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
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