noelstrom Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I'm new to the forum, so please forgive me if this has been asked 100 times already... I finally, after 20 years of playing bought my first Gibson. I bought a Les Paul Studio Faded, and I love it. When I bought it, I received a Gibson Care Package that contains the Gibson Pump Polish, Fretboard Cleaner and Chrome Cleaner and 3 cloths. My question is this - when I used the polish for the first time, some of the colour from the guitar came off on the cloth. Is that normal? Or did I simply spray too much polish onto the cloth? I don't want to do anything to harm my new toy. And, does anyone have any other "care tips" I should know about? Thanks all for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 For starters, don't clean or polish the darn thing, play it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have Gibson Les Pauls I haven't polished in 30 years.................. [thumbup] ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malchik Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I'm new to the forum, so please forgive me if this has been asked 100 times already... I finally, after 20 years of playing bought my first Gibson. I bought a Les Paul Studio Faded, and I love it. When I bought it, I received a Gibson Care Package that contains the Gibson Pump Polish, Fretboard Cleaner and Chrome Cleaner and 3 cloths. My question is this - when I used the polish for the first time, some of the colour from the guitar came off on the cloth. Is that normal? Or did I simply spray too much polish onto the cloth? I don't want to do anything to harm my new toy. And, does anyone have any other "care tips" I should know about? Thanks all for the help Unlike damian, I suggest giving a nitro instrument a good cleaning when it starts to look grimy. Hell, I wipe down my guitars after practice to remove oils. The oil in your fingers strips nitro over time. Now, yes it is normal for your guitar to have some dye lifting from it. Your guitar is pretty much bare gained that has been dyed. It'll stop once the loose finish is removed over time. Your guitar won't need a lot of TLC because the finish is pretty rudimentary. Don't be surprised when you go to condition your rosewood to see a little color lift from that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome around! Totally agree with Malchik! It's normal for the first time that some finish comes off with polishing. I do polish my Les Paul with Virtuoso Polish (using 100% pure cotton uncolored rag) every 3 months, and I recommend the Virtuoso Cleaner for deep-cleaning once a year. I also wipe the surface of the guitar with clean pure cotton rag after every use! It's absolutely important on instruments with such a thin satin finish as Yours! Keep it at 50-55% humidity and 20-25 Celsius degrees of temperature constantly. Do not expose it to direct sunlight and heat. Try to avoid exposing it to sudden climatic changes as well. Keep it in a quality hardshell-case when not playing. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyWheat Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Unlike damian, I suggest giving a nitro instrument a good cleaning when it starts to look grimy. Hell, I wipe down my guitars after practice to remove oils. The oil in your fingers strips nitro over time. Now, yes it is normal for your guitar to have some dye lifting from it. Your guitar is pretty much bare gained that has been dyed. It'll stop once the loose finish is removed over time. Your guitar won't need a lot of TLC because the finish is pretty rudimentary. Don't be surprised when you go to condition your rosewood to see a little color lift from that as well. +1 Malchick Gibson should include a letter of apology with each one of those "worn, faded, not quite finished, but good enough to take yer money" guitars. I love the way mine plays, but after 2 years, the finish is still bleeding and coming off on my polishing cloths. I HATE this finish that is on an otherwise superb Les Paul Studio (all-mahogany) with P-90s so much, I am tempted to send it off the the Twelfth Fret in Toronto and have them complete the construction of the guitar. [Don't take this "thin nitro" schtick too far, boys... they just thin down a bit of nitrocellulose lacquer with a $h!tload of dye in it, wipe the guitar down a couple of times with a rag dipped in the stuff, and call it a living, breathing wonder of vintage tone production! BULL CRAP!] I don't agree with Damian that one should never clean the guitars, but I do agree that the less time you spend polishing and the more time you spend playing, the more you will enjoy your Gibson guitar. I find it a real testament to the superiority of a Gibson that people like me can play and thoroughly enjoy the sound and action of an instrument that the company couldn't even take the time to finish properly! :angry: [Thanks a TON, HJ!] Regards to all, J/W B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GySgtFTL Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I have one also. The finish is...not good but the hardware and electronics are top shelf for the most part. I do plan to put some Sheptone PAF's in it and Jonesy-wired pots. Add a set-up at Glaser's and it should be awesome. I can live with it not being pretty as long as the neck's straight and it sounds right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnastynebr Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Don't worry. You could never polish that thing, and 20 years down the road, it will be fine. That's the whole point of the faded finish. 0 maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyWheat Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Don't worry. You could never polish that thing, and 20 years down the road, it will be fine. That's the whole point of the faded finish. 0 maintenance. I have posted how much I love playing this particular instrument in another thread (the 2001 vs 2011 LP one), and - I don't like admitting it - the "faded finish" has matured nicely. It's quite shiny now, and it does sorta look like a 50-year-old guitar. BUT, it still bleeds and wears very quickly. Some people like that look. I'm a pore boy... When I was a boy, we were so pore I had to sleep in the box the color television set was shipped in! Seriously, I always had someone else's old, beat up hand-me-downs, and I was SO proud when I got my first brand new Harmony that had ALL the finish onto it! I suppose I should tone down my complaint and just leave it that I wish the finish on my "faded" was a bit thicker and more stable. But I hear what you're tellin' me... Regards, J/W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcooper830 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 In my opinion..... there's no sense in trying to polish a faded finish. It's simply not necessary in any way. Unless you want to use Virtuoso or something like that and convert it to a gloss. I would, however, keep the hardware polished and looking nice and shiny. On my gloss finished guitars.. I polish them after every time I play 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyWheat Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 In my opinion..... there's no sense in trying to polish a faded finish. It's simply not necessary in any way. Unless you want to use Virtuoso or something like that and convert it to a gloss. I would, however, keep the hardware polished and looking nice and shiny. On my gloss finished guitars.. I polish them after every time I play 'em. I used a quasi-French polish technique to get mine to go pretty glossy, but it just is not a very robust finish. I may just do a proper job of French polishing the whole thing one day. I'm sure it would turn out beautifully! But believe me, if there were any way I could have bought that guitar in a gloss finish, I would not have bought the faded. I'm a polisher, by nature. J/W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzman Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Idont use any polish or wax of any kind on any of my Gibsons. I just wipe her down after im done.I have one polishing cloth i use on the strings and one for the wood. I also wash my hands before I play.If it gets sweat spots that dry on it, I take a damp polishing cloth and gently clean off the sweat. I have seen and heard of too many nitro finishes getting messed up if you dont polish it right.Whatever you do , dont let any kind of polish dry on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeyeng Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Isn't worrying about your pal and polishing him all the time etc etc getting in the way of what you and your buddy like doing best , i for one am playing my besty for every spare hr of the day cant help myself when he goes on the stand i can feel him staring at me haha play play play and play . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Sometimes I breathe on the finish and wipe sweat and fingerprints away. I do the same on fretboards and hardware, and that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E_danylycha Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I use the cleaning kit on mine every time I restring the guitar (2-3 months) it can't hurt to keep your baby clean and cleaning and maintenance will increase its lifespan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeke Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I use the cleaning kit on mine every time I restring the guitar (2-3 months) it can't hurt to keep your baby clean and cleaning and maintenance will increase its lifespan Me Too, I polish mine everytime I pop a string. Anywhere from 3-6 weeks or so. Its a lot easier to clean when the strings are removed. Chome hardware and pick guard under the knobs etc. pretty simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am_i_evil Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I use only microfibre towel, and after 5 years guitar looks like new, except few dongs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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