Meguiar's or Turtle Wax for TAG care?

[Ray K.]

In days gone by, I owned a Grosh guitar. Don recommends Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell Car Wax or Turtle Wax Express Shine Spray Wax for cleaning and shining. Tom prefers Mequiar's Quick Detailer.

To apply and remove, Don suggest Viva Paper Towels. Tom, a soft, 100% cotton cloth.

Since I have enough Turtle Wax and Viva to last quite some time, is there any real need to change? In other words, is there anything different about the finish of my TAG that would merit not using the Turtle Wax/Viva routine?

I don't go overboard anyway, maybe every second or third string change I'll give it a good clean and shine.

I suspect there would be no harm, but finally remembered to ask.

Thanks,
Ray K.

[bruce]

One thing that I could recommend for polishing is to use a clean cloth.... meaning don't keep re-using the same cloth over since you will be smearing the old grime, sweat, finger prints, etc. you wiped up the previous times.

I don't think there is any secret product that is the "one and only". There are many guitar polishes out there. We use a product at TAG that is hard to come by on the grocers shelves anymore, but we get it in bulk... it's a Johnson-Wax product called Kleen-n-shine. It's really not that conveinent for guitar players since it's bottle is too large to fit into most guitar cases, and it's areosol.. so if it goes off inside your case it will get ugly. Great for on the bench though. Also, we like Viva paper towels... they are cloth-like and disposable.

The Meguiar's post was Roy's suggestion. We don't use that regularly although it does work well.

Sorry for my mis-spellings!

[tom]

i would only add that i generally would rather just clean the finish than wax it. wax does build up and get fingerprinty. and yes, fingerprinty is a word.

[Ray K.]

Wow, that's some top secret, hard to find stuff ya'll are using at TAG, Bruce! I'm talking about the Kleen-N-Shine. I looked for it on the Johnson-Wax site and they no longer make it. Couldn't find it anywhere else via Google either. Hope you have a good supply. :)

They do have Scrubbing Bubbles though. Hmm, I wonder... :eek:

Yeah, I keep a pile of clean cloths and they get cycled through the wash regularly. The Viva paper towels are really convenient though.

I don't bother to keep any cleaners/polish in my cases. Just a wipe down cloth. I did get a chuckle out of the thought of a can going off in a case though. No, it's not really that funny, and I'd sure hate it if it happened to me.

Tom, is there something other than this mysterious concoction that Bruce speaketh about that you would recommend for just plain cleaning. I agree, there's not much worse than fingerprinty guitar finishes.

Thanks,
Ray K.

[morty]

I use only a wet cloth to whip over the finish and take a way the moiustre with a dry cloth after. I have done this for years with good results, on all my guitars. I do this on the backside of the nesck too, but on the fretboard, I use very little water, and whip it off imeadiatly!

[dave]

I use only a wet cloth to whip over the finish and take a way the moiustre with a dry cloth after. I have done this for years with good results, on all my guitars. I do this on the backside of the nesck too, but on the fretboard, I use very little water, and whip it off imeadiatly!
isn't there a law against 'whipping' a TAG? I find mine responds better to a gentle wipe.:D

[mr. j]

for everyday prints and smudges or between sets or before a gig I just take a micro fiber cloth and breath some mist (you know, like when you clean eye glasses) and wipe the smudges away. Micro fiber works excellent. Also keep rotating these cloths also as dust and grime gets trapped (as it's supposed to in micro fiber) and can scratch sometimes.
I usually 'snap' the micro fiber out (like when you pop someone with a towel) to get small particles out of it before I clean the finish.
P.S.
Where did I first hear of this?
From the little green leprachaun himself... Believe it or not.
Ed Roman:eek: (if any of you know who that is...:p )

[tom]

micro fibers are great if it's not gunky(that a luthiers tech term). there is also a product you can get at plastic stores like gemolite or anywhere that sells plexiglass. it's call brilliant ize. it's what we use to clean off buffing compound. it's a great cleaner but harder to find. we still have several cases of kleen and shine.

[Pietro]

Good advice from Ed Roman? WOW!

;-)

[Ray K.]

Hey Tom, Brillianize doesn't seem hard to find according to Google.

Well, I remembered I have some Meguiars's PlastX in the garage. Since it's a cleaner/polish for hard plastics and plexiglass, I figured it should be the same, or real close.

So, I grabbed it and one of my other, fendery type guitars. I tried it on an "inconspicuous" place. After wiping it off per the directions, I checked to see if it would get fingerprinty. Nope! Worked great for that. But, it did dull the shine a bit. So, it seems I can't have both, at least with this product.

I'll eventually get around to trying the Brillianize. But, for right now, I'm gonna quit shining guitars and play 'em! ;)

Thanks,
Ray K.

[enr1co]

micro fibers are great if it's not gunky(that a luthiers tech term). there is also a product you can get at plastic stores like gemolite or anywhere that sells plexiglass. it's call brilliant ize. it's what we use to clean off buffing compound. it's a great cleaner but harder to find. we still have several cases of kleen and shine.

The local Anderson dealer, Gelb turned me on to using the Meguires spray cleaner/polish that is marketed by Fender.

Also use the yellow micro fiber cloths that are available in the Costco automotive section- a pack of ~15 for about $10.

[Mister T]

my wife bought me the deluxe Fender polish kit last year. It is amazing...the products are made by Meguiars

[Dave K]

I can't wait to see the first ebay auction for NOS cans of Kleen-N-Shine. :D

[Dave K]

Also use the yellow micro fiber cloths that are available in the Costco automotive section- a pack of ~15 for about $10.

Thanks for the tip,Enr1co. Just back from Costco and found the yellow micro fiber cloths in a 36 pack for $11. I have no excuse for smudged guitars now. ;)

[enr1co]

Thanks for the tip,Enr1co. Just back from Costco and found the yellow micro fiber cloths in a 36 pack for $11. I have no excuse for smudged guitars now. ;)


36...!? No wonder I still have more than half the package after a year and an half :)

I recall when microfiber cloths started appearing in guitar shops ~3 years
ago I paid ~$5.00 for one (1) cloth :o

[morty]

sorry! I have a bad English! I am from Norway hehe But I hope you understood what I meant! :-)


isn't there a law against 'whipping' a TAG? I find mine responds better to a gentle wipe.:D

[tom]

i whip mine from time to time when they're bad. your english is fine!

[kccheers]

So Tom, what will we be using on the new Crowdster 12 string models?:D :D :D

[tom]

it's a new product by unobtainium industries inc. i believe it's called the emperors new polish. i've heard great things about it but never seen it in person.

[SonicGator]

it's a new product by unobtainium industries inc. i believe it's called the emperors new polish. i've heard great things about it but never seen it in person.


LOL...classic response!