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how do you guys polish/clean your ebony les paul customs/black beauty?


jerrylo913

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i just bought a ebony les paul custom and i only played it a few times and already where my right arm rest on the face of the guitar theres perspiration from sweat ...and it seems no matter how hard i try to wipe it off with a clean cloth that mark wont go away.

 

would using a polish like the gibson hi gloss polish or a good quality carnuba wax take care of that?

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If you're sweating on it, the salt from your sweat is eating through the lacquer and into the finish, which becomes a problem when trying to keep your guitars in good condition. So the first big thing to do is when you're done playing,

take a polishing cloth, and wipe the body of your guitar down and then polish your guitar, which should be done on a fairly regular basis.

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I would, though only user the clener periodically. Use the cleaner first and then use the polish. After that, just use the polish. About once a year use the cleaner again.

 

You MUST use a really clean cloth otherwise you will end up with swirl marks all over your guitar. That's going to happen over time with nitro because it is so soft. But you should be able to limit those swirles with a really clean cotton cloth or microfiber cloth. Black is going to be tough to maintain. At some point you are going to realize that you are fighting a losing battle to keep it looking like new.

 

The cleaner will take out some of the swirls.

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My local luthier suggested meguiars's Show Car Glaze #7. It's a high-end car polish. He said don't go below the 7 because those contain an abrasive.

 

I've never used it. My guy said it is all they use on gibsons and vintage guitars.

 

Anyone else used it?

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My local luthier suggested meguiars's Show Car Glaze #7. It's a high-end car polish. He said don't go below the 7 because those contain an abrasive.

 

I've never used it. My guy said it is all they use on gibsons and vintage guitars.

 

Anyone else used it?

 

 

 

i see that all over other forums so im curious myself

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It takes some work to get that goop off from your arm (I think it's deodorant) but I've had good results with Fender's polishing kit. It has a few products in it - one for deeper cleaner' date=' one for polishing and one for more regular use.

 

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0990508000[/quote']

 

This is the MaGuire stuff that Fender sells, they are well known in the auto fraternity. I have had this set for a couple of years, it's a three part system so it takes a few minutes, though you don't have to go thru all three steps if your guitar doesn't need it. My red Firebrand really benefited from this, it brought a shine back to the surface I hadn't seen in years.

 

Kevin

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It works very well on the body's finish, not so well on plastic parts like the pickguard. Keep in mind that I've used it on only my LP so far which is a '91 model that has had a lot of use. The stuff isn't going to take out deeper marks like what you might get on the back from Levi's rivets on your jeans, but it definitely takes care of regular swirling.

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You guys got me curious about the Virtuoso cleaner and polish so I ordered some and got it on Friday. I tried it on all my guitars. The cleaner works pretty good at getting the grime off (Probably even better than Naptha, although I still use the naptha on the fretboards).

 

The polish must contain some carnuba wax because it sure smells like candy. Anyway, after polishing my guitars I had a hard time playing while the guitar was resting on my leg as all of them just slip right off! That's OK though, I'll just wear a strap.

 

The end result was awesome!

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Black guitars suck, especially with a Gibson.

Nitro cellulose finish will drive you INSANE!!!

Swirls are a fact of life, get used to it.

 

I had two Les Paul Standards in Ebony, they looked great until you picked them up to play them...

Once you got close enough to see the swirls, it was a heartbreaker.

 

Okay, after all that negativity a good wax like Retro mentioned is probably your best bet.

Don't tell anybody, but I used Windex window cleaner to strip all the grease and smudges off my black ones.

Worked great, if you're good at glass you can do it on your guitar.

Once all the sh!t is stripped from the finish, you can go back with the wax.

 

Disclaimer;

I never tried any of the other products mentioned in this thread beyond Gibson pump polish.

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