sundogg52 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I have a twelve year old ES-175 and the area where my right arm rests, the heel of the nech where it joins the body and some other places have begun to show what appears to be a buildup of body oil, sweat and other elements that have caused the finish to dull and lose its lustre. I have tried Liquid Gold wood cleaner but have had little success in removing this dulling. Anyone have any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobv Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Actually your first attempt was probably the best thing to use. Liquid Gold is an emulsion polish that is supposed to remove both water soluble dirt (like sugary food) and oily stuff. If that didn't work I wouldn't expect any guitar pump polish (Martin, Gibson, whatever) to make any difference. Next try some naptha (lighter fluid) which is safe for the lacquer but it will remove any wax or polish you had on there. If that doesn't help, then it wasn't dirty. Rather than having dirt caked up on it, it might be that the lacquer is worn down and dulled, in which case you need to buff it out with something in the mild abrasive category. Meguiar's makes guitar polish products, and Planet Waves has something called "restore," both work reasonably well. I haven't tried "Virtuoso" but I'm willing to bet the next poster swears by it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeVeeWee Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Actually your first attempt was probably the best thing to use. Liquid Gold is an emulsion polish that is supposed to remove both water soluble dirt (like sugary food) and oily stuff. If that didn't work I wouldn't expect any guitar pump polish (Martin' date=' Gibson, whatever) to make any difference. Next try some naptha (lighter fluid) which is safe for the lacquer but it will remove any wax or polish you had on there. If that doesn't help, then it wasn't dirty. Rather than having dirt caked up on it, it might be that the lacquer is worn down and dulled, in which case you need to buff it out with something in the mild abrasive category. Meguiar's makes guitar polish products, and Planet Waves has something called "restore," both work reasonably well. I haven't tried "Virtuoso" but I'm willing to bet the next poster swears by it...[/quote'] Hi there Bobv, Have you any suggestions for me to clean my ES-175, based on your experience with guitar polish from Martin, Gibson, Fender, Dunlop, etc... Which one would you recommand the most... Thanks man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troels Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Wood cleaner???? are you mad??? Should be about the best way to completely destroy the guitars finish. It could even have a silicon content that makes the guitar irrepairable as you cannot glue or laqer the wood below the finish - even years and years after the finish was removed. Why do people put this sort of stuff on their guitars? Gibsons guitar polish is made for the purpose and removes all dirt ... maybe it takes a little time. But it works and it doesn't destroy either the finish or the wood of the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeVeeWee Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Wood cleaner???? are you mad??? Should be about the best way to completely destroy the guitars finish. It could even have a silicon content that makes the guitar irrepairable as you cannot glue or laqer the wood below the finish - even years and years after the finish was removed. Why do people put this sort of stuff on their guitars? Gibsons guitar polish is made for the purpose and removes all dirt ... maybe it takes a little time. But it works and it doesn't destroy either the finish or the wood of the guitar. Hey Troels, I'm a bit reluctant myself. I would stick to the well known labels from Gibson, Fender, whatever. I presume these are tested especially on all kind of guitars finish, before coming to the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobv Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Wood cleaner???? are you mad??? What kind of finish do you think was on your mom's coffee table? Did Liquid Gold completely destroy that? Also, your rant about silicone is a little overblown. The problem with silicone contamination is that lacquer can get fish eyes if you refinish the piece; the solution has been around for years - just add a little silicone to reduce the surface tension of the finish - it's called "fish eye preventer." Besides the whole warning is misplaced - there isn't any silicone in most furniture polishes - it's car wax you have to be worried about. Then again if you don't have a familiarity with wood finish types and the solvents and cleaners that work with them, then by all means stick with something that has the same brand name on the label that your guitar does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rigormortis Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 When guitars are being finished with nitrocellulose lacquer, the very last step is to buff it with a polishing compound. The one I use is 3M Finesse-It. It is available at auto parts stores and guitar re-finishing suppliers. I have used it successfully to take off that kind of surface discoloration, as well as bring the shine back to guitars and violins. It will not remove lacquer and will buff out very, very slight surface scratches. Use with a cotton cloth or towel or a professional buffing wheel made for buffing instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobv Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 For routine cleaning I happen to like Martin pump polish; it's made by Guardsman. Planet Waves has a pump polish also; it smells like cinnamon candy. "Polish" is a term used loosely; here it means a liquid that's used in place of a wax and can be used for regular cleaning. For cars and woodworking "polish" usually means something else where you need more agressive treatment to remove scratches or damage to a finish, often some sort of mild abrasive for rubbing out a finish - for that you'd go to the paint aisle in the autoparts store or a woodworking catalog that carries Menzerna rubbing compounds but everyone on this forum who's tried it swears by a brand called "Virtuoso" (haven't tried it, do a search for other people's advice). You can get microfiber cloths in the paint aisle at Home Depot or Lowes (I understand they have them in the housewares at Target, too, going to try there next) which will work dry or wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rigormortis Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/finitiipolco.html Finesse-It II, from Guitar Re-ranch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabby Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I use Virtuoso Cleaner & Virtuoso Polish, does a great job. Virtuoso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 I've had this problem with my black ES-175. It takes a soft cleaning cloth, and a little bit of spit and elbow grease. I've used Gibson and Fender polish and both are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Rayba Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I have the same problem with my 05' ebony ES 335! I have two other Gibsons, a 67 ES 330 and a 75 ES 345 in red, and the sweat stains aren't as bad or noticeable. I think the stains show up more on the ebony finish vs. the red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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