cleaning

Water is a strong solvent for many substances -- we just don't think of it as such because it's human-friendly.

I guess buying one of those guitar cleaners (it's usaully in a spray bottle, usaully under $20) would be the safest bet, if you're afraid of what water might do.

Dang Dogbit! Did you take that ax swimming with you? :lol: That thing looks terrible.

All the talk of lighter fluid is bringing up thoughts of Jimi burning his Tele .

I just bought this stuff called Dr. Ducks Ax Wax and String Lube. Better not say that three times really fast :oops: Any how. This stuff is in liquid form and is in a 4 oz. bottle. Just a couple of drops on a polishing cloth and it works wonders on the body, fretboard and strings. No silicones, no wax, no acids and no abrasives. I used it on my acoustic and electric and they look really clean. Cost was 6.95 if I remember correctly.

no....that isnt my guitar. someone on another forum posted that about a year ago.

it is horifying. howver, in some way, it looks cool. cant put my finger on why..

the instructions on care and feeding that came with my new Martin said to use a damp cloth to clean it.

it is interesting to read the two different sides to this issue here.

Im glad there are strong feelings.

one cant be wishy when they need to washy

If I remember right my guitars, both Washburns, also advised using a lightly dampend cloth for cleaning. Maybe with the finishes that are on todays guitars that is really all that one needs to get the ax clean. It does seem like our body oils can make them a chore to clean at times. They do wreak havoc on the strings as we all know.

I've often breathed on the guitar to moisten it with condensed breath moisture, then polished it off with a cloth.

thanks everyone, all of that helped. :D

no....that isnt my guitar. someone on another forum posted that about a year ago.

it is horifying. howver, in some way, it looks cool. cant put my finger on why..

It looks cool to me in the sense that I can totally see Zombie Jimi Hendrix showing up at a jam session with it. :lol:

As far as cleaning goes, as of yet I haven't got anything on any of my recent guitars that a good microfibre cloth couldn't handle...but the lighter fluid trick is safe for [standard disclaimer] most finishes [/standard disclaimer] and I have used it in the past on an old sticker-laden bass I rewired for someone.

For cleaning the fretboard, my new favorite thing is citrus-based car wheel cleaner. Seriously! Spray a little bit on a soft cloth and use it to buff the grime off the fretboard. It's *got* to be the orange-y stuff though, nothing with the harsh chemicals in it. I presume houslehold cleaner of the same makeup would be equally effective. Once it's clean and dry, treat it to a nice drink of lemon oil, and it should be good to go for a while.