Guitar polish question

[Citrus]

Is it ok to use a furniture polish such as Pledge to clean/polish an acoustic guitar?

I have a friend who says it does damage to the finish - doesn't make snse to me since it is supposed to be used on finished wood furniture

[Jeff R]

Don't know if it would necessarily damage it, but I'd expect it could build up and cloud out over time.

[Armitage]

I know lots of people who've used Pledge because it's so easy... I also know a few antique furniture dealers that wish the company would die a horrible death. The way I hear it, it sprays on thick, encapsulates the dust and goes cloudy over time. My mother had her dining room table refinished because it had gone cloudy and the re-finisher blamed her regular use of Pledge as well.

Out of all the spray polishes I've used in the last 40 years, I liked the old Martin polish and the new Dunlop 65 the best.

[Teh]

The problem with a lot of furniture polishes is that they contain silicone, which causes problems when/if you need to do finish repairs. I would stick with polishes made specifically for guitar finishes just in case you need work done down the road...

[BlaXander]

Haven't used it yet, but when I bought my guitar, I had them ship some Petros instrument polish as well (http://www.petrosguitars.com/polish.htm)

[Rocktuna]

Don't know about on a nitro finish but what harm could Pledge do to a bullet proof Poly finish. I've used it for years and never had a problem with clouding.

(Even on my Les Paul)

My mother has used it forever on her antique dining room table and it still shines.

Feels great on fretboards too, almost like Finger Ease.

The silicone could possibly cause problems if you went to do a re-finish.

[veatch]

One vote for "NO"

Don't ask me how i know.

[Submariner85]

We need more lemon Pledge

[silentman]

Get yerself some Ernie Ball wonder wipes.

[Armitage]

Don't know about on a nitro finish but what harm could Pledge do to a bullet proof Poly finish.

Pledge doesn't make the finish go cloudy, it goes cloudy by itself...

[murkat]

clean it up with naptha, then a non silcone polish (mcguires)

[Steve Haynie]

NO! The silicone in spray polish can get into the wood through small cracks and dings in the finish. It will hinder refinishing or repairs that require glue.

If you have ever run across a guitar that has been hit with Pledge you will know it. They smell funny and the finish does not look right.

[Frank]

Furniture polish for furniture,

guitar polish for guitars.

[tommy p]

Despite comments here to the contrary, I used Pledge for a few years on my tobacco burst Les Paul and I think that's what made it so cloudy looking and sticky feeling. I got some Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish (2 separate products) and got the gunk off and a decent shine. I have since used it on my pretty road-worn black Les Paul, also with excellent results.

[DaveH]

Out of all the spray polishes I've used in the last 40 years, I liked the old Martin polish and the new Dunlop 65 the best.

This.

[tbonesullivan]

I used to use the GHS guitar polish but lately I've been using preservation polish from Stew Mac on my non-nitro guitars. I use Gibson pump polish on my Heritage and Gibton guitars. The Dunlop 65 cleaner polish also seems to work well.

Just remember: NO SILICONE.

[Quietly]

Despite comments here to the contrary, I used Pledge for a few years on my tobacco burst Les Paul and I think that's what made it so cloudy looking and sticky feeling. I got some Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish (2 separate products) and got the gunk off and a decent shine. I have since used it on my pretty road-worn black Les Paul, also with excellent results.

Ditto on the Virtuoso but to be honest if the lacquer is poly it really doesn't need polish just a wipe off.

[Bennyboy-UK]

I've not had an issue using bog standard furniture polish like mr sheen as yet. If anything I actually like the feel of a neck post a spot of silicone -

probably I don't know any better ... But no issues so far on anything I've owned.

The only caveat I have is that I don't have corrosive sweat. So my guitars stay in good nick and don't need polishing regularly - no fingermarks or gunk...

The low frequency of application might be doing me some favours?

B

Maybe wax free silicone polish was what I've mainly used? The cloudyness could be produced by precipitation of wax - especially if applied thickly in changable tepmeratures. Whatever I polish with is used sparingly and removed with elbow grease - I treat it as and very fine cutting compound and after application use a seperate clean cloth to remove as much as I can of whatever I've decided to spray onto the guitar...

Any help?