Well, it's that time of year again- time for some good 'ol guitar spring cleaning! As I sit here I can see the dust accumulating on the top of my guitars and the set of new strings waiting patiently on my dresser. There they are, two classical guitars and two acoustic-electrics, not to mention the other five that are in the closet! Oh for a little more time...Some of you may be hesitating to clean your guitar and put on some new strings simply because you don't know how. I had one student who drenched his new guitar strings in oil after putting them on his guitar! He said he did this because that's what he used to do with his softball glove!! Needless to say, they were ruined. Fortunately, the guitar itself was okay.
So, it goes without saying that you need to use cleaning products that are specifically made for guitars- not your moms furniture polish, or some vegetable oil you found in the cupboard.
I like to use Martin Guitar Polish because it's very affordable and easy to apply. All you do is spray it on and then use a polishing cloth to wipe off all the excess gunk and smudges from the surface of your guitar. The polish is very fine, so it doesn't leave an oily residue. It will both clean and polish your guitar, plus add a little shine too. Martin Guitar Polish comes in a spray bottle, so you only need to use a little bit, which makes it last a long time.
In order to get a real thorough guitar spring cleaning done though, you will need to take the strings off. If you need help doing this, just read the article I wrote awhile back titled:
How To Change Your Guitar Strings
Feel free to print it out if you need to. Here are some pictures that show how it's done.
I have a little guitar care & maintenance kit which includes these items...
Guitar Polish
Polishing Cloth
String Winder/pin puller
Plus a pair of plyers and a thing-a-ma-jig I use for pulling the string out of the capstan hole on the head of the guitar. The thing-a-ma-jig I use looks like a long narrow, two-pronged fork. I have also used a nail-file in the past. You can use your fingers if you want to, but metal strings are sharp and sometimes difficult to get out. Whatever you do, be careful not to scratch your guitar.
I also use a multipurpose precision oil on the machine heads (tuning keys) to keep them from sticking so they're easier to turn. If you have problems with string breakage, I recommend using Nut Sauce, which is popular among electric guitar players and will also help keep your guitar in tune.
You can buy the items mentioned above individually and make your own kit, or you can buy a kit that's already made by the manufacturer. Dunlop and Gibson both have ready-made kits available...
DUNLOP MAINTENANCE KIT
GIBSON ACCESORIES PACK (includes a string-winder)
Well, if the weather is crummy this weekend, maybe we can all get some guitar spring cleaning done, eh?
Till next time...
Keep practicing!
4 comments:
hey, just found your blog. thanks for the spring cleaning write-up... most of the stuff i already knew, but it's kinda prodding me to stop being lazy and get to cleaning. thank!
hey, meant to say thanks... lol. also wanted to throw this out there - http://www.playground-music.biz/p-1020-fender-electric-survival-pack-maint-kit.aspx - that's a pretty handy Fender maintenance kit for the fanboys, like me!
Great post! If you're going to spend the money to buy a good guitar, or any guitar for that matter, take good care of it and use the cleaners that clean it best, not just any cleaner.
Thanks to your post I cleaned my guitar this morning - thanks!
Great tips. It's really important to take good care of your guitar in order to keep it in good playing shape. I often repair guitars for friends and students and am amazed at some of the the things I see!! I finally started writing articles on guitar repair and lots of other guitar stuff on my website, Ultimate Guitar Online, because I'm thinking there are lots of people that need the help! Glad to see you are doing the same.
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