Polished up the ol' GF-25

[Dirt123]

My GF-25 is beat up. No other way to describe it.

I figured that I may as well try to polish it up. I dug out my trusty bottle of 3M Light Rubbing Compound, & applied vigorously with a flannel. Check out the results.

You can see pretty much all of the pick scratches I wanted to rub out in this before shot (it was like this when I got it). They cross the guitar all the way from the upper bout bass-side to the lower bout treble-side, with many a detour to the treble upper bout (Yes, the center seam is split, but stable):

Heres' a closeup of the pickguard & body before:

Here, the body is done, but not the pickguard (also note the wear into the wood at the sound hole. There's no polishing THAT out!):

& now the pickguard after (you can also see the crack in the top that follows the bass side of the pickguard. It's stable, the bracing seems to be holding the top together):

Shiny!


Upper bout treble before:

After:

Upper bout bass before:

After:

The guitar posing in front of my vinyl, still beat but prettier:

The polish worked better than I had hoped. Took lots of elbow grease, but it was worth it.

 

[krysh]

nice, lots of character, but you should take a bit care of the fretboard, too. :wink:

 

[killdeer43]

It's a beauty. How does it sound?

Joe

 

[Dirt123]

nice, lots of character, but you should take a bit care of the fretboard, too. :wink:

Uhhh, yeah, that's next.

 

[Dirt123]

It's a beauty. How does it sound?

Joe

Well, pretty darn good after I put on a new bone nut & saddle. It projects well & is balanced like a mini jumbo should be. I thinks the arched back really helps to focus the tone. I'm probably going to get better bridge pins, & swap the Fishman for a K&K Mini Western. Sometime.

 

[chazmo]

Nice work with the rubbing compound. I may try that stuff on one of my axes that has pick marks on the wood... I'm a little hesitant, though, because I don't know how thick the nitrocellulose is on that axe.

 

[Graham]

Made to be played! :mrgreen:

 

[TonyT]

Made to be played! :mrgreen:

Man, I love me some GF-25 porn.

 

[Dirt123]

Nice work with the rubbing compound. I may try that stuff on one of my axes that has pick marks on the wood... I'm a little hesitant, though, because I don't know how thick the nitrocellulose is on that axe.

It gets tricky when there are larger chips of finish missing, & wide cracks; the compound gets down in the fissures & is hard to clean up. Be careful if the finish is crazed, like mine is.

D

 

[Sefton419]

Can car polish be used on guitars? I am a car detailer and have a bunch of waxes and polishes, and I've heard different opinions about whether car products can be used on a guitar.

Whatever you used worked very well!!!

 

[taabru45]

I just did up an old Eko guitar with Mothers california gold....worked greatl. Also used it on my F112. all nice and shiny. Carnuba wax, non abrasive, and no silicone, are the three things to keep in mind I think...Steffan

 

[chazmo]

I think the 3M stuff is a mild abrasive. It'd probably have to be to clear up those scratches. Or, potentially, it could be a "filler" product, but I don't think so.

 

[superhonma]

Beautiful guitar!

 

[fungusyoung]

That guitar has some serious mojo. I love it!

 

[chicagowineguy]

Ah the GF25...my next Guild! TonyT says I can borrow his for a test drive, and I'll take him up on it, but I don't think I even really need it--I just think it's got to be my smaller-bout guitar with a nice fat tone! If anyone wants to chime in with a review to put more fire on my GAS--feel free!

 

[Dirt123]

The 3M product is abrasive, it's not a spray type polish, so I don't use it routine polishing, which in my mind is actually cleaning (or de-greasing). I'm still looking for a good cleaner, right now I have some cheapo bottle of spray I got someplace, and it doesn't work too well.

D