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBA713 Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Ok... got the Gibson guitar polish, some linseed oil, and a toothbrush. I'm going to work on this *** for an hour or so and then let you know how it turns out! Thanks again for all the help... I wouldn't have known what to do without yous guys. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Excellent! Ok... got the Gibson guitar polish, some linseed oil, and a toothbrush. I'm going to work on this *** for an hour or so and then let you know how it turns out! Thanks again for all the help... I wouldn't have known what to do without yous guys. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diverden Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 I use Never Dull wadding on metal parts. Linseed oil on fretboards. Lightly Turtlewax Express shine on finished bodies. Yup, car wax. Used at the Taylor factory. If your Masterbilt has a satin finish, just a damp microfiber cloth is sufficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Ya don't us any polish on the body if its satin finish. Took me ages to correct that mistake on on of my masterbilts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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