How To Buff A Guitar Without A Buffer
When it comes to taking good care of a guitar, you start by wiping down its body, strings, and neck. But this is just the beginning. Oils, sweat, and dirt build up on the guitar’s surface over time. As a result, the instrument’s finish gets compromised. The finish develops a clouded film and loses color.
If your sweat consists of higher acid content, it causes the finish to deteriorate whenever you rest your arms on the guitar. As such, you need to keep your guitar clean and polished regularly. However, polishing the guitar doesn’t always mean that you need a buffer. There are other ways to do that. Continue reading the post to learn more about it.
WHAT IS THE NEED TO BUFF YOUR GUITAR?
No wonder, everything needs maintenance if you want them to perform well for many years. And, guitars are no different. Wiping down the guitar after every session of playing isn’t enough to maintain its glossy finish. The build-up of dirt, oils, and sweat will result in a hazy film alongside discoloration.
The minerals, salts, acids, and water that the sweat consists of could be corrosive to the guitar’s hardware and finish. Adding to it are certain environmental issues such as pollen and dust make guitars filthy. This is when you may need to buff your guitar to retain its original luster.
However, the interesting part is that you don’t need to use a buffer every time you want to maintain the guitar’s shine. You can maintain its shine simply by using your hand and an effective polishing compound. It is easy to buff a guitar using your hand because you don’t have to remove every component.
Moreover, your fingers can fit into small spaces whereas buffers don’t reach confined spaces. Certain buffing components are even gentle on your instrument when you use them with your hand. They give your guitar the shine without needing machines.
EFFECTIVE WAYS TO BUFF A GUITAR WITHOUT USING A BUFFER:
Below mentioned are tips that will help you to clean and polish your musical instrument in the best possible way without using a buffer.
1. USE A CLEAN COTTON CLOTH
There is no shortage of recommendations online about polishers or cleaners you can use to polish your guitar. Even if you ask every guitar player about it, they will advise you on different ways of polishing your guitar. But you can have a different view from people who build guitars and repair them.
They will tell you that the best thing to clean your guitar is to use a damp, soft cotton cloth. One good example is to use an old tee shirt. Make sure that it is free from dirt and not wet. Use the piece of cloth to wipe sweat, smudges, or grime from the guitar.
Use another piece of dry cloth to absorb the excessive buff or moisture still present on the surface. You can use old baby diapers as well. The diapers that are washed several times can serve this purpose well.
2. USE A MICROFIBER CLOTH
If you don’t like the idea of cleaning and polishing your guitar by using an old tee shirt or baby diaper, there are other ways as well. There are plenty of microfiber polishing cloths readily available on the market that you can use to clean your guitar.
Microfiber cloths used to polish surfaces are pretty soft and are designed for this purpose alone. However, ensure that you are not using the microfiber clothes that are used to dust and polish furniture. Because they have a rough texture, it is a good idea not to use them.
The rough texture will leave scratches on the guitar’s surface when you are working on it to achieve the right finish. Many people have used these kinds of clothes and are satisfied with their results. You can use shiny, flat clothes. Besides, the clothes used to clean the lens work gently on the finishes.
3. CLEANER AND POLISH
If a dry or damp cloth technique or the microfiber cloth technique won’t help you remove the build-up of sweat and dirt to your satisfaction, you may need an aggressive way to clean and polish your guitar. These days, you can find different types of cleaning solutions and polishes for your guitar.
If you somewhat feel that a damp cloth failed to clean every last piece of grime, using cleaning solutions will remove skin-oil build-ups, smudges, fingerprints, and gunk effectively. Some polishes are even designed to cover superficial scratches in lacquer-finish guitars.
Although you can find polishes that will buff out an excellent shine, make sure that you avoid the ones that come with silicone. Silicone will take dirt off your guitar along with some finish as well. When using a cleaner and polish solution, never squirt or spray it.
Put a small amount of the solution in a piece of cloth and work in a circular motion on the guitar’s surface. Wipe them off and buff them with a dry, soft cloth. Work in this manner on other sections of the surface.
4. CLEANING THE FRET
If the fretboard consists of real wood, use light steel wool to clean it. Brush or wipe off the steel filling with a soft brush or cloth. Next, rub a few drops of specific lemon oil for the fretboard or other types of oil. Keep in mind that you are using only a few drops and not more than that.
Allow the oil to absorb for a couple of minutes before wiping down the board with a piece of clean cloth. You have to do that once every year in cold weather. It will keep the fretboard clean and conditioned while making it less susceptible to cracking or shrinking.
CONCLUSION
Unless you are in a passionate guitar band or have a deep liking for your instrument, you may want to keep your guitar clean and polished. You have to keep up with your public image and maintain the guitar’s well-being to enjoy every bit of playing. When you follow simple steps to clean your instrument, you don’t have to use a buffer to get the desired result.