I just bought a used acoustic for my friend for his birthday and before I give it to him I wanted to shine it up and get all the dust off and stuff. I noticed on the back there are like chips of white paint where it looks like it might have bumped into a wall and got some paint from the wall on the guitar. I was wondering what was the best way if any to get this off. It's pretty small and not too noticeable, but I'd still like to try to remove it.
I can put up a picture if you're confused what I'm talking about... It's hard to explain.
Thanks
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if it's really interior wall paint, most of that is latex, and somewhat water soluble even when dry. first try a water dampened cloth -- just damp, not soaked. naphtha (lighter fluid) is safe for most guitar finishes -- both nitro and poly "lacquers." but naphtha may not dissolve the "white stuff" either -- don't know until you try. however, use caution: not a lot of naphtha and try it on an inconspicuous area of the guitar first before really going at larger areas.
one thing that almost always works, but requires some care and finesse, is the use of polishing compound -- plain old auto polishing compound, NO additives, NO silicone, just the white polishing compound usually sold in auto stores. put some on a damp cloth and rub it over the foreign paint, which should disappear as the area polishes -- go easy. NOTE: if the guitar's finish is normally dull (satin) , this will polish it to a shine. to return it to a dull finish, carefully dull the area with 600 or 800 wet dry sandpaper.
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Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and just gently scratched at it with my fingers, and then "buffed" it with a microfiber cloth. It seemed to work well, but took quite a while. But I will remember this next time this ever happens because it will be a lot easier.
Appreciate it gnease.
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