How To Clean and Polish Your Guitar

In this episode of "Gibson's Guide to Guitar Setup and Maintenance," viewers learn how to polish their guitars like a professional. Gibson Master Luthier, Jim DeCola, demonstrates the correct way to do the job, whether your guitar has a gloss or satin finish.
Polishing a guitar sounds simple, but there’s more to it than you might think. Jim DeCola talks about the right way to clean and polish, including what types of polish and cloth to use, how to store the cloth, why you should polish in a circular motion, what to use to clean the strings and fretboard, and what to use to polish your guitar’s hardware.
Did you know that the Nitrocellulose guitar finish needs special attention when you’re polishing your guitar? Or why you need to polish your guitar? Well, in this guitar polishing tutorial, Jim answers all your questions and shows you the safe way to polish a nitrocellulose guitar. In addition, Jim shows you some of the best guitar polish available and the best guitar polishing cloths to use. Jim also provides some top tips when polishing the guitar headstock (which we know is awkward!). Plus Jim shows you how to polish a satin finish guitar without scratching it or buffing out the finish.
Jim also discusses how different finish colors can show scratches and fingerprints more than others, as well as the importance of dusting off the guitar before applying polish to reduce the possibility of scratching the finish, and how keeping the neck polished and clean will make playing effortless.