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I just adopted a very well worn 1954 Martin D-28. It has a grimy, dirty spot in the upper bout, treble side next to the fretboard (see pic). It's in an area worn down to bare wood after years of strumming wearing off the finish. Most of the grime is in the bare wood but some of it in the finish. Any idea if and how I can properly clean this without adversely affecting the finish or bare wood, or causing structural issues? Or should I just leave it alone? Thanks for any advice.

Naphtha will get most of the crud off. Warm water and avoid pledge , old english polish etc . When I get a real grimy guitar in the shop I will lay a paper towel over the area and put a good layer of naphtha on that and cover with plastic wrap and let soak for about 10 to 15 minutes and then wipe up with a terry towel .
It may take a few applications. I would love to see how others handle this . I don't think a trip through the dish washer would work to well.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I think it looks awesome.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

I remember that Don Teeter used to recommend a plain old pencil eraser for getting crud off spruce.
Go with the grain.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Deionized water. http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Data/Materials/DeionizedWater/deionized.html

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Why mess with the natural look of its age and use, being cleaner will not make it look much better or newer. That guitar has lots of stories to tell

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

One of these with some 50 grit outta do the trick:

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

+1!!

Better yet, send it to me and I'll apply my patented two year cleaning process...

No Corky, you can't spray it with Easy Off oven cleaner at bake it for two years. You should send it to me and I'll see that Corky don't abuse it........lol

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

i don't like bare wood, it likes to drink up sweat and beer! if it were mine, and i was going to use it, i would at least give it a little wax or thin shellac once in awhile to keep out more crud
whoever played it had a weird style; who strums way up there???

Many vintage guitars from the 30's, 40's and 50's show that wear. In those days a strap was typically tied to the headstock. The weight balance then shifts towards the headstock when standing with the strap. In other words, the guitar tends to move under the strumming hand. This part of the reason for that wear.

One man's grime is another man's MOJO! =)

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Jim Hansen

If it were mine,
I'd leave it.
If you go washing it and all that,
it's gonna mess up da bear wood next to it,
unless yer really careful.
I was born in '54,
and I look a little like that geetar.

No No No , dont listen to these guys ... send it to me . you will never see it again and it will be loved and care for . ............. well at least IM BEING HONEST about it .

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Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
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I think you should get rid of it. Send me your email and I'l give you a good address to send it to.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

Yeah it's in pretty rough shape, all worn out and dirty. I think I'll just give it away. Haha!!!

Thanks for all the great replies. I will give them a shot in the next few days and post pics.

I LOVE the extensive playing wear because I have noticed that the most well played guitars are always the ones that sound the best. I still wonder about the theory of this phenomenon (more vibrations excite the wood and bring it to life?). Whenever I buy a vintage instrument I always go for the most beat up one I can find, it's less desirable amongst collectors and sounds better. That being said, I don't like the grime so off it goes.

I am thinking of how it could have such extensive wear in different areas. I think it was owned by at least two professional musicians or regular playing musicians. One person strummed way up the neck and the other strummed in the more normal position at the lower part of the sound hole. It was probably used for Bluegrass rhythm I would think, due to the heavy strumming wear.

What Casey said!!!
It looks awesome! I would not touch it!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Ok, here is a few before and after pics. I tried the eraser trick first and it did nothing but get small bits of eraser gummed up. I tried Naptha on the bare wood... soaked in on a paper towel for a few minutes then wiped it off. Then repeated twice. It got most of the grime out. There is still some grime so deep I don't think anything will get it out, but the Naptha did a great job on the bare wood. It dulled the finish on the laquer in a test spot so I wont use it on the finish (also the can says it reacts with laquer). Any thoughts on getting crud out of laquer finish?

Have you tried one of those Mr. Clean magic sponges? They work sort of like an eraser but don't crumble.

I'm sure they're marketed under other generic names also.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.