I have sometimes wiped the body of my strat with a paper towel with water. Is this going to ruin my guitar in a couple of years or does this have no effect? Thanks

I'm not sure whether the water will do any harm, but to be safe I'd clean it properly with guitar polish and lemon oil for the fingerboard from now on. Unless you get the really expensive stuff, it shouldn't cost much at all.

Water won't harm the guitar, just don't let it get on any bare wood, or in crevices.....or to stay on the metal parts. But paper towels will leave paper towel lint all over buy a good polish cloth, and a bottle of a name brand polish

Coarse paper, of which paper towels are comprised, is abrasive and will eventually scratch the guitar's top coat.

Fear not -- you'll have a "relic" in no time.



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Polishes are somewhat overrated. Nitro, polyurethane, and polyester don't really get any benefit from polishes and any liquid can work its way under the pickguard and down into screw holes.

Most paper towels are surprisingly abrasive as well as being linty. They can leave ultra-fine "spiderweb" swirls that show up under certain lighting angles (particularly noticable on black finishes).

If you clean your guitar regularly, a soft lint free cloth (modern microfiber cloths are particularly good) and your breath are all you need. Huff/puff out of your mouth on a small area of the finish to fog it then wipe it off.

If you have lots of buildup to deal with, naptha (lighter fluid) is safe for all finishes and it'll evaporate out of bare wood (like screwholes or breaks in the finish) without swelling the wood or making it soggy, and it won't turn into gum under the pickguard. Naptha is also a good choice for cleaning gunk off the fretboard -- on a rosewood fretboard you'll want to oil the board with a fretboard conditioner after scrubbing it with naptha (I like Fret Doctor conditioner but lemon oil and other conditioners for bare wood are fine).

Some people like to apply a wax after cleaning. Don't use a cleaner/polisher wax (those are often abrasive), just a pure wax. (Guitar polishes aren't abrasive -- the types of polisher waxes that leave a powdery residue that needs to be buffed off are the abrasive ones.) Johnson's paste wax is a decent wax.

There are a variety of cleaning products specifically intended for guitars and none of them are terribly bad to use unless you really soak your guitar in them. But you don't really need them.

Isn't naphtha, lighter fluid, and automotive brake cleaner all derivatives of commercial dry cleaning fluid? I have used brake cleaner to clean any oil based smudge off clothing (smells for the rest of the day). I've used it on motorcycle clothes for years, and also on G&G tweed cases.

Won't hurt the guitar, but I wouldn't get it on the electronics, under the pickguard, or the hardware.... a simple cheese cloth works wonders for wiping it down.

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"Dry cleaning fluid" usually refers to perchloroethylene (some shops may use different fluids, or different fluids for different stains/fabrics).

Naphtha (I misspelled it earlier) is a generic term for a variety of light petroleum fractions. It's much less toxic than perc.

It's a very mild hydrocarbon solvent. It won't damage any finish or plastic and after it evaporates it doesn't leave any long lingering smell. (If you use it to dissolve a stain on fabric it'll take hours/days to completely eveaporate though it'll feel dry quickly.)

I have used a good ole 100% cotton cloth, painters Naphtha and Johnson's paste wax for many years and my father has used it for allot longer than that. the wax has a bit of a smell but I actually like it and for the fingerboard me and the old man have always used Formby's Lemon Oil. (I tried fret DR and the good ole formby's soaks in faster and doesn't stay as oily as long). he hasn't had any issues in almost 60 years so I don't anticipate any problems. that's my recommendation I trust his experience over marketing. most of the vintage guitars were cleaned this way and they are still around.

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Like I said, good lemon oil is fine as is most anything labeled as a wood conditioner. People have different preferences/experiences.

I've never had good luck with lemon oil -- the boards looked great for a few days then quickly went back to looking/feeling dry again. I only need to apply Fret Dr once a year or so. I like my Indian and African rosewood to feel like good Brazilian -- slightly oily & waxy. People who prefer drier feeling boards might like other products better.

Some "for wood" products contain silicones (even some products specifically labeled as "for guitars"). It's best to avoid those. But if anybody ate Chicken McNuggets and then handled that guitar without scrubbing their hands thoroughly first, the guitar has some permanent silicone contamination. If they sprayed Finger-Ease on it the finish is soaked in silicone. So I think people worry too much sometimes -- silicone is a fact of life and refinishers/repairmen have tricks for coping with it.

But you can't go wrong with breath, a soft cloth, naphtha, and Johnson's paste wax. Like SBD said, people have been using those for generations on all sorts of fine wood instruments.

+1

According to the "Waterboy's" mama, "paper towels are the devil" around guitar finishes!

I too am a believer in Johnson's paste wax, but lately have favored Gerlitz guitar wax. I put it on with my fingers. It will remove pick scratches but never dull/scratch the finish (it's not abrasive). It wipes off a lot easier than Johnson's and leaves a better shine than anything I've ever used.

I use Dr Duck's AxWax and String Lube...it's great for the entire instrument...!!!

It works wonders on rosewood fingerboards and cleans the whole guitar beautifully!

I guess one can find it at any guitar dealer.

Has anyone ever used it...or heard of it?

Peace,

Alexis.