Follow the instructions carefully and work in a well-ventilated area. Next, sand the surface of your guitar until it’s nice and smooth. Use a fine grit sandpaper (around 400) and go over every inch of the guitar at least twice. If you see any glossy areas, those are areas that need more sanding. In most cases, the pickguard is attached with screws. Simply remove the screws and lift off the pickguard. If your pickguard is glued on, you may need to use a heat gun or hair dryer to loosen the glue before you can remove the pickguard. Once the pickguard is off, you can inspect the guitar’s body for any damage. As far as the process is concerned: first I remove the pickguard, truss rod cover. I drip a half-inch diameter drop of polish on the surface of the guitar and immediately rub it in with circular motions - never let it dry, work quickly - it can damage the finish if You let it dry!. Three drops are enough for the complete top of guitar - now You The harder the finish, the better it responds to rubbing out. Yes, this terminology is very hard to discuss with a straight face. Anyway, here’s a general guideline for wait times. Lacquer, Shellac, Water-Based Finishes: 1 week. Oil-Based Varnish: 2 weeks. If you want to play it safe, wait 3-4 weeks for all finishes. To use a rubbing compound, first clean the affected area thoroughly with rubbing alcohol and a clean cloth. Apply a small amount of the compound to a microfiber cloth and rub it into the scratch, using circular motions. Repeat this process until the scratch is no longer visible. The cloudiness is usually under the finish caused by dampnes that has seeped through from the inside. I had a guitar with this same cloudiness on the back. I might also mention that this guitar had been stored in a lower level closet for about 10 years untouched. May have drawn dampness from being in there for so long locked up in a tight case. cnxu79. Think of the cleaner like using rubbing compound on a car finish--use it sparingly, and rarely--and the polish like finishing the rubbed-down car off with a good wax job. There are some who accuse me of destroying an old guitar's mojo by removing dirt, grunge, and corrosion. I say I'm returning its sense of self-esteem. Polishes with abrasives are designed to take off the edges of scratches, smooth them out - by removing some of the surrounding nitro. Other polishes fill in the scratch to smooth it out, albeit a temporary patch. I've read microfibre, which I've used for years, is not recommended - but soft flannel is. Finally, the very first tutorial in a new format. I introduce to you all: "The HomeBrew - Tutorials On Building Guitars At Home"In this very first episode, I My guitar is a Blueridge with a Poly finish. Poly is very hard, which makes it difficult to remove scratches, and prone to swirls. I've seen some posts recommending auto finish swirl removers, and there was some mention of 3M products, but no specfics on which products, and how to apply them, and what type of applicator to use. A: Congratulations on the new (old) guitar! Your Gretsch is showing signs of what is commonly known in vintage guitar circles as celluloid rot. Essentially, this means that the plastic used for the binding is degrading. This is not due to any mistakes in handling, storing, or cleaning the guitar—the problem comes from the composition of the A few quick wipes is all you need to clean and polish your guitar in one go. The polish is a water-based formula that is totally safe to use on any common lacquer guitar finish. Directions: clean and remove dust from the surface. Spray a bit of the liquid onto a polishing cloth, then apply it to the instrument's surface.

how to remove finish from guitar