Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 So, i have just discovered those liquid polishing compounds that everyone who does guitar finishes talks about. First i used it on a mim strat that had been defaced (boo, hiss!) with an unoriginal finish, and it worked brilliantly - and today i decided to see if i couldn't get my 16 year old Explorer to look a bit better. Not that it was in terrible shape, but there were some dulled patches on it and i figured that i needed to see if i could get those polished up. The mim was poly, so no danger from polishing compounds there, but this is nitro, so i did a little patch on the back of the guitar first. It worked Before: After: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drawdeep Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 That looks nice! What brand are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 That looks nice! What brand are you using? Thx, and yes, a polish does help bring out that shine :-D It doesn't make the guitar look flawless and as new though (that is just a trick of the light ), it still has its fair share of scratches, but i managed to get rid of some of the duller areas, like where the forearm rests BTW, i used a microfiber cloth and did it by hand. The lines you can see in the first pic are partly because i have tried polishing it with cotton cloth before. Those are gone now, they fortunately didn't go deep And i use a danish product (called Slipol) which i am 99,9% certain you can't get in the US, but which seems to be the standard product for polishing over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deadbeat Son Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Looks great! Next step: take some steel wool and lemon oil to the fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Looks great! Next step: take some steel wool and lemon oil to the fretboard. People here will probably cry out in horror, but i use a damp old and soft toothbrush to get rid of gunk (and yes, i have done that since the first pic was taken ). Oiling is taken care of by playing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deadbeat Son Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 People here will probably cry out in horror, but i use a damp old and soft toothbrush to get rid of gunk (and yes, i have done that since the first pic was taken ). Oiling is taken care of by playing... Whatever works for you is fine! I let my Tele sit too long this year during the summer months and the frets corroded due to my evaporative cooler. I cleaned them up with steel wool, took care of the gunk as well, and applied some lemon oil and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before wiping off the excess. I repeated the lemon oil application a second time, then restrung. The fretboard looks amazing now, and the guitar plays great. Since I don't play it often enough to keep the board oiled properly, the lemon oil will have to do, and I'm pleased with the result. Again, if it works for you, that's all that matters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Whatever works for you is fine! I let my Tele sit too long this year during the summer months and the frets corroded due to my evaporative cooler. I cleaned them up with steel wool, took care of the gunk as well, and applied some lemon oil and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before wiping off the excess. I repeated the lemon oil application a second time, then restrung. The fretboard looks amazing now, and the guitar plays great. Since I don't play it often enough to keep the board oiled properly, the lemon oil will have to do, and I'm pleased with the result. Again, if it works for you, that's all that matters! Some of my RW fretboards could indeed do with some oil of some sort to get the colour a little deeper - then again, other RW fretboards just keep appearance. Like my early 70's LP - it has only gotten the toothbrush/water treatment for the 10 - 15 years i have owned it, and the rosewood still looks great - whereas some of the more modern offerings i own do have a tendency for the rosewood to lose some colour. My main problem is how to find oils that do not contain any additives like silicone and the likes. I might have to try with virgin olive oil - if it is good enough for treating kitchen wood blocks, it should work on guitars too, right? BTW, i am envious of anyone who actually needs a cooling system for their home - no such need at 56 degrees north Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SouthpawGuy Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Thx, and yes, a polish does help bring out that shine :-D It doesn't make the guitar look flawless and as new though (that is just a trick of the light ), it still has its fair share of scratches, but i managed to get rid of some of the duller areas, like where the forearm rests BTW, i used a microfiber cloth and did it by hand. The lines you can see in the first pic are partly because i have tried polishing it with cotton cloth before. Those are gone now, they fortunately didn't go deep And i use a danish product (called Slipol) which i am 99,9% certain you can't get in the US, but which seems to be the standard product for polishing over here. Hi, I also have an old guitar that needs some polishing. Did you use Slipol ( coarse) or Slipoline ( fine) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Task Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Don't use Olive Oil. It is a non drying oil, and will stay gummy and will go rancid. Find a drying oil, one that will harden. Try Walnut oil. It is just below tung oil in hardness/drying, and you can buy it in any grocery store. I use it on bamboo flutes I build as well as fretboards. All you need is a very small amount, don't soak the fretboard, just allow a light coat to sit for a few moments and then wipe off the excess. It produces a beautiful instant shine, and will not wipe off or transfer after it sits overnight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Hi, I also have an old guitar that needs some polishing. Did you use Slipol ( coarse) or Slipoline ( fine) ? Just regular slipol - i didn't even know there was something finer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members j*h Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 nice job man!looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SouthpawGuy Posted September 29, 2011 Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Just regular slipol - i didn't even know there was something finer? Thanks, I'd never heard of it before so I just googled it and found this .... http://www.thansen.dk/product.asp?c=3332374477&n=1227177116&pn=1556279829 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Don't use Olive Oil. It is a non drying oil, and will stay gummy and will go rancid. Find a drying oil, one that will harden. Try Walnut oil. It is just below tung oil in hardness/drying, and you can buy it in any grocery store. I use it on bamboo flutes I build as well as fretboards. All you need is a very small amount, don't soak the fretboard, just allow a light coat to sit for a few moments and then wipe off the excess. It produces a beautiful instant shine, and will not wipe off or transfer after it sits overnight! I wasn't really serious about the olive oil But actually, i have used it, letting a wood block soak in it before using the block in the kitchen. Didn't make the block greasy or anything - and fortunately didn't go rancid on me Probably a very different type of wood though Walnut oil? As in cold pressed from walnuts? Wonder if i can get that here - but if not in the regular supermarkets, i guess health shops/delis would have it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 Thanks, I'd never heard of it before so I just googled it and found this ....http://www.thansen.dk/product.asp?c=3332374477&n=1227177116&pn=1556279829 Right - this one says "only slightly abrasive" - so i guess that regular slipol is a bit tougher on the surface ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 29, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2011 nice job man!looks great! Thx and although i can live with aged finishes and gunk and all that goes with old (ab)used guitars - i really like a shiny surface on them. So i am pretty happy too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Looks great and my LP has some dull spots in the same spot that look like this will take care of it. I looked for Slipol, but apparently your thread is the most relevant link. I'll need to find something similar in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Looks great! I restore bikes and have used rubbing and polishing compounds after refinishing a guitar but I've never used them on a factory finish. Next time I change the strings on my LP, I'll give it a shot. Rosewood is funny. Some of the stuff just glistens. I bought a first year PRS/Santana SE that hadn't been cleaned or played in at least 10 years. Fretboard still looked absolutely brand new. I hit it with some lemon oil-based stuff and it looked maybe 1% better. On the other hand, I had an Allparts neck that had the dullest, driest looking piece of rosewood I've ever seen and no amount of oil would make it look any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slushpup96 Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Looks fantastic! Really made a difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Automotive polish works great. I use a cut and polish and then a polish. Takes out scratches and makes em look new again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Task Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Automotive polish works great. I use a cut and polish and then a polish. Takes out scratches and makes em look new again. That's what I use as well when I buy a guitar to renovate it to resell. I have a black esp viper standard, my main guitar, that I am on the fence about either leaving it alone and let it look well played in (which it is;)), or spending a little time taking the swirls and deeper scratches out and making it look like new. What to do... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Automotive polish works great. I use a cut and polish and then a polish. Takes out scratches and makes em look new again. Is that stuff nitro safe? I ask because I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Is that stuff nitro safe? I ask because I don't know. To be honest, I am not sure ashasha. I have only used it on poly. I found out about the car polish from my guitar tech/builder. He didn't specify whether it works on poly and nitro but google is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted September 30, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Is that stuff nitro safe? I ask because I don't know. Well, the stuff i used is what car guys here use. And the Explorer (hopefully) is nitro. I'd figure if you hand rub it carefully it would work - after all, nitro is a car finish too. However - do not rub to hard or to fast - i did just that in some spots and got some marks from that, even with the microfibre cloth. So if you have a spot that is hard to get shiny, don't use power or pressure. Just polish it again and again and again ...and then again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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