Things You'll Need:
- your guitar
- patience
- dedication
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Step 1
Every time you play your guitar you allow it to get dirty and have the oils from your hands and arms transfer to the guitar and its strings. If you get into the habit of wiping down your guitar and strings you can avoid future problems and extend the life of your guitar.
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Step 2
A soft cotton cloth is the best for cleaning and polishing your guitar. You can buy a "guitar polishing cloth" from your local music store if you wish and want to be sure it won’t harm your guitar but a old 100% cotton T-shirt makes a wiping tool as well. Just make sure it’s not a printed t-shirt because that can harm the finish of your guitar. Also paper towels are not good to use, they can scratch a finish especially if it’s lacquered or shellac’d.
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Step 3
Every time you wipe your guitar to clean it you are also polishing it. So getting into a habit of wiping down your guitar after each time you play it will keep it clean and looking like new.
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Step 4
It is a fact that wiping down your strings right after you play you can drastically lengthen the amount of time your strings last. Your hands are naturally very oily and as you play the strings get saturated with it. It doesn’t sound like it would make a big difference, but try it out on your new set of strings and you will notice them last a lot longer.
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Step 5
If your guitar needs some deep cleaning, try moistening the wiping cloth with a little mild detergent in water. Remember to spray the cloth, not the guitar. The intent is to get as little moisture as possible to get through the cracks or breaks in the finish and into the wood. After using the damp cloth use a dry cloth wiping over it to remove any streaks.
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Step 6
There are lots of commercial guitar polishes and cleaners on the market. They are basically of three types - water based cleaners, creamy, water based cleaners with very fine abrasives, and oils. Most of these are fine products, and, used according to directions, will give good results. Oils will remove oily smudges, but may not have any effect on water soluble dirt. Water-based cleaners (which look semitransparent in the bottle) should be sprayed on the cloth rather than on the instrument, and will clean up water soluble dirt best. The creamy polishes may have a slight abrasive, and are best avoided if you have a "matte" or dull finished guitar. Too much polishing can cause a semi-gloss finish to become shiny in patches.
Comments
Wasatch said
on 12/6/2008 I will print this for my daughter who is getting pretty goos at the classical acoustic. Thanks I recommended you.