How to clean nitro!?

[irish R8]

Hi all,

I'm sure there is a thread on this somewhere but I'm new here so please forgive me.

Anyway, I have a 2021 custom shop R8 in bourbon burst. I want to give it a clean/polish but haven't put anything on it because I'm afraid to ruin or saturate the nitro with unsuitable polish.

So I ordered the gibson on brand polish. Even though it says suitable for all finishes I'm still nervous to put anything other than a micro fibre cloth on it.

What do you guys recommend. Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but I'm aware that the nitro can absorb whatever you put on it into the wood finish and alter its "resonance"...

 

[axeman565758]

pure cotton ball with naptha (Ronson lighter fuel is fine).
clean all/any gunk built up on the neck/body. (some guys use it 0n the fingerboard...I do not)
dries pretty quickly. It will not harm your nitro finish.
I then use Virtuoso polish for all the nitro parts.
For the fingerboard I use only Fret Doctor oil (beafifer.com). read up on his page....lots of info. This is the best fingerboard oil I've found. Been using since 2003

 

[jb_abides]

As Above... but I also use Virtuoso Cleaner versus Polish for most applications to avoid glossing it up too much.

 

[irish R8]

pure cotton ball with naptha (Ronson lighter fuel is fine).
clean all/any gunk built up on the neck/body. (some guys use it 0n the fingerboard...I do not)
dries pretty quickly. It will not harm your nitro finish.
I then use Virtuoso polish for all the nitro parts.
For the fingerboard I use only Fret Doctor oil (beafifer.com). read up on his page....lots of info. This is the best fingerboard oil I've found. Been using since 2003

Excellent, thanks for the reply. I'll check out the virtuoso polish and naphtha. ??

Thanks guys.

 

[irish R8]

As Above... but I also use Virtuoso Cleaner versus Polish for most applications to avoid glossing it up too much.

Thanks for the reply! ?

 

[Midnight Blues]

I use Virtuoso cleaner as well, then I use the polish.

 

[gibson-r8]

I exhale on it and rub with a microfiber cloth. Naphtha only for the serious barbecue sauce crud.

 

[vanguardo]

Naphtha, but good luck finding it right now! I'm using Zippo lighter fluid from one of those creepy strip-mall smoke shops

 

[83Custom]

Once any potential dust/grit has been removed with a damp cloth, I just use Mother’s Brazilian carnauba wax. Meguiars makes some good polish too.

 

[thejaf]

Spit on a rage to clean off the dried beer and drool.

I've used fancy car wax (Zymol IIRC) once or twice a decade with good results. The stuff smells like a tropical nude beach, so that's a plus.

 

[Broon]

Hi all,

I'm sure there is a thread on this somewhere but I'm new here so please forgive me.

Anyway, I have a 2021 custom shop R8 in bourbon burst. I want to give it a clean/polish but haven't put anything on it because I'm afraid to ruin or saturate the nitro with unsuitable polish.

So I ordered the gibson on brand polish. Even though it says suitable for all finishes I'm still nervous to put anything other than a micro fibre cloth on it.

What do you guys recommend. Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but I'm aware that the nitro can absorb whatever you put on it into the wood finish and alter its "resonance"...

I just got my first Les Paul and I was very concerned about the nitro finish. Never owned a guitar with nitro before. I have used Gibson Guitar Polish for 40 years. It is safe for nitro and I tried it on my new Paul and it works great. I just purchased the Virtuoso cleaner and polish 2-pack and plan on using it but after watching a tutorial from a guy who uses it he mentioned that it does not do a super high gloss shine but more of a “old nitro finish” kind of a job. He said for a super high gloss shine something else like GGP which I mentioned above works. I plan on trying the Virtuoso Cleaner and then the GGP on a test surface first to see if they will play ball together. The cleaner has a mild abrasive that will remove swirls and light scratches when used properly and once cleaned the GGP will make it really shine. This is the theory. I have never tried naphtha before and may try it someday. The only sure thing so far for me is the Gibson Guitar Polish. That’s been my experience, anyway.

 

[J T]

Naphtha will get off stuck on grime. Don't forget to fill up your Zippo while you're at it.

If the finish is just dried fingerprints, just a damp microfiber or soft cotton cloth will get it all off.

 

[charliechitlins]

Gibson polish is fine.
In most places, naphtha can still be had at the hardware store for a fraction of the price of lighter fluid.
A can will probably last you a lifetime.
I use it on everything without adverse effects.
I dispense it with a contact lense saline solution bottle.
Clearly marked, of course.

 

[Wilko]

Good ol' carnuba wax is a great choice. That's how it was always done back in the day. The wax seals the lacquer and polishes nice.

I use Nufinish (for cars) use it once, and you'll probably never need anything else with regular playing. I've never seen any harm in over 30 years of use on many, many vintage and newer guitars that I've used it on.