Guitar Hygiene...

[daveinspain]

Just noticed the tops on a couple guitars I tend to use a lot were pretty scummy… That area where your forearm rests while strumming and also along side the strings where the pick guard goes, had a build up of oil, sweat and dirt... Made me think of the time another guitar player was showing me his Les Paul. I think it was an Deluxe in natural. He was very proud of the guitar and wanted me to play it. Well, from a distance the guitar looked just fine but when I picked it up the thing was so dirty I really didn't even want to touch it… Looked like he likes to play the guitar after eating KYC and having peanut butter and jelly for dessert. I made up some excuse not to play it.

 

How often do you give your guitar a good cleaning, not just a wipe down, a proper clean and polish?

[deeman]

I would say I clean it every few months, usually when it starts to get a little grimey in the areas you pointed out.

[capmaster]

Wipe down after every use, cleaning when changing strings. No use of cleaner though, and no polish.

[LPguitarman]

I wipe down my Les Paul after every use. Sometimes with guitar polish, sometimes just with the polish cloth only. Every string change, I give it a thorough cleaning including Fret Doctor for the fingerboard.

[Izzy]

I guess it depends on the guitar.

 

My most favorites may not be my most expensive and for some reason I don't feel th need to polish them as often as I do my expensive but less utilized...maybe its got to do with the case for me.

 

When it goes in the case I clean it. If its out, I don't bother.

[zigzag]

Wipe down the guitar and strings after every use. I use flat wounds on most of my guitars, and they are changed only after 4 to 6 months. When I change strings, I remove all the strings, then polish the body, then clean and re-lube the nut (graphite-type lube), then condition and clean the frets and fretboard (with Guitar Honey and Gibson fretboard conditioner).

[kidblast]

I guess I do usually wipe em down with a clean cotton cloth after each use now that I think about it.

 

body, neck, strings, etc.

 

When doing a string change pretty much exactly what Zig Zag mentioned.

[BigKahune]

.

I wipe them down after each playing, then I take a second look and if there's forearm haze etc I use some pump polish.

 

When I changes strings I clean and/or polish them if they need it using Virtuoso. . . . (You don't have a "When they need it" option so I didn't vote)

 

I check the fretboards and bridges (acoustics/archtops) once a year and oil them if they need it.

 

 

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[brad1]

String change

[Searcy]

I clean my Chet once a year or so. I never clean anything else.

[ksdaddy]

My '77 Tele has a weirdly deteriorating finish. When it was new they called it the "Thick Skin" finish. In 1990 I left it in my truck overnight (30 below) and the finish cracked badly. Over the years those cracks, while still visible, have almost melted back together. The once snow white color has yellowed to a beautiful shade of soft buttery yellow. Dan Erlewine said of it in 1993 "This is the color Fende is TRYING to get!" and it's aged more beautifully since then.

 

It's also softened up. I can dig my fingernail into it. Not that I make a habit of doing so.

 

In addition I can't clean it. Any guitar polish reacts with it and turns mega dull, patchy, and sticky. Ditto for naptha. Plain water turns the guitar whitish and it will stay that way several days.

 

I'm not looking for a 'fix'. We're joined at the hip and I'll get older and dirtier alongside her. It's a mystery though....

[milod]

I'm the one who hit the "when things start growing on it." But that's very seldom. I keep each in its own case. Don't play outside in summer. Wear long sleeve shirts. Don't play much in what might be considered environments with grunge.

 

So if I notice something not appropriate on a guitar top - I wipe it off with a soft damp cloth.

 

m

[jdgm]

A quick wipe (usually) after every session and a full clean when changing strings - I also take all the strings off.

Perhaps once a year - if any frets have stain or are particularly dull, I might clean with Silvo wadding metal polish.

Also oil the board lightly with very thin camera or sewing machine-type oil if it looks like it needs a drink.

[surfpup]

I know for a fact that wiping the strings down before putting it away (especially after a gig) can maximize string life. I used to always do this. However, I never remember to do it anymore. As for wiping anything else, I do it whenever I change the strings.

[Bender 4 Life]

i've grown some dandy potatoes inside my Sheraton II

 

my guitars don't get cleaned much......

 

I wipe gently w/a cotton rag very occasionally......never polish as that causes swirls.

 

treat my non maple FBs 1x a yr.

[flyingfrets]

They get wiped down every time I play, cleaned & polished at string changes (every 2 weeks at the out side) and if they're being cased for extended storage, totally disassembled, cleaned, polished, restrung and THEN put away.

 

Overkill? Definitely, but I realize I'm anal about some things. My guitars & my cars are the big ones, but I've got a substantial chunk of money tied up in them both, so they're worth taking care of...well, to ME anyway.

 

But whatever works for you is okay by me...

[flyingarmadillo]

I generally wipe them down after playing and then clean and polish during string changes.

[Dennis G]

I tend to put most of my attention/detailing at string change time, which varies due to use (I've got a lot of guitars). One thing I do is to keep track of fretboard oiling and try not to do more than once per year, I've read that too much is as bad or worse as not enough. Plus, I think after a lot of years, you can just tell...

 

Unless it's been really hot and I've been sweating a lot while playing, I generally don't wipe things down, which is most of the time. Then again, I'm a "home/bedroom" player in a coastal climate...

[Karloff]

i used to never clean them. but for the last 10 years, i clean them fairly regularly. i sweat real bad at gigs. by the end of the night, they're pretty sticky and grimey. i give them a quick wipe before putting them in the case to go home. next morning, i take them out and give them a decent cleaning. And i never wipe the strings down. if i gig regularly I change them once a week anyway.

[Hoya]

I use an old cotton diaper every string change. First slightly dampened, then with a light spray of Gibson polish. Works great!

[milod]

When I was gigging regular weekends in the '60s and '70s I wiped down strings.

 

When I started using mostly Elixirs on my electrics, and I wasn't doing more than a half dozen gigs a year, naaah, I seldom wipe down the neck and strings. Then again, it's saloon-style gigging that grunges guitars most; and sometimes summer pickin' outside can be doggone near as bad.

 

m

[Kaiser Bill]

Back in the day when I was gigging 5-7 nights a week I wiped the strings down every night at the end of the gig and changed strings every three days giving the guitar the full treatment. A coat of wax and a special cleaning of the fretboard. Constantly polishing the chrome on the humbuckers and using a Q-tip to get into places my fingers wouldn't fit. You could usually comb your hair in the finish. Constantly checking intonation as well. String gauges do vary, so a simple twist of a screwdriver took care of that. Take care of your instrument and it will take care of you.