Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi guys,
Hate for this to be my first post but I'm stuck and need some experienced advice!
I just acquired my dads 1970 Gibson SJ Deluxe (sunburst dreadnought with the awful adj. bridge) and I literally brought it back from the dead. It needed all new frets and I made a new traditional bridge for it and now it just sings. I am now at the stage where I want to clean it up and restore some of it's previous "shine" but retain it's old look. My dad played this thing practically every day for the last 30 years so you can imagine what it looks like... worn away in some spots and the finish is completely checked everywhere. I have tried pretty much everything except Virtuoso polish and it all turns the finish into mush... the slightest moisture and it turns white and feels like the finish is pilling up and I can just rub it right off. GHS cleaner seems to melt it and Naptha does absolutely NOTHING to get any of the sweat stains and drip marks off of it.

I don't even really want it to look shiny, just clean. Sorry for the long post, I'm just confused as to what to do next and don't want to ruin it. Am I SOL? Thanks!

AJ, I'm pretty sure what feels like finish pilling up is ages of body oil and dirt.
Your SJ Deluxe (I owned one new and it was pretty bad) is a lacquer finish, and soap & warm water should do the cleaning, but you have to work and work with a clean cotton cloth, constantly moving to a clean part.
Mineral spirits should work faster.
I have used a product for years, supplied by different violin suppliers called "violin cleaner polish" and it looks white milky. I think International Violin still sells it, last time I got it was a pint metal can and lasts forever. I hate that you'd have to buy a pint to clean one guitar, maybe if there is a violin repairman near to you, he will give you a little bit.

_________________
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

My belief is the same as David's above. The original finish is likely just covered with layers of grime that takes some persistence to get completely off. Usually with some elbow grease and good cleaners they will come back and surprise you with their looks.

However, if someone previously put something on the guitar that softened the finish, then it is not the fault of a cleaner like Virtuoso that if the finish comes up.

I had a 1964 Guild last weekend that had fretboard conditioner spilled into the case on the neck. It dissolved the finish on part of the neck. I cleaned it with Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner #2 which helped get the conditioner off, and some of the softened finish (this silicone free Meguiar's). This will very lightly cut the finish when you get down to to and take some light scuffs/scratches out. From there I went with Meguiar's Swirl Remover which is an even lighter cut. Then to Virtuoso cleaner and then Virtuoso Polish. The owner was very happy with the improvement. It went from a rough sticky mess to a smooth, much more playable neck. On one spot the missing finish on the neck was totally the fault of the spilled product, not the cleaners I used.

Good luck

ed

This may sound gross but the best way to clean that finish is spitting on a clean, dry rag and make little circles until the dirt/sweat/grime cleans away. I wouldn't try it on a shellac finish but it should work on your dad's guitar.

I heard about this from watching a Dan Erlewine video and at first thought he was nuts. I tried it and realized it works better than just about anything else you can think of. I just hope something hasn't happened to the finish itself to soften it. Good luck and "Good On Ya" for bringing your dad's guitar back to playable condition.

_________________
John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

Thanks for all the tips! The reason I was shying away from any spit or soapy water was because the finish would immediately turn milky. Should I go ahead and the milkyness will go away? It did on the spot I tried. I should post pictures of the guitar I guess. It's not like visible grime, it's almost like water spots on glass that I am trying to get rid of... again thanks for all the ideas, I'll try and get some pics of what I'm dealing with.

"Should I go ahead and the milkyness will go away? It did on the spot I tried."

Bingo!

That's a clue that the milkyness you're seeing is something on the surface of the finish, not the finish itself(unless you ended up at bare wood when the milkyness went away). Try a small spot on the back of the headstock or something and see if you can get down to the actual finish without damaging anything.

The safest cleaner is water, with a small amount of of soap or detergent (a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid to a pint of warm water) to help get up grease. Use a soft cloth, like an old T-shirt, and rub lightly. It takes time, but you can get almost any dirt up this way eventually.

I've used this method to clean guitars that had big grundgy areas that looked all checked up. In most cases, when you get through the dirt, you find that what you thought was checked finish is actually just greasy grime, and the finish underneath is pretty good.

However, nitro does break down chemically over time, and it's overwhelmingly likely that that's the finish you've got. If so it could be crazed from shrinkage. If that's the case, and depending on what was used as a sealer/ground coat, the adhesion of the finish might not be all that good, and any rubbing will most likely remove finish. Again, if you can get away with doing the back of the headstock the rest should clean up well enough.

If there are worn areas, such as on the neck, you will want to touch them up to seal the wood, if nothing else. I've used shellac for this in the past. It sticks well to nitro. It's not as durable, which is a small drawback: you need to re-do it from time to time. The big advantage is that it's soluble in alcohol, which lacquer is not. If you want to sell the gutiatr at some point you can get the shellac off with some alcohol and a rag, and you're left with 'original finish'.

Awesome, thanks, I'll try that tomorrow and see what happens. Yeah I guess I'm thinking it was the finish coming off but it can't be THAT soft. I'll try the soapy water and hopefully get somewhere!