How to Polish an Electric Guitar

An electric guitar picks up all kinds of fingerprints and dirt on its shiny, colorful finish when you play it. Like any musical instrument, an electric guitar is an investment that requires maintenance to keep it looking good. Keep the paint job looking shiny and clean by polishing your electric guitar regularly.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Water (optional)
• Rubbing alcohol (optional)
• 2 soft cloths
• Guitar polish (spray or cream)

1. Start with a clean electric guitar. If it has dirt build-up on its surface, dampen a clean, soft cloth with a mixture that is half water, half rubbing alcohol. Wipe the dirt or dusty build-up off both sides of the guitar, taking care not to get the controls and strings too wet. Wipe it dry. (If the guitar is already clean, skip this step and move on to Step 2).
2. Spritz a little spray polish or squeeze a little dab of cream polish on the surface of your electric guitar's clean surface. You will be working in small sections so use polish sparingly.
3. Rub the polish in with one side of the dry, soft cloth, then flip it over and use the other side of the cloth to remove polish residue. Work your way across the face of the guitar, polishing a small section at a time, saving the string area and control panel area for last.
4. Polish under the strings by flattening the cloth, polish side down, and threading it under the strings. Move the cloth up from the bottom of the strings to the top of the neck, wiping gently.
5. Wipe around the knobs on the control panel on the guitar face without using any additional polish.
6. Turn the electric guitar over and polish the back in small sections as you did the front.

Tips & Warnings

• Some guitar stores sell polishing kits that contain 2 or 3 bottles of polishing steps and a cloth. Ask one of the guitar store employees what he recommends for the type of electric guitar you have.
• Watch for polishes that cause more build-up than others.
• You may want to remove the guitar strings before cleaning to make the process a little easier, or save the cleaning process for a time when you need to replace your strings.