Polishing over Nitro

[John Maddison]

All help appreciated. I finished a classical guitar a couple of years ago and because I'm an occasional player (am hooked more on the making ), it gathered a residue build-up of dust & grime. Several months ago I mistakenly decided it needed a polish so I used a (light) spray of Mr. Sheen to which a wood-worker friend took great concern, saying that this product contains all sorts of nasties (silicon, for one) that can affect the matt nitro-cellulose finish over time. Are there any finishing/polishing products that I could treat the guitar with to preserve it's finish and restore a lustre?
Cheers

[hilo_kawika]

The first thing I would recommend is using a gentle, vegetable oil based soap to clean the instrument every few times you use it. This type of soap should be available at your local hardware store in the cleaning section. In the States one brand is Murphy's Oil Soap.

Put a little in warm water, moisten a soft cloth with the solution and gently remove dead skin, oils, etc. Then polish lightly just with another soft, dry cloth. Leaving skin oils on the instrument WILL in time degrade a number of finishes including but not limited to French polish.

aloha,

David

[graham mcdonald]

The silicons in Mr Sheen will only really be a problem if you ever want to re-finish or touch up the nitro lacquer. The silicons seem to be able to penetrate the lacquer and end up on the wood, and any attempt to overspray ends up with 'fisheyes' where the lacquer forms a little crater around a spot where the nitro won't adhere to.

If you are not going to want to re-spray, there are several things you can use to keep the guitar clean. I have never tried a mild soap and water though it seems very sensible. Windex is good for getting fingerjam and other organic gook off, though it can soften some finishes. Check somewhere like the back of the head first. Furniture and antique shops usually sell polishes of various kinds. A lemon oil based polish is good, as long as it doesn't have silicons, and can make the guitar smell nice. I worry about putting oil on the fingerboard, as too much can sink into the endgrain of the fret slots and over time make it soft and more prone to chipping out if the frets have to be replaced. Guitar shops used to sell lemon oil polishes, but they don't seem to be as common as they used to be. Nitro and french polish are, or at least used to be, standard furniture finishes, so there are lots of products out there.

A case can be good as well

cheers

graham

[Allen]

Windex will be alright on lacquer, but go really easy on French Polish. Some of the formulas contain Metho, as this cleans glass like nobodies business. Good tip about the Murphies oil soup. I'm going to pick up a bottle the next time I see it.

[Kim]

Good tip about the Murphies oil soup. I'm going to pick up a bottle the next time I see it.

I think that's what I run the old VN Commodore on, or at least it looks like chunky soup now because it has not been changed for quite a while

Cheers

Kim

[Hesh1956]

Meguiar's "Quick Detailer" made for detailing cars is excellent.

I learned about it from Mario and it works great. It is mostly distilled water, contains no silicons, and is very easy to use. If you can get it in your locations it is usually found by the auto wax.

Spray a nice soft rag with it, not the guitar and after it does it's cleaning thing the dry side of the rag will buff your guitar right back up to a great shine.

Good stuff!

[Allen]

Good tip about the Murphies oil soup. I'm going to pick up a bottle the next time I see it.

I think that's what I run the old VN Commodore on, or at least it looks like chunky soup now because it has not been changed for quite a while

Cheers

Kim

Good catch there. Can you tell I was posting just before tea.

[Kim]

Good tip about the Murphies oil soup. I'm going to pick up a bottle the next time I see it.

I think that's what I run the old VN Commodore on, or at least it looks like chunky soup now because it has not been changed for quite a while

Cheers

Kim

Good catch there. Can you tell I was posting just before tea.

So did I Allen