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Topic: cleaning the undercarriage |
KarlKoch
From:
Cathedral City, California, USA
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Posted 8 Dec 2005 9:10 am |
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| Due to general neglect and overexuberense with lubricant, I have a mess underneath. GUMMY AND LOTS OF DUST all over everything. Its a shame to let a nice guitar get this way, but I did. What's a good procedure for really cleaning it thouroughly? Solvents (what kind?), brushes, sandblasters or what? Like to avoid disassembly if possible as I am a mechanical retard. |
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Ron Sodos
From:
San Antonio, Texas USA
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Posted 8 Dec 2005 3:21 pm
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I had an old ShoBud years ago that I picked up form a friend of mine. It was as you say. It was gunked up very bad and all sticky from the wrong lubricant. I sprayed the underneath down with a very light degreaser and let it drip on newspapers in a garage. I did that a couple of times. after it had dripped away I cleaned it as best I could with a soft rag and dried it as best I could. Then I lubricated it with a very light oil, like 3 in 1 oil. It worked ok without taking it apart.....  |
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James Cann
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 8 Dec 2005 4:18 pm
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As it happens, I'm doing this now and learning something every step of the way. I'm degreasing all parts, buffing out tarnish and set screw rash on the hex shafts, and applying furniture polish to wood surfaces.
Lucky me, handy enough to do this and enjoy it: satisfaction, pride, therapy, and all that, however, one lever or pedal at a time and no way any more comprehensively than that. There are just too many parts and configurations, and it's a single neck!
As if that weren't enough, as I'm getting close to the end of it, I'm looking forward to how long it will take to readjust everything and retune! |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 9 Dec 2005 5:32 am
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I think the only proper way is to take it apart a little at a time, clean, buff and re-assemble.
I haven 86 D10 Legrande which is flawless on the top side which I am in the very slow process of cleaing and buffing underneath...
it took almost 20 years to build up the crud and tarnish, it ain't gonna go away in an afternoon... |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 9 Dec 2005 5:33 am
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I rebuilt an old S-12 MSA for a guy a number of years ago. It was all gunked up with WD-40 underneath. Layers and layers of dirt, smoke, and other nasties. I found that the best thing to use to cut WD-40 is.....WD-40.
I took all the hardware off the bottom of the guitar and cleaned it with fresh WD-40. Then I used dishwashing soap and water to clean off all the WD-40. After that, I was able to reassemble the guitar.
It turned out to be a nice guitar under all that gunk.
Lee, from South Texas
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 9 Dec 2005 7:49 pm
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| The Orange Glow cleaner works very well for the wood underneath. Also gets rid of the smoke odor if that is a problem. JMO |
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Sonny Priddy
From:
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 9 Dec 2005 8:22 pm
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Auto Carb. Cleaner Is GreatBut Don't Get It On The Finish. SONNY.
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 9 Dec 2005 10:20 pm
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| Lighter fluid (Naptha) works well- so does lacquer thinner (better) but you need to be quick and try to keep off lacquered surfaces- also - use in well ventilated area~ |
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Ernest Cawby
From:
Lake City, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 10 Dec 2005 10:23 am
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Jeff Newman taught to use lighter fluid, turn the guitar upon end, put paper under it and spray it well with lighter fluid, I have done thios several time on my 1973 Sho-bud The Professional, with no damage to the laquor finish, still looks new. Good enought for Jeff good enough for me.
ernie |
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James Cann
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 11 Dec 2005 3:42 pm
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| Quote: |
| Jeff Newman taught to use lighter fluid, turn the guitar upon end, put paper under it and spray it well with lighter fluid, . . . |
I only met JN twice, and he didn't strike me as the type to operate this way, but when I look at the changer end and all those rods covering the springs, cross-shaft, and its two fingers, the idea sounds crazy enough to work![This message was edited by James Cann on 11 December 2005 at 03:51 PM.] |
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KarlKoch
From:
Cathedral City, California, USA
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Posted 12 Dec 2005 9:17 am
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| I should have waited for the last post; the Newman idea. Here's somkething Not to ues:alchohol. Cleaned up well, but left white residue on the laquer underneath. |
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James Cann
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 12 Dec 2005 1:42 pm
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| Well, it's been a humbling experience, but I'm glad I did it. |
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Larry R
From:
Navasota, Tx.
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Posted 16 Dec 2005 5:55 pm
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I've used Jeff Newmans method also on lacquer and mica finishes with no problems but I was careful to try and keep excess lighter fluid off the finishes as much as possible.
There is a cloth that used to be sold by some music stores called a Blitz cloth and it was used for cleaning strings. The cloth lived up to it's name alright. It cleaned the strings well but it blitzed a not so obvious part of a lacquer guitar. If you find such a product, be very careful to keep it off of lacquer. |
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Matt Martin
From:
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
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Posted 17 Dec 2005 5:35 am
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Not to change the subject...but using oil on
just about anything will gum it up! If you have to lube, use some silicone spray. Silicone will not retain dirt like oil will. Just my 2 cents. |
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John Daugherty
From:
Rolla, Missouri, USA
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Posted 18 Dec 2005 7:30 am
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Jeff Newman sold a VHS tape about the basics of steel guitar, which did indeed include the process of cleaning with lighter fluid.
I was never brave enough to try this on my laquered, airbrushed Marlen. I occasionally use a little bit of 30w nondetergent oil in the changer. I don't put oil on plastic bushings. They should work well without oil.
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www.phelpscountychoppers.com/steelguitar
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