Cleaning a used Les Paul Standard

[jjp918s]

Well, after many years I finally bought a Standard. To be precise, a 2003 Standard. While it is in excellent shape, I still would like to do a little cleaning to make it look even more amazing than it already appears. My main concern is that the pickups have some sort of grime on them, perhaps caused by sweat/dirt or improper storage. I realize that pickups are tricky to deal with, but I am wondering if any of you have any suggestions on how to best clean them without negatively effecting their sound. Beyond the pickups, any other cleaning suggestions would be great to hear also, since I am not used to actually caring about what my guitar looks like.

[Raptor]

Are the pickups covered or not? If they are covered, they are probably nickel plated. Nickel wears quickly and takes on a dull grayish look. There is nothing you can do about it without replating or changing the covers. It will not affect the tone at all. If they are uncovered and the pole pieces are showing dirt or corrosion, then a light cleaning with 1000 grit or finer sand paper will clean them up. Rusty pole pieces will degrade the tone a tiny bit, but not a lot. With covers on they should be safe unless the guitar was immersed in water.

[MikeRom]

For cleaning the body you just can't beat the Virtuoso products. You'll get unbelieveable results. For the hardware, try using a metal cleaner formulated to clean the type of metal on the guitar. I don't think any cleaning product will afect the sound of the pickups -

[blacksheep81]

hi,

i have a les paul standard 1985...

 

-1 piece mahogany neck!

-1 piece mahogany body

-3 piece maple top

-2 humb pat.no.2.737.842

 

what is the profile neck in this year (1985)??

 

thanks