Guitar Collector Forum

What products are best for restoring and shining up old guitars? I mean guitar polish and fretboard conditioner. I hear a lot of different views about guitar polish in general, but is there anything special about old (vintage) guitars that I should look out for, because of the old lacquers they used? Also, what's the best way of cleaning off accumulated gunk from fretboards? I'm tempted to use something like white spirit or methalated spirit and then treat it with fretboard conditioner of some sort afterwards. Is this OK or will it take the oil out of the wood?

I use this stuff
http://store.daddario.com/category/152497/Express_Packs
I tried the sachets first and then bought the bottles. You local guitar shop should stock them.
If you read the links under the picture on the linked page there are some good tips---

Thanks, I might try that.

I just bought some Kyser polish (as in Kyser Capos) as it was the only one my music store stocked, but I'm not very impressed with it. It did an OK job, but not spectacular finish.

When I asked for fretboard conditioner the guy said you can use fast fret on the fingerboard too, I never heard of that before I thought it ws just for strings. Seems wrong using it on fingerboard, what do you think???

http://www.kysermusical.com/product.php?productid=16152

Never heard of Kyser, so can't comment on the product. I used to use lemon oil before I found the D'Addario stuff, it works well too---

Hi Rebel, welcome to the forum.

I've used Dunlop Formula 65 polish before, which is pretty good. The main thing is to avoid polishes that include silicon... that includes many "Mr Sheen" type home spray polishes.

Fast Fret to treat fretboards? I wouldn't be keen to try that, it's too waxy. There's a difference between getting a bit of fast fret on the fretboard when cleaning your strings, and deliberately treating the fretboard with it. There's lots of 'fretboard feeder' type products available that replace the natural oils in the wood and clean at the same time. They soak into the wood... a bit like oiling a cricket bat!

I've alway used Dunlop Formula 65 too. it's pretty thin and you don't need much so it's great for regular use, I try to remember to use it every time I change strings. Because it's a thin liquid it cleans and shines up the surface without giving a waxy build-up of polish and seems OK on scratchplates too. I don't know whether it would be so good for restoring the shine older guitars though, you might need something a bit more specialist for real vintage guitars, especially if they've been neglected for many years.

I haven't used it myself, but serious vintage guitar restorers use Virtuoso Guitar Cleaner and Virtuoso Guitar Polish.

http://www.virtuosopolish.com/

Virtuoso started out as vintage guitar dealers and developed the product themselves for cleaning and polishing high-value old guitars, including pre-war vintage.

Check out their cuctomer comments page, if those comments are trus then it sounds like an amazing product! http://www.virtuosopolish.com/page14.php

THey say: Virtuoso Premium Polish and Virtuoso Premium Cleaner grew out of the need to care for these instruments. Even though they may have been world class instruments, when we got them they weren't always in world class condition. The guitar care products available in 1995 would not clean the finishes without either (a) adding to the grime or (b) damaging the finish.

We set out to find a chemist capable of helping us develop a guitar care system that would allow us to clean years of accumulated dirt and grime without lifting or damaging the finish and also help protect the finish and wood underneath going forward. After numerous attempts and formula changes we arrived at the products now known as Virtuoso Premium Polish and Virtuoso Premium Cleaner. It is the only two part cleaning system designed specifically for nitrocellulose lacquer finishes. It also works wonders on polyurethane and UV cured finishes found on newer instruments.

BB

Redland Music Products has a line of cleaners, waxes and lemon oils designed specifically for vintage instruments. No silicone, solvents or detergents. Safe and easy to use. A little goes a long way. Give it a try.

http://www.redlandmusic.com