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waxing guitar
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Guitarsid
Posts: 52
Joined: Aug. 5 2013
From: Maryland USA
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RE: waxing guitar (in reply to rickm)
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quote:
now ive heard from luthiers never to put anything on a quality guitar for the life of me I cant figure out why a good quality wax like trewax wouldn't benefit the wood. I don't mean like goop it on every week but every once in awhile buff it out with the wax. I would think it would help preserve the wood etc. any thoughts? I also think that it isn't required, but as long as it feels good to you, it won't hurt anything to do that. Here is another brand that is similar with carnauba wax, which is also in many guitar polishes, http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/clayton-carnauba-guitar-wax-polish I would opt for a wax/polish that is specifically made for guitar finishes. A fellow guitar player in my old band used ordinary Pledge to polish his guitar. After a number of years, it did begin to remove some of the finish, which I am guessing was nitrocellulose, on a vintage Les Paul electric. This was no doubt due to some solvents in the polish that do evaporate off, I believe that he overdid it. I remember him "waxing on/waxing off" after every single gig. Now the thick "plastic" coating/finishes they put on cheap guitars would be better off removed somewhat, but not any of the finish on a very well made, french polished guitar. Thus if I had that quality of flamenco guitar, I would opt for nothing but maybe a little bit of lemon oil on occasion. I also always treat fingerboards with linseed oil, which is a drying oil. It restores the beauty and luster of the the wood nicely in old worn and dried out fingerboards. It soaks into the wood and fully polymerizes (dries).
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Date Aug. 27 2013 12:44:10
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Guitarsid
Posts: 52
Joined: Aug. 5 2013
From: Maryland USA
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RE: waxing guitar (in reply to Ruphus)
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I can understand Ruphus' reasoning, yes, dry/unsealed wood is quite absorbent and yes, fingerboard oil will penetrate down into the wood fibers nicely. If a drying oil such as linseed is used, that oil will polymerize and "dry" up and get hard. Whether or not, nor how much, this will affect the sound, I have no idea. But I believe there is a happy medium where a very dry fingerboard will benefit from some moderate applications of oil on a very occasional basis. With most anything, there may be the possibility of overdoing it and just oversaturating the board with oil, but as I said, I don't know what impact that will have on sound. I have seen an ebony fingerboard crack lengthwise and I can't say that it was because it dried out too much, but I also can't imagine that a bit of oil supplied once in a while to the inner fibres of that fingerboard would have hurt it, and may have even helped it out a little bit. I think a light coating of lemon oil or carnauba wax on the finish of a guitar will help keep moisture/perspiration/bodily fluids, and oils/dirt/filth off the finish or at least make it easier to clean off with just a cloth. Sometimes if this filth is left on for too long, it can cause a bloom or some other uneven gloss or cloudiness to the finish that is entirely unremovable. And yes, in a way, it is the very same principle as waxing a car or using rainx on the windshield to repel moisture etc. and to help preserve the finish in terms of eveness, gloss, etc.
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Date Sep. 6 2013 19:24:31
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estebanana
Posts: 9378
Joined: Oct. 16 2009
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RE: waxing guitar (in reply to Guitarsid)
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quote:
Natural resin varnishes all also age, dry, and crack eventually, so periodically treating the guitar with carnauba wax or lemon oil will also help to slow this processs and preserve these finishes longer. Treating resin and oil varnish with wax or oil won't change it if is going to crack. If the varnish is formulated correctly it won't crack, or will be self healing if it does. However we usually don't use resin based varnishes on guitars. Even if we did, once the resin and oil polymerize into a film the only thing that will disturb or change it is a harsh stripper or a solvent. quote:
Newer synthetic resin varnishes are less prone to this deterioration because the newer synthetic complex polymers are far more durable than traditional natural resin varnishes/shellac. *****So while newer poly finishes may not benefit as much from feeding the surface, they will also keep the guitar looking like it has been dipped in plastic forever.***** Modern alkyd resin varnishes are tougher, but probably not more long lived than natural resin oil varnishes. Modern resin varnishes have many components fillers driers, which older varnishes don't have. All the chemicals in modern finishes means there are more parts to break down over time. Polyurethane finishes and resin finishes are not the same thing;poly finishes have a plastic component that depends on a chemical lipid to keep the finish supple. Eventually, just like the plastic dash board on a car dries up a cracks, so will poly finish. it might take 50 years, but it will dry a crust off. Even though a poly finish depends on the chemical lipid substance, that substance can't be replaced in the finish if it dries out. The plastic on a car dash board can be 'fed' to a certain extent to prolong its life, but a poly finish on a table top or a guitar does not accept the same feeding procedure. The reason people think this is true is because the chemical companies that make waxes and treatments want to sell you product so they create these feeding scenarios to get you to buy waxes. It began in the 1950's and people still think it's true. Waxes do work for car finishes, which are vastly different from guitar finishes, and they wax does not feed the paint or coatings on a car, it puts protective film over them to shield the coatings from dirt, air and sun. The whole notion of feeding guitar finishes and fingerboards or thinking they need to be fed with waxes is something that does not have to be done. As I've said and other guitar makers, wipe your axe dry after you play. that is the best thing you can do for it on daily basis. The finish does not need feeding, it needs to be patted dry. That is why I posted the experimental film Kustom Kar Kommandos by Kenneth Anger, circa 1966- it shows guys fetishizing cars, acting like Marlon Brando....The chemical companies have been selling wax since the 1950's because guys like to rub things silly.
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Date Sep. 7 2013 4:22:46
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