polishing a Gibson

[BloodRose]

Help!! Problem... I always use Dunlop N65 or whatever its called to wipe down my guits with great success.
And, on my cheaper guitars with poly finish, I use car wax when I really wanna buff em up..
Tonight, a bud and I were jamming in my garage.. $@#~%!%@ Mosquitos started tearing us up, so I got out this bug repellent made by avon that was derived from their Skin So Soft skin softener. When my buddy was spraying himself, he got over spray on my Gibson V.. I cant get the spots off of it from the spray.. I have used VERY liberal coats or Dunlop 65 and wiped my ass off, but cant get the spots out.. Any recommendations of what I can use? Ive never used the Maguras car wax on any of my nitro finished guitars.. DARE I? Any other ideas??
Im panicked here, cuz this is looking real permanent...

Thank you!!!

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: polishing a Gibson

I've used Meguirs on guitars. It works fine. Not sure if it takes out bug repellant chemicals. Would need to know what those chemicals are.

I had a sculptor once tell me that with lacquer, you can clean it with water, or repair it with lacquer thinner - but just don't touch it at all until the thinner evaporates away overnight. He had a degree working with all these materials, so I trust his word. But check around in case there's a better solution.

 

[Wattage]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Yipes
You might try 3M Surface prep

 

[Dahla]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Help!! Problem... I always use Dunlop N65 or whatever its called to wipe down my guits with great success.
And, on my cheaper guitars with poly finish, I use car wax when I really wanna buff em up..
Tonight, a bud and I were jamming in my garage.. $@#~%!%@ Mosquitos started tearing us up, so I got out this bug repellent made by avon that was derived from their Skin So Soft skin softener. When my buddy was spraying himself, he got over spray on my Gibson V.. I cant get the spots off of it from the spray.. I have used VERY liberal coats or Dunlop 65 and wiped my ass off, but cant get the spots out.. Any recommendations of what I can use? Ive never used the Maguras car wax on any of my nitro finished guitars.. DARE I? Any other ideas??
Im panicked here, cuz this is looking real permanent...

Thank you!!!

Ouch!

I once got a big squirt of locktite blue all over my Gibson explorer. Small droplets hit the guitar, wich lay in it’s on floor with the lid open. I hastily wiped it off, but it etched right through the nitro. There went the perfect finish all to hell. Luckily it’s black so you can only see it at steep angles when the light hits it a certain way... *facepalm*

Hope you aren’t as unlucky. Poly doesn’t sound like a bad idea after all with incidents like this huh?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BloodRose]

Re: polishing a Gibson

tried some auto wax..made the surface slick as a whistle, but you can still see the spots.. :rant: :smash::grumble:

 

[Wattage]

Re: polishing a Gibson

wax is just going to shine up what you have

You need something like a Surface Prep or a compound to take the finish back to where it isn't damaged. Hopefully it doesn't go all the way thri the finish.

 

[Guitar Cat]

Re: polishing a Gibson

I've had good results with Meguiars Scratch X. It's a very mild scratch remover for clear coat finishes on autos. Because it's mild you won't do damage to the finish, as long as your careful.

Start with gentle rubbing. Go easy, wipe it off and see how it looks. Keep applying additional Scratch X till you get the desired results.

Good Luck.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: polishing a Gibson

wax is just going to shine up what you have

You need something like a Surface Prep or a compound to take the finish back to where it isn't damaged. Hopefully it doesn't go all the way thri the finish.

100% on the cutting compound.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Yipes
You might try 3M Surface prep

auto parts store??

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: polishing a Gibson

I've had good results with Meguiars Scratch X. It's a very mild scratch remover for clear coat finishes on autos. Because it's mild you won't do damage to the finish, as long as your careful.

Start with gentle rubbing. Go easy, wipe it off and see how it looks. Keep applying additional Scratch X till you get the desired results.

Good Luck.

The other key is microfiber cloth or cloth that isn't abrasive in any way.

 

[StoRMiE]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Help!! Problem... I always use Dunlop N65 or whatever its called to wipe down my guits with great success.
And, on my cheaper guitars with poly finish, I use car wax when I really wanna buff em up..
Tonight, a bud and I were jamming in my garage.. $@#~%!%@ Mosquitos started tearing us up, so I got out this bug repellent made by avon that was derived from their Skin So Soft skin softener.

My mother has sold that stuff for 20 years, it annihilated the side of a car at a point. I used 3M rubbing compound -> 3M polishing compound and ended up having to buff it for a while for it to actually start to disappear. You can pick up a buffing pad bit for your cordless drill from most autoparts stores, you may also have to wet sand it and hit it with the compounds again.

Alternatively you could clay bar it if you still see it and it would probably help draw out the oils/chemicals in the finish.

That stuff contains vitamin E and a chemical called Picardin(Icardin) among various other chemicals one of which is sec-Butyl known for it's use in paint and lacquer thinner, both Picardin and DEET used in bug sprays eat all manner of finish and in some cases nylon and vinyl. Sunscreen will also yield the same results. My condolences.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: polishing a Gibson

wax is just going to shine up what you have

You need something like a Surface Prep or a compound to take the finish back to where it isn't damaged. Hopefully it doesn't go all the way thri the finish.

I was going to suggest an automotive rubbing compound. It might be just abrasive enough to get the chemicals out without affecting the clearcoat.

 

[Guitar Cat]

Re: polishing a Gibson

BeauBrummels is right. Microfiber cloths are a must in helping to prevent scratches as you work to get out those spots.

But I would reiterate; start with a mild scratch remover/surface cleaner, then move up to something more aggressive if necessary.

It's better to start out with something mild and to repeat if necessary, than to hit it with something aggressive and find that you over did
it and damaged the surface of your guitar.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Too bad, I'm so sorry.

I had this happen to me with Spray 'n Wash accidentally getting on one of my Music Man Sabre IIs. Even after polishing, it left tiny dimples where the misted droplets fell. There are many common household and personal care products that will ruin a nitrocellose laquer finish.

I would suggest using an application or two of Virtuoso Cleaner followed by the Virtuoso Polish.

However, if the Skin So Soft left white marks in the finish, I would consult a professional.

The lesson I learned from my mistake: On my NCL finished guitars, I keep a coat of carnauba wax on them to protect the finish. Poly finishes are much more forgiving.

Best wishes.

Bill

 

[Wattage]

Re: polishing a Gibson

auto parts store??

Yes but usually a pro one that handles body shops

I wouldn't use a buffing wheel unless you a skilled with it, you can do more than a little damage if you are not careful. I hate the bonnets you put on a drill, go too fast and you're screwed.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Yeah, will stick to hand rubbing.. But looks like I may be Forked... wax didnt touch it.. made the guitar much shinier, but didnt touch the spotting. Will try some of the other recommendations.. Im bout to puke... Im horribly AR about my gear.. And been kicking around selling the V as the neck is alittle thicker than Im comfy with.. looks like Ill def be keeping it now.. Selling was already going to be tough cuz the finish is so thick, the serial is hard to make out.. I really like the axe, but dont see it being a main player...

 

[AlexR]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Wax builds up in the very minor divots/swirl marks to make the finish seem more shiny and perfect than it is. It will do absolutely nothing for your issue - in fact its the opposite to what you need.....which involves scraping off the finish clear until the it matches the level of the damage. This is accomplished with either sanding or buffing/cutting compounds. All of these do the same thing with differing levels of speed.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Does this bug spray contain DEET???

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: polishing a Gibson

DEET is definitely a finish killer.

Bill

 

[Ascension]

Re: polishing a Gibson

Agree on the polishing compound if the damage is slight. If t really melted in find a real pro. Hate Nitro as it is just so fragile on a guitar that is going to get played out. Exception would be on an acoustic where the actual wood vibration could be hampered by a thick poly. Nitro looks great on show cars and guitars but does NOT wear and age well!!
Most of my Guitars have poly but do have the Washburn USA guitars that are all Nitro. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
PS I have ALWAYS used a good automotive Pure Carnauba wax on both my automotive and guitar finishes to help protect them. Same paint types on both so---.