How do I clean and polish my guitar?Wipe down after every play, polish occasionally — that's most of it. Daily habit Wipe it down — After every session, wipe the finish and strings with a clean, dry cloth. If you do this from new, deep cleaning is almost never needed 1. Dust first — Always blow or dust off grit before polishing, or you'll drag it around and scratch the finish 1. Choosing a polish Avoid silicone — Alan Ratcliffe, our Guitar Doctor, warns that any polish containing silicone oil is a very bad idea. Stick to guitar-maker brands like Dunlop or Martin 2. Cheap options work — Fender-type poly finishes are pretty bulletproof; members have used Meguiars car wax sparingly, and basic guitar polish from Marshall Music cost around R30 in 2012 (about R100 in today's money). Test anything on a hidden spot (nitro finishes especially) 2. Fretboard care Deep clean — Naphtha (Zippo lighter fluid from the supermarket cigarette counter) is safe for all woods, plastics and finishes, says Alan. For heavy grime, use fine steel wool 3. Oil sparingly — Lemon oil for occasional cleans; a conditioning oil no more than about once a year — it darkens rosewood boards nicely. Fast Fret won't really clean, in his experience 3. Levels of cleaning Four tiers — Wiping down, light polish, cream polish, full cleaning. If you wipe regularly, the last two are rarely needed 1. Alan's full maintenance article has the step-by-step detail — well worth a read 1. From these forum threadsGuitar Maintenance 1: Cleaning and polishing your guitar (2010): Alan's four cleaning levels and how often each is neededGuitar Polish (2012): Which polishes are safe — and the silicone trap to avoidGuitar cleaning, maintenance (2014): Naphtha, steel wool and lemon oil for a grimy fretboard
