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Not sure what cleaner / polish to use: Unfinished Fender P

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 tj7
(@tj7)
Active Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 3
Topic starter  

I feel embarrassed to ask but I have no idea what to use to safely clean the grime from my '74 fender P body - it's effectively unfinished (It had more of a sheen when I bought it but looks pretty dry now). The finish feels quite dry and I am concerned that I can easily stain / damage the wood. God knows why I didn't research this until now.

.. and once I've cleaned it, what shall I use to give it some protection? Lemon oil...?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

/

Ben


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

I would start with simply a damp cloth.

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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 tj7
(@tj7)
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Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 3
Topic starter  

>:(

Anyone else got some advice? Didn't think I'd have to specify this, but I understand the concept of basic cleaning and if I could have properly cleaned the surface of my bass with a damp cloth, naturally I'd have not sought advice on that here. A damp cloth can only do so much. What *products* are safe to use?

I have also asked ".. and once I've cleaned it, what shall I use to give it some protection? Lemon oil...?"


   
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 tj7
(@tj7)
Active Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 3
Topic starter  

Someone at TDPRI suggested a light sand and then Tru Oil, so i'm going to try that.
For anyone interested - this article explains the process very nicely:
http://www.lmii.com/oil-finishes


   
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(@davidhodge)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 4472
 

Original post shouldn't have disappeared - sorry about that. Moderator may not have seen any difference between that and the post before it and simply mistaken it for a duplicate. That (duplicate posts, that is) happens a lot, especially at a time (like the weekend) when most of the all-volunteer moderating staff tend to be busy.

Took a look at the Fender website to see what they had to say and they (no surprise here) recommend using their products or other products made specifically for musical instruments. They also advise against using commercial wood cleaners (meant for furniture and household items and such) or things like Glass Plus (or anything with ammonia):

http://www.fender.com/news/cleaning-your-guitar/

For whatever it's worth, all the guitar techs that I've ever asked pretty much go by the "damp cloth" method. Their thinking seems to be that it's better to get a little more off each time than to do something that might ruin the wood. I think they're more concerned about acoustics but they seem to use the same philosophy with solid body guitars as well.

Also, for whatever it's worth (and it may simply be either the lighting of your photograph or my eyes) your guitar looks to be in good shape. Try as I might, I can't see anything that wouldn't be considered normal wear.

Hope this helps and sorry again for the loss of your earlier post.

Peace


   
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(@ezraplaysezra)
Honorable Member
Joined: 12 years ago
Posts: 484
 

For Gotsake don't use tru oil or lemon oil or baby oil, motor oil....
Fender was using thick poly's by '74 so there is very little you could do to destroy the finsh but tru oil will be like finishing over the finish and it might not mix. You should be able to use naptha or rubbing alcohol both of which evaporate at room temp and lets face it, if your axe can't take a little alcohol... Lemon oil is pretty tacky even after its buffed out.


   
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