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1971 Gibson Les Paul Custom - Finish Issues

ShawneeNDN

New member
Joined
Feb 23, 2015
Messages
8
Howdy,

I've got a question about a 1971 Gibson Les Paul Custom finish...

I have had a horrible time with cleaning the finish on this guitar. I have used Naphtha on other guitars (both new and vintage) and never had any problems with harming the finish. I was under the understanding that naphtha was safe for both urethane and lacquer finishes. This guitar has been played and was very dirty with sweat and grime and fingerprints and grease and all the other stuff that comes from playing a guitar.

So after cleaning several other guitars, I went to clean this guitar with the naphtha and it had an immediate reaction to the finish. I started on the back on the neck fortunately so it wasn't anything too bad, but it did make parts of the finish haze up and turn white in some spots. I wiped everything off immediately and now there is a very noticeable difference on the finish of the neck. It's now dull and hazy from the shiny that it was.

So, in trying to fix it, I got out some instrument polish (that I've used before on new and vintage instruments) and went to polish the neck and it had a similar effect and now it is dull and hazy where I used the polish.

So...my question is...what the hell kind of finish would they have used that isn't safe for naphtha or guitar polish?!

And what can/should I do to fix the hazy/dull finish that I have now?

What I've found that works as a temporary fix is spraying "Finger Ease" on the back of the neck (which they recommend you do) and that brings back the luster and polished look however that obviously goes away after playing it for a while.

I'd like to know what the finish is, why it's being damaged by naphtha/guitar polish, and figure out a safe cleaner/polish for it.

I've never had this issue before? It's only on this one guitar. I have a '76 Gibson Firebird that doesn't have these issues with naphtha/guitar polish.

Thanks so much in advance. If this is in the wrong forum, please direct me to the correct one! Thank you!
-NDN
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
You have decades of grunge to remove and you put POLISH on it!!!!

It will look different, but you have a grime machine to fix. Remove all the strings and knobs, unscrew the pickups remove the rings and put the pickups in the routs and cover with low tack painters tape.

You gotta clean that pig up!!! No wire brushes, she still is a sweet thing, so make a mild soapy water solution with dishwashing soap and tap water. It helps to get through the grunge and grease of decades of use. Damp cloth applications in small areas and use some elbow grease. You gotta scrub all the grunge off the lacquer. Do not overdo the soapy water, just wring most of it off a clean cotton towel or cloth rub like Alladdin looking for a genii, dip, wring and scrub a dub dub!

Should have a nasty bowl of soapy water when done. Clean up with a damp paper towels and then do the naphtha. Do not over do it. After it is clean. get some Vurtuoso CLEANER. Work that all over the areas you have cleaned.

Now you should have a clean as a whistle Les Paul, but the surface of the lacquer may be dull or hazy from all the years of crapola. You can either rub out the finish with very, very fine rubbing compound, or wet sand with a micro abrasive like Micro mesh to bring up the shine.

Put it back together, and clean the old girl up once in a while.:)
 

kevinkjs

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
56
Shawn, you don't mention if this guitar is new to you or not. If not, it may have been repainted
or had all the clear coat worn of by someone. I have used "Orange Glow" on guitars with iffy finishes
and it works well. You could have posted this in the "tech area" and maybe received more answers.
Try posting there although this forum is fine for your question too. I'll look for your next post and
try to be more helpful if I can.
 

ShawneeNDN

New member
Joined
Feb 23, 2015
Messages
8
@Big Al,

Thank you for your response. The polish was after cleaning it with the Naphtha. The Naphtha did a great job at getting the crap off of it, however like I said, it definitely ate away at the finish. That's why I am curious about it. It didn't just leave the finish hazy...it definitely deteriorated the finish.

I've never had that happen with a guitar? I've got a '76 Firebird and the Naphtha didn't harm the finish at all.

I will definitely do the soap/water, but that still leaves me with the issue of bringing the "damaged" finish back to a polish. I can definitely do the micro mesh/polish compound. But that still leaves me wondering why it damaged the finish in the first place?

@Kevin,
This guitar is new to me. It has not been mine nor passed down to me. I got it at a vintage guitar shop. So I'm not sure on the finish. It does not appear to me to be refinished, and it was told to me that it was all original, so that's why I was wondering about the finish type.

I'll try posting it in the "Tech Area" as well. Thank you for your reply!
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
@Big Al,

Thank you for your response. The polish was after cleaning it with the Naphtha. The Naphtha did a great job at getting the crap off of it, however like I said, it definitely ate away at the finish. That's why I am curious about it. It didn't just leave the finish hazy...it definitely deteriorated the finish.

I've never had that happen with a guitar? I've got a '76 Firebird and the Naphtha didn't harm the finish at all.

I will definitely do the soap/water, but that still leaves me with the issue of bringing the "damaged" finish back to a polish. I can definitely do the micro mesh/polish compound. But that still leaves me wondering why it damaged the finish in the first place?

@Kevin,
This guitar is new to me. It has not been mine nor passed down to me. I got it at a vintage guitar shop. So I'm not sure on the finish. It does not appear to me to be refinished, and it was told to me that it was all original, so that's why I was wondering about the finish type.

I'll try posting it in the "Tech Area" as well. Thank you for your reply!

ShawneeNDN, the surface of the finish takes a beating over time. It is only the very top of the finish, the outer coat that gets funky. I have had this occur myself and when I had my shop, I had to clean and polish a ton of funky guitars.

The naphtha didn't eat away at your finish, it only exposes the hard to clean surface grime. Polish is your enemy!!! It builds up wax coats and is very hard to clean. I never use it. The finish is beautiful, why wax it? Some polishes are wax free, but they are either water or petroleum based. Damp cloth and good cleaning work best, IMO. The Virtuoso cleaner is pretty good. A 40 year old finish needs some attention. It is worth it though.
 

ShawneeNDN

New member
Joined
Feb 23, 2015
Messages
8
ShawneeNDN, the surface of the finish takes a beating over time. It is only the very top of the finish, the outer coat that gets funky. I have had this occur myself and when I had my shop, I had to clean and polish a ton of funky guitars.

The naphtha didn't eat away at your finish, it only exposes the hard to clean surface grime. Polish is your enemy!!! It builds up wax coats and is very hard to clean. I never use it. The finish is beautiful, why wax it? Some polishes are wax free, but they are either water or petroleum based. Damp cloth and good cleaning work best, IMO. The Virtuoso cleaner is pretty good. A 40 year old finish needs some attention. It is worth it though.

Right on man! I'll give the mild soapy wash bath today and get my hands on some Virtuoso cleaner. I read a bunch of killer reviews!

Thank you again for your responses!
 

ShawneeNDN

New member
Joined
Feb 23, 2015
Messages
8
@Big Al,

Ok so I went at it with a mild soap/warm water and it cleaned it up some, but not as much as I'd like.

I feel better about it and I don't think it was the finish being harmed as you stated.

As I scrub at it, there seems to be a build up that is kinda milky white and scrubs away the more I scrub at it...kinda like if I was scrubbing away adhesive residue. Is that just the grime and build up? I wasn't able to get it as clean as I wanted to but I'm wondering if it was the soap? I used some Dial hand soap because that's what I had laying around. Should I use a different kind of soap for a better outcome?

I was able to get the neck much, much, much less sticky and much more smooth but it's still not great. I'm guessing I still don't have all the grime off?

It seems to be concentrated on the neck, right below the pickup switch, around the top of the body where your forearm rests, and around the knobs...which I guess would make sense because that's where you're gonna have the most skin contact/sweat contact?

Am I going in the right direction here?

Here's some pictures:
1.jpg


2.jpg


3.jpg


4.jpg


Thanks for all your help!
-NDN
 
Last edited:

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Try some Virtuoso cleaner.

Yup, once you get down to the surface grime it's time for VC. Make sure it is the CLEANER> I squirt a small dab and rub my butt off, then the next area and so on. Use a good cotton or microfiber cloth. It takes work but it WILL look new and shiny! I just did this with an all original, untouched 1960 Melodymaker D. I finished it today and it looks brand new. It was in good shape, just had all the gunk on it.

You can do it!
 

ShawneeNDN

New member
Joined
Feb 23, 2015
Messages
8
Yup, once you get down to the surface grime it's time for VC. Make sure it is the CLEANER> I squirt a small dab and rub my butt off, then the next area and so on. Use a good cotton or microfiber cloth. It takes work but it WILL look new and shiny! I just did this with an all original, untouched 1960 Melodymaker D. I finished it today and it looks brand new. It was in good shape, just had all the gunk on it.

You can do it!


Right on. Picked up some Virtuoso Cleaner (made sure it was the Cleaner) today. Gonna go over it once or twice more with some mild dish soap and then go at it with the cleaner.

Thanks for all your help!
 
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