Cleaning your Guild acoustic

Stuball48

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Would someone point me to a thread giving instructions on cleaning my Guild acoustic? I have googled the topic but find no concentrated discussion on cleaning a Guild and we all know Guilds are not just an ordinary acoustic.
If there is no such thread, I would appreciate how you clean yours. Thank you
 

txbumper57

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Whatever you do don't use a polish with silicone in it. The silicone will get into the pores of the nitro and penetrate the wood making future repairs and cleaning almost impossible. For cleaning and polishing the High Gloss finished areas I use Virtuoso Guitar Cleaner first and then The Virtuoso Guitar Polish. Both are specifically made for Nitro finished high end acoustics and instruments and are Silicone free. A little bit goes a long way so the two bottles last a really long time if you are not cleaning and polishing 20 guitars at a time. I apply them with microfiber applicator pads like you would get from the auto parts store and then buff clean with an actual microfiber cloth. You can find a set of the cleaner and polish for around $20 on Ebay or Reverb. I get my applicators and Microfiber towels from Amazon or Autozone depending on how much of a hurry I am in.

I'll let others weigh in on fretboard/bridge cleaning and preservation as it seems everyone does that a little bit different. Hope this helps.

TX
 
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txbumper57

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If it is a gloss finish I would go with the Virtuoso. If it is a satin finish I would wait and inquire about that specifically as I have never used it on a satin nitro finish before.

TX
 

adorshki

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Whatever you do don't use a polish with silicone in it. The silicone will get into the pores of the nitro and penetrate the wood making future repairs and cleaning almost impossible. TX
TX with all due respect that's the first I ever heard of "pores" in gloss NCL finishes.
I agree with the basic concept of avoiding silicone contamination but in past it was about the potential for those polishes to penetrate finish cracks, even those small enough to be invisible to the naked eye.
Are we actually in agreement and just using different terms?
 
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AcornHouse

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Nah, what you want to do, see, is go down to the car wash where they got them, what d'ya call 'em, pressurized type washers, then you can get all that there gunk good and cleaned out.
:very_drunk:
 

Westerly Wood

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you clean your Guild acoustic?

throughout the year I will hand push the dust off the body that gathers as it hangs out in open air. Tucson is brutal with the dust and sand...

for the most part, my D25 Br is self-cleaning. I mean after 46 years, it ought to know.
 

txbumper57

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TX with all due respect that's the first I ever heard of "pores" in gloss NCL finishes.
I agree with the basic concept of avoiding silicone contamination but in past it was about the potential for those polishes to penetrate finish cracks, even those small enough to be invisible to the naked eye.
Are we actually in agreement and just using different terms?

You can call it what you want and I'll call it what I want, LOL. Fact of the matter is if you use silicone on a Nitro Finish and then sand that area of finish to apply another coat of nitro on the same spot, the Silicone that penetrated the first layer will prevent proper adhesion between that and the next layer of Nitro in my experience. Regardless of whether Nitro has "pores" that the silicone penetrates or it adheres itself to the nooks and crannies of the nitro finish the bottom line is that Silicone contamination stays in the area it was used and is almost impossible to get rid of once it is there. That was all I was getting at.

TX
 

adorshki

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Nah, what you want to do, see, is go down to the car wash where they got them, what d'ya call 'em, pressurized type washers, then you can get all that there gunk good and cleaned out.
:very_drunk:

'specially all that dust that cakes up inside of the ones that get left out on stands and hangers all the time.
'specially the ones in Arizona.
And Las Vegas.
 

Westerly Wood

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'specially all that dust that cakes up inside of the ones that get left out on stands and hangers all the time.
'specially the ones in Arizona.
And Las Vegas.

i think playing your old guild acoustic often cleans it. if you strum hard like I do, the dust just kind of moves on, if you know what i mean...
 

GAD

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Only thing I clean lacquer with is naptha. Smells awful but works great.

For frets and fretboard I use Gorgomyte which is magic. I used to use 0000 steel wool and haven’t touched the stuff since I bought my first Gorgomyte cloth. Amazing stuff.
 

adorshki

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i think playing your old guild acoustic often cleans it. if you strum hard like I do, the dust just kind of moves on, if you know what i mean...

Ever wonder if that's why you sneeze so much when you're channeling Richie Havens?
Bein' that the soundhole's in such close proximity to your sneezer, y'know?

There's an article in an old Guitar Player that addresses the hazards: "Dustbunnies In Your Guitar: A Sneeze Waiting to Happen?"
 

davismanLV

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'specially the ones in Arizona.
And Las Vegas.
Now, Al...... be careful. Someone might think you're speaking specifically about THEM!!! Ahem, so anyway, my guitars are all clean and pristine. If they look the least bit dusty I wipe them off and also at every string change. Al, I did think of you last night!! NO, NOT THAT WAY!!! While all the painting, cleaning, carpets, tile, and moving is happening here, all guitars have been cased and packed away! Last night I need to see old Blue so I opened the closet, took out the case, opened the case, played my guitar, then put it back in the case, closed the case back up, and put it away in the closet again. I thought, "What a pain in the effing a$$!! Al does this every time???" LMAO!! :devilish:
 

adorshki

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I thought, "What a pain in the effing a$$!! Al does this every time???" LMAO!! :devilish:
You forgot to have the "Honeymoon Moment".
It makes up for everything.
But I've recently realized it does finally wear off after about 15 years.
Ok, just about to leave work for the weekend and remembered that I hadn't answered your PM.
Yes the phone I used was the landline so doesn't get texts.
I may or may not be around over the weekend, I'm gonna procrastinate right up until the last moment.
If I find myself starving for the milk of forum gossip I know who to call.
Pascal always picks up.
:tongue-new:
 
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GAD

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Definitely the Gorgomyte Maneuver. This is the guy from the episode:

11.jpg


Who turned out to be this guy in the end:

balok_laughing.jpg


Which happens to be the very expression I make after cleaning my frets with Gorgomyte!
 
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