How to Clean Your Guitar in a Few Steps

So you clean your house, clean your car, and even clean your dog; so what’s stopping you from cleaning your guitar?

Sure, the guitar is the one thing in our lives that allows us to play by our own rules, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be squeaky clean. In fact, cleaning your guitar regularly will not only prolong its life, but it will also make playing easier.

In this article, we are going to go over how to clean your guitar with some simple guitar maintenance steps.

Things That You Will Need To Clean Your Guitar:

• Lemon oil (or olive oil)

• Tooth brush (preferably clean)

• Microfiber cloth x2

• Guitar polish/cleaner

• Cotton swabs

• Wire cutters

• String Winder

• Tri-Flow (or WD40)

Steps In Cleaning Your Guitar

Alright, the first step to cleaning your guitar is taking off the old strings. Detune them until they give about five to six inches from the fret board, then snip them in the middle with your wire cutters. Remove the strings from their posts and from the tremolo (bridge.)

Now, take you tooth brush and go to work on those frets! You want to remove all of the grime and dead skin that is left over from playing. Don’t scrub excessively hard, but scrub enough so that you get the bristles firmly in between the pores of the wood.

Be sure to pay extra attention to the area around the fret wire, as it is prone to hoarding. Wipe off your brush once finished, and then wipe down your fret board using the microfiber cloth. Be sure to shake it out when you’re finished, as you will need it again shortly.

How to Apply Lemon Oil Correctly

Next, take your Lemon oil (or olive oil) and lightly coat each and every single fret. Let the oil soak in for five to ten minutes, then wipe off the excess oil. Some may seep out again while you are completing the cleaning process; that’s okay, you can simply wipe it off again later.

Next, use that tooth brush to clean up your tremolo system. If you have a Floyd Rose, take it apart. If you have a Tune-O-Matic simply remove the bridge. If you have a hipshot, lift the string holders and they will turn.

Spray either the WD40 or the Tri-Flow directly onto the tooth brush (which you should have wiped off) and start scrubbing! Be sure to clean each and every part of the tremolo system, and once you are finished, put it back together and go to work on your tuning pegs.

Clean Your Guitar’s Body

Spray your guitar polish/cleaner onto the second microfiber cloth and wipe down the entire body from horn to end. If you see any scratches and are a bit vein about the fact, you can buy a product called the Guitar Scratch Remover that works astonishingly well to get rid of them so long as your guitar has a gloss finish.

Now that your fret board is nourished, your tremolo is properly taken care of, and your entire guitar is clean, our final step on how to clean your guitar is simply restringing. Grab that new set of strings, tune up, and then watch how great your fretboard feels, how smooth your tuners move, and how easily your tremolo complies!

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