Cleaning and lubricating a steel guitar

jeff reynolds · From: Jackson, Ms.

It’s probably been discussed many times and all kind of answers but ,
I have a sho bud LDG sd10 3x4 that has been loaned to me and it needs a cleaning and lubricating job badly

I am going to attempt this myself and would like to know what products to use and Not to use .

TIA

Jeff

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

Clean with naptha/lighter fluid. Take it apart as much as possible to get the changer parts clean. Lube with non waxy dry Teflon spray like BLASTER. This will leave a coating that won’t attract dust, hair etc and won’t break down into gummy stuff like oil does.
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KEVIN MAUL: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Donner, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, GFI, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing.

Bill Ladd · From: Wilmington, NC, USA

Rick Campbell here on the forum posted this handy cleaning tutorial 13 years ago:

https://youtu.be/_H-I7Jv9Aww?si=J6OzzQ4TPE83zz57

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

John Sims · From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

I found this on the forum, I think it's from Ricky Davis:

To disassemble your changer: Pull all of your pullrods, then disconnect all of your springs. Then use a 1/4" wooden dowel and gently tap out your axle. Before your axle is completely removed, take a sharpie and mark the topside of the axle, to determine where the wear occurs. You can take a
punch and then make a tiny divet (that will be out of sight when re-installed, of course). Upon re-installation, rotate your axle 180 degrees to put your fingers on fresh side of your axle.

It is unimportant which finger goes back into which slot, so don't worry about numbering them. What IS important, is putting the fingers that show the most wear and tear into a slot that gets the
least plating traffic. So finger 4 might go back and become finger nine, and finger nine becomes the new finger 4. You get the idea. You will be good for the next 40 years. LOL!!

To clean your fingers: I put them all in a pan of gasoline, as if you would do engine parts, and scrub them working the joints, until you are certain all the grunge is broken down and out of them.
Then put them into the hottest water you can stand and re-scrub them with a degreasing dish soap(Dawn dish soap). Then rinse them in the hottest water you can stand. DO NOT LET THEM DRY OUT, but lay them out on a bath towel and dry them with a hot hairdryer(not a heat-gun, which is too hot), driving out any moisture before corrosion can set up, and while hot, put a drop of sewing machine oil or gun oil at each joint--the heat will draw the oil right in.

The next step is to get a dremel with a felt pad and use Mother's Aluminum polish and polish the tops of the fingers to a mirror finish. I also polish the sides of the fingers to just below the axle hole, too. The Mother's over the radius will remove
99% of the old string grooves. For the big stubborn grooves, I use a piece of 400 grit wet paper wrapped around a flat file(the file is only a handle at this point) The file helps you stay square on the finger radius to prevent rounding over the edges.

Next, with a worn down dremel pad-- and Mother's, polish the axle holes to a mirror finish. Clean off all the Mother's and then with Maguires Cleaner Wax(car wax in the maroon bottle), coat the surfaces of the fingers that you polished. The auto wax will preserve your work.

The changer housing---where your axle holds the fingers in, do the gasoline /then dish-soap treatment. Cut then strips of rags and "floss" the slots and clean the axle hole. Wash and dry just like the fingers process. Hand rub the whole changer with mother's, then Maguires car wax.

You can do your endplates(take them off the guitar) and keyhead(remove the tuners and work them over with Mothers and an old toothbrush). DO NOT USE A MACHINE BUFFER--on end plates, changer housing and keyhead!! These parts are castings, and a machine buffer will open up a thousand pinholes!!!! There is no repair for this, just expensive
replacement. Use the Mothers and do it by hand, then car wax it to preserve your work.

Ok, we are this far--so next is the CABINET. With all the metal removed, now take a barely damp washcloth with some Dawn degreasing dishsoap, wipe the cabinet down from center to the ends, (so you do not snag the inlay). This will lift the old tobacco/grunge. Follow up with a clean barely damp terry-cloth to lift up the soap.
Next, liberally apply OLD ENGLISH LEMON OIL, designed for the fine finishes of furniture. Use your fingers and cover all the laquer with lemon oil. Pour it on and work it in with your fingers. Let the oil sit over night and soak in, then do it again. You have now just rejuvenated and moisturized
your guitar's original lacquer. And yes, do the underside of your cabinet, too. Finish cracks happen because lacquer dries out over time. This process will stop that, but it
will not remove existing cracks.

Your undercarriage---Mother's will cleanup your pullrods. You guessed it--and Maguires will preserve your work. The metal cross shafts can be stripped on a wire wheel and primered and repainted grey. I like Rustoleum "Hammerd Metal Grey" for color. But your choice on that. The brass will clean up with Mother's. A small electric drill chuck will hold your brass rollers and spin them as you hold a rag with Mother's. They will shine like new gold. The
brass barrels--mount them on one of your short of 1/8" pullrods, put in the drill
chuck and spin in the mothers on a rag for that new gold shine. Maguires wax the shined stuff to preserve your work. You can also mirror polish your wood screws this way, too. When your guitar
goes back together, you will expereince HUGE accomplishment and pride of ownership. Then you will swear to never ever do it again!! LOL!!
On Pot-metal finger polishing:
Yes, but they are plated, so go very lightly if you need to try to remove string grooves with sand paper. If they are bad string grooves, get a little out of them and just move them to a less "traffic area".
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Best Regards,

John

1997 Carter U-12 Double Body-Natural Birdseye Maple-8p/5k, Peavey Nashville 1000 Amp, Goodrich L10K Vol. Pedal, Boss DD-3 Delay, Boss CE-5 Chorus, Behringer UMC-204HD Audio Interface, AKAI MPK Mini MK3 Professional Midi Keyboard/Controller, Gretsch Bobtail Resonator, Fender Banjo, Rondo SX Lap Steel (C6), DIY Lap Steel (Open D), and a few Mojo Hand Cigar Box Guitars (MojoHandGuitars.com).

Dennis Montgomery · From: Western Washington

Mike Fried · From: Nashville, TN, USA

KENNY KRUPNICK · From: Columbus, Ohio

The best steel guitar lube is Tri-Flow, recommended highly by Bruce Zumsteg.

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