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Last Updated: December 22, 2019
Before you squirt any polish on your guitar, you need to clean it first.
Wait! Don’t squirt polish on that guitar yet!
Revolutionary concept, right?
Well, if this was common sense I wouldn’t be seeing legions of people, day after day, reaching for a bottle of guitar polish to “clean” their dirty guitars.
If there’s any significant dust or dirt sitting on your guitar’s glossy (or satin) finish, you’re just going to smear it around–essentially micro-sanding your lacquer or, worse, outright scratching it. This is why dark-colored guitars can develop dull, hazy areas after a few years of well-intentioned polishing.
So, don’t use a guitar polish as your very first (or only) step in cleaning. First, remove any significant dust, dirt, sweat, and oils. In this post, I’ll show you how easy (and cheap) it is to clean your guitar without any specialized cleaners.
Behold! Lurking Dust and Dirt
So, that guitar in the photo up there? The surface looks pretty clean, doesn’t it? Seems like it would be safe to just spritz on some polish and give it a quick wipe, right? Don’t count on it. Let’s remove the strings and adjust the lighting so you can see exactly what’s lurking on that seemingly clean finish:
Get that otherwise clean-looking guitar under the right light and all kinds of crap is revealed. Not only did I find a ton of dust, I found a small metal flake, dog hairs, and a smudge from my dog’s nose. And this is just the front of the guitar!
Whoa! If I’d just squirted guitar polish on there, I’d have been smearing all that stuff around on my finish. The dusty stuff and dog hair probably wouldn’t have done any obvious damage that could be seen with the naked eye, but that mysterious flake of metal definitely would’ve scratched my pristine, glossy finish.
Quick Note About “Natural” Wood Finishes
The basic cleaning method I’ll outline here is for guitars that have a hard gloss or matte/satin lacquer finish of some sort. If your guitar has what appears to be a natural finish, skip to the end–to the section titled “If Your Guitar Has a Natural Finish.” You do NOT want to use water or cleaning products on a guitar that has some type of natural (non lacquer) finish, because they can soak right into the wood and permanently stain it.
Cleaning Your Guitar’s Finish
I’m not going to go into heavy-duty, advanced cleaning or finish restoration techniques in this article. This outlines “basic cleaning” of a guitar that’s dusty, smudged with fingerprints, and may have some minor sweat and oil build up where you’re forearm and hands have been touching it. I also won’t be covering fretboard cleaning. That’ll be another blog post… coming soon.
The Supplies You’ll Need
Despite all the great guitar products on the market, you probably already own (or were born with) everything you’ll need for basic guitar cleaning:
- Bottled water. Home-filtered water may work too, I’ve just never personally tried it.
- Cleaning cloth. I prefer the a microfiber cloth for its high pile and extra softness.
- A very soft-bristle brush. I love my Music Nomad Tool (pictured here), but a soft kabuki face brush works well too.
- Your hot breath. Don’t worry, I’ll explain below.
- Saliva. Seriously, stay with me here.
Really, this is all you need for basic cleaning. Bottled water, a microfiber cloth, and a very soft-bristle brush. I use the Music Nomad String, Body, & Hardware Tool.
1. Remove Loose Dust and Dirt
Remove your guitar strings and use a very soft brush to gently sweep over the entire guitar to remove larger particles of loose dust and dirt. Be sure you get between the pickups (if it’s an electric guitar) and between all the tuning pegs. Use the bristles to get down into little crevices and corners.
I want to clarify what I mean when I say “soft brush.” A standard paintbrush from the hardware store just won’t do here–regardless of how soft they may feel to you. My favorite type of bristle is soft, natural sable. For years, I used a women’s makeup brush–the biggest type, which I think is used to apply blush.
Or, an even better tool is the Music Nomad String, Body, and Hardware cleaning Tool. It’s actually 2 cleaning tools in one, and I love mine for sweeping away dust and dirt, as well as getting into hard-to-reach places while the strings are still on the guitar.
One note of caution: because they’re so fine, these sable brushes can occasionally shed a bristle here and there. If this happens, just blow them off the guitar before moving on.
So, grab that brush:
Grab your soft-bristle brush and get ready to go to town.
Sweep briskly over all areas, regardless of whether you can actually see dust or not. Be sure to sweep the dust all the way off the edge of the guitar–don’t just blindly flail the brush around:
Take advantage of the soft bristles to get into little cracks and crevices. On Strat-style electric guitars, don’t forget to dust inside the guitar’s horns:
Don’t forget about your guitar’s headstock. Use the bristles to get between the tuners on both the front and back of the guitar’s headstock:
2. Remove Remaining (Stubborn) Gunk
Now that we’ve removed all the loose stuff, let’s remove any remaining fingerprints, sweat, and oils (and, in my case, a dog’s nose-print).
This is where your microfiber cloth, hot breath, water, and maybe even a little spit come in. However, never spit on someone else’s guitar. That’s just gross. Only use saliva when cleaning your own guitar.
When removing stuck-on gunk with a cloth, don’t use a rubbing or buffing motion–we’ll do that later. At this stage, use the microfiber cloth in a “scooping” motion, like this:
Don’t rub or buff yet. Use a scooping motion to safely LIFT and pick up dirt.
I like to try using the cloth completely dry first, but I’ll occasionally fog spots with my hot breath. 90% of the time, simply fogging a dirty spot then immediately removing the condensation with a microfiber cloth will remove the gunk:
A microfiber cloth and your hot breath are often ALL you need to clean a guitar.
If that’s not working and you’ve got something that’s really refusing to let go, slightly dampen a spot on the cloth with a bit of bottled water. Let me emphasize again: slightly damp.
1. Wet a microfiber cloth with bottled water.
2. The cloth should only be slightly damp.
3. Blot the damp spot against a dry spot on the towel.
4. Use the damp towel in a scooping motion to remove gunk
Finally, if water isn’t doing the trick, you can moisten the cloth with a bit of your saliva. Though it grossed you out, mom was onto something when she licked her finger and wiped that sticky smudge off your cheek. Saliva is nature’s universal gunk remover, and it makes a pretty good solvent for removing organic buildup like the sweat and oils.
Continue this routine until you’ve removed all obvious dust, sweat, and oil from the guitar. Once you’ve done that, it’s now safe to give your guitar a light buffing with a different/clean microfiber cloth. Once all that’s done, THEN it’s safe to use your favorite guitar polish.
Okay, NOW You Can Polish Your Guitar (Gloss Finishes)
NOW you can safely apply your favorite guitar polish. However, I generally advise using polish only a few times a year (about every 3-4 months if you play your guitar a lot). My favorite polish for gloss finishes is Music Nomad’s Guitar One Cleaner/Polish/Wax. However, if you’re guitar has a matte or satin finish, you’ll want to use Music Nomad’s Guitar Detailer for Matte & Gloss Finishes instead.
For polishing my glossy finish, I’m using Music Nomad Guitar One and my favorite type of polishing rag: a well-washed cotton cloth baby diaper. If your guitar has a matte/satin finish, you’ll want to use Music Nomad Guitar Detailer instead.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, do not use water, polish, or cleaners (or saliva) on your guitar if it has a “natural” finish. Though these natural finishes have been sealed with an oil or oil-varnish mixture, it only gives the wood a basic level of protection. This means that whatever you put on the wood could potentially find its way in… permanently.
Sweat and oil stains from my forearm and fingers. Any attempt to remove these will just make those areas lighter or darker than the surrounding wood.
Now, I love a natural finish, but over time the areas that come into frequent contact with your body will begin to discolor (get darker), and there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. You can use a dry microfiber cloth to wipe the guitar down after you play, but that’s about it. Sometimes, plain (clear) mineral oil can be used to remove superficial stains on smaller areas. However, just about anything you use to try and remove stains from a natural finish can potentially make that spot darker or lighter than the surrounding areas.
This is just the nature of natural finishes. If you buy a guitar with a natural finish, do so accepting the fact that the guitar is going to pick up some mojo over the years. Be proud of that mojo.
Final Thoughts
Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and think you can use JUST guitar polish as a cleaner. You might get away with it for awhile, but eventually it’ll bite you–as your guitar gradually develops a dull haze or very fine scratches that you can’t remove.
But what about the products labelled as “cleaners” you ask? After all, the Music Nomad Guitar One I recommend here says it’s an all-in-one cleaner, polish, and wax. What the heck? Technically, you can use the Guitar One product as a cleaner, but you should still dust-off your guitar first. Then, when you’re using the Guitar One to do the heavy cleaning, just be sure to use the “scooping” motion I outlined above. That’ll ensure you’re lifting dirt off the guitar, and not just smearing it around.
Send Me Your Questions
What questions did I leave unanswered? Let me know in the comments section down below and I’ll do my best to help ya out.
Hey Bobby. Dave here in Ventura, California again. While I was at it, I wanted to ask you one more Question if I may. I just read some of your reply’s, and, that is so nice/cool that you welcome all people with their questions. Those kinda Guys /Website’s are hard to find these Day’s for sure. Q: Just got a brand new J45 Southern Jumbo. Out of the Box. One day while it was on it’s back…I accidently dropped a very tiny phillips screw driver on the top of the Spruce Sunburst finish. I left a very, very tiny indentation in the wood. I believe it barley cracked the Nitro Laquer, and not into the Wood itself. So small…that you have to look for the tiny dent/scratch to find it. Seriously…that small. My Luthier said….just let it go. Don’t worry about it. Hmmmm! Could that be repaired…or ??? I did finally did apply the Nomads Guitar wax on that small area, and it took away some of that “finger-nail” feel to it. Your thought’s on this. First tiny scratch on a $3,000 guitar. Ouch ! Somewhere I read, put a drop a Super – glue on it, and I didn’t feel comfortable doing that. Thanks again Bobby. Dave in Ventura, California.
Can I use food safe mineral oil on my acoustic guitar? If yes, do I still need polish. Thank you so much for such a fine tutorial.
Steve
If you’re asking about the body of the guitar, no. Don’t use oil on the body. What you SHOULD use on the body depends on what kind of finish is on there, but it’s generally good to stick to guitar-safe polishes. If it looks and feels “natural” (not slick and shiny), you can just use a plain microfiber cloth that is very slightly damp to spot-clean where necessary. If It’s glossy, then just get yourself a good polish like the Music Nomad Guitar One polish I recommend in this article.
If you’re asking about the fretboard, absolutely. You don’t need to do it very often… maybe once a year… and plain/clear mineral oil is just fine for this. Wipe it on, let it set on top of the wood for about 30 seconds, and then wipe off all excess. You don’t want to over-saturate the wood. I used plain mineral oil for years, but now prefer Music Nomad F-One oil. It’s all I use now.
Hope that helps!
Aren`t most guitar finishes “slick and shiny”?
Hi Mark.
Gloss finishes are indeed the most common. However, quite a few guitars out there have satin lacquer finishes or any of a myriad of oil, natural, or “hand rubbed” finishes. There there’s the really crazy stuff like various textured finishes, but those aren’t very common.
Hello! Grateful to find this article. Did I miss something though? The article says: “If your guitar has what appears to be a natural finish, skip to the end–to the section titled “If Your Guitar Has a Natural Finish.” You do NOT want to use water or cleaning products on a guitar that has some type of natural (non lacquer) finish, because they can soak right into the wood and permanently stain it.” So, what DO you use? I skipped to that section and it just talked about there’s nothing you can do about stains. (Luckily, I don’t have any even after years). I use Smith Classic Wax Polish on my Bubinga wood body. I only wipe the body with a cloth before polishing. Is that all that can be done before polishing? Is there any cleaner that works on Bubinga wood?
Hi Farrin. It really depends on what was used to create your “natural” finish. There are quite a few things out there… oils, rubbing varnishes, etc. Some of them allow you more leeway for cleaning than others, and I’ll admit I’m not enough of a finish expert to know them all.
I used to have a Custom Shop Jackson that was finished in natural Watco Danish oil and had a gorgeous AAAA flame maple top. I could remove very minor stains (like where my fingers rested below the strings) by very carefully using a tiny drop of clear mineral oil on a cotton cloth. However, years later I tried that same method on the guitar pictured in this article, and it didn’t work. It actually made the issue worse.
Your best bet is to write to the manufacturer and ask them what’s safe. Some natural finishes will allow you to get more aggressive, and others you can do no more than just wipe with a clean dry cloth… and accept that you’re going to have to learn to love that “played in” look.
Hey there! I was thinking about using some polish on my gloss guitar finish (to be exact Ernie Ball 4222 guitar polish) which contains silicone. Now, what do you think about using polishes with silicone, is it safe to use, can it make any harm to guitar finish or can it cause any bad effects? Really appreciate your time here.
Hi Katy:
I prefer not to use polishes with silicone, because there are so many great silicone-free alternatives out there nowadays. For glossy finishes, Music Nomad Guitar One has become my favorite silicone-free polish.
However, as far as I know, guitar polishes that contain silicone won’t damage your guitar’s finish. They contain a very low percentage of silicone (usually 1% or less). Where silicone IS a problem is if you ever need to have a chip, scratch, etc. in your lacquer repaired. Silicone tends to stay on the surface for a very long time, is extremely difficult to remove fully, and worst of all: new lacquer will not adhere to anything that has silicone on it. This makes finish repairs a real pain in the butt for your repairperson.
Now, I’ve heard that with long-term use, silicone can gradually work it’s way into the lacquer and possibly begin to cause a haze in the finish.
I’m not certain about this, because I’ve never personally seen it happen. I think this would only happen if you repeatedly rubbed something with a high percentage of silicone into your guitar’s lacquer… but why the heck would anyone do that?
As I said, most silicone-containing guitar polishes have a very tiny amount of silicone, so you’re probably okay (except for what I mentioned above–if you ever need a finish repair).
There’s a lot of conflicting advice when it comes to silicone and guitar finishes. So, since there are great silicone-free alternatives out there, I just avoid it and use a silicone-free polish.
Hi there I hope you can help. I wish I read your post first. I cleaned my gloss acoustic guitar the way you said I shouldn’t have. So basically now I have a haze that’s been rubbed in. The haze was from my arm leaning on guitar while playing it. So not knowing better I used a Martin guitar polish and rubbed the grime in. Im so upset. Can you pleeeaasse help? I sure hope there’s a fix that I can do myself. Thanks so much in advance. Barbara
Hi Barb. I received your email and replied, so get back to me and hopefully we can get this resolved. Once I know the nature of this “haze” you’re describing, we can go from there.
Hi there! Thanks for the article. If you have a moment to answer some questions, I’d be much obliged!
1) Can the Guitar One be used for cleaning the fretboard?
2) Can it also be used to remove oxidation from pickups?
3) On the Music Nomad website it says that Guitar Polish is good for removing oxidation from metal elements, but can it also be used for cleaning the body of the guitar? How about the fretboard?
Too many products out there!
Thanks!
Hi Adam. Here are the answers to those questions:
1. You shouldn’t use the Guitar One on your fretboard, unless your fretboard is covered in thick, shiny lacquer (like some Strats are) and the lacquer hasn’t been worn through in any spots. If your fretboard is like most, it’s essentially bare wood, and in that case you should use Music Nomad F-One Fretboard Oil instead. I love that stuff for fretboards, and talk about it in many places throughout this website. Highly recommended.
2. I don’t know if the Guitar One is the best for pickup oxidation. I do use it on my metal parts, but mine aren’t badly oxidized. Guitar One is more of a gentle, all-around cleaner for glossy parts that aren’t heavily soiled. If your pickups are badly oxidized, use the Pro Strength Guitar Polish for those instead.
3. Yes, the Pro Strength Guitar Polish can definitely be used for cleaning the body, but it’s slightly more aggressive than their Guitar One cleaner. So, only use it on a very dirty guitar, and only once or twice a year. For the fretboard, what I said in #1 above applies here too. If you have a glossy, lacquered fretboard, you can use polish on it. Otherwise, use the F-One Oil instead for the fretboard.
If you’re unsure whether your fretboard is lacquered or not, get in touch with me through my contact form and I’ll give you my email address to send me a photo of your fretboard, and I’ll let you know for sure.
Holy cow! Thank you so much for such a quick reply! I guess their line of products has some overlaps… they advertise the Guitar Polish, the Detailer, and the Guitar One as cleaning and polishing products and there’s not a whole lot of difference between them based on the description on their website.
Thanks again!
P.S. Do you happen to answer questions about music theory/harmony? 🙂
As much as I enjoy playing guitar, I’d classify myself as “just okay.” I’m primarily an ear player and definitely not qualified to teach. My theory knowledge is pretty minimal too, I’m afraid.
hello,Bobby..a very great article here..thanks..but i would like to ask few questions:
1.after applying that nomad guitar one..considering that it has cleaner, polish and wax..do we still need to apply nomad guitar polish and guitar wax? i want to remove minor scratch on my guitar body and then protect the finish too..
so,can “guitar one” alone accomplish those tasks or should i buy also the guitar polish and carnauba?
2. have u tried planet waves 3 steps..if u have, how is it compared to nomad’s products?
thx u so much..
with regards,Joe
The Guitar One is meant to be an all-in-one, so you wouldn’t need to follow it with a separate wax. It already has wax in the formula, so it shines and protects. I personally don’t use it to “clean”… unless my guitar’s not very dirty. If my guitar’s pretty dirty, I like to clean first with water and/or hot breath, and then finish the whole job with the Guitar One to put the finishing shine on and leave a protective layer.
However, Guitar One won’t remove scratches. For that, you’ll need something more aggressive like a fine buffing compound or swirl remover, but you have to be careful with those, as they actually remove a microscopic amount of finish. If used incorrectly, they can leave a hazy spot where you rubbed. Sometimes, you have to use multiple grits (each successively finer) to first remove the scratch, then get the lacquer back to an even, mirror-like shine.
Can you describe to me how big/deep this scratch is? Can you actually feel it when you (carefully and lightly) run your fingernail over it?
Once I have a better idea of how bad this scratch is, I can tell you what kind of product you can try. If it’s a really deep scratch, it may not be something you can do yourself.
I’ve not tried the Planet Waves 3-step system, so I can’t say whether it’s any good or not.
hi,thx u so much for the reply..
i can’t feel it with my fingers..however, i can see it only if i bring it under the light..oh,btw,the color is black.
anyway,i asked Rand and he said that his “guitar polish” can help remove minor scratch..so,i want to give it a try too actually..but is it not too much?..i mean guitar one already has a polish too,right?i did ask Rand for this and he said that it is fine..do you think so?
thx u for being helpful
Rand is the owner of Music Nomad, so I’d definitely follow his instructions over mine. I’m familiar with some of their products, but certainly not all of them, and Rand knows his products better than anyone else. That said, I still wouldn’t use the Guitar One as a scratch remover. I think it’s just too mild.
Rand is probably referring to the Music Nomad Pro Strength Guitar Polish, which may indeed remove that fine scratch. I’ve not used that product, so I can’t comment, but I’d trust Rand’s recommendation. I see in the description that it has “micro fine polishing compounds”… which is what you’ll need.
thanks for the reply. Yes, he did mean MUSICNOMAD PRO STRENGTH GUITAR POLISH in his IG reply to me. He said to put the PRO STRENGTH first, and then, put the GUITAR ONE to clean and protect.
so, i’ll use them both..GUITAR ONE for routine (once every one or two months) and probably just use PRO STRENGTH ocassionaly (probably only if i need to or only twice a year)..i hope it is ok.
thx again,Bobby
with regards,Joe
Yep, that’s the process I would’ve recommended: buff the scratched area a few times with the polish first to (hopefully) eliminate the scratch. Once the scratch is gone, use the Guitar One to finish and protect–as well as for ongoing regular maintenance.
thank you Bobby..loved reading every bit of it more so bec I own like you,an Ibanez and a natural finish semi- acoustic Cort…have never unstrung my Ibanez electric and am pretty scared to do so coz it’s pretty new..
very useful blog for electric beginners like me..who would hv thought about saliva being of so much use on a guitar?
thanks once again..
You’re welcome Farha! Feel free to message me anytime if you have specific questions 😀
Great article….and humor too. It’s good to throw those comment’s in. My Question: What is the difference between “guitar Polish”….and “Guitar Wax” ?? I have both Nomads polish & wax. Also…..My Gibson J45 has that good factory Lacquer on it, and, I was wondering if applying Wax restricts the Natural Breathing… (if you will) , of the Spruce Top wood ? It’s a Vintage Sunburst. I did click on subscribe, and look forward to more article’s, and readings of yours. Excellent article !! Keep up the great work. Dave in Ventura California.