Is naphtha safe on the PRS "nitro over CAB" finish?

[JMS]

I just bought a new PRS 35th anniversary custom 24 Goldtop which has nitro over CAB. My question here is do you know if naphtha is safe on it? Here's why I ask... I use "PICK Honey" by Gorilla Snot to help me hold my pick securely, and over time I get a little of it (btw, I think it's mostly pine sap since it smells/feels like sap) on my guitar (such as when I put on the guitar & take it off). So, I occasionally (maybe a few times yearly) clean the sap off of my other guitars using naphtha (since they're finished in nitro). Do you know if naphtha is safe on PRS finishes like mine which have "nitro over CAB"? Thanks

 

[bodia]

I’m not 100% on that, either way. If you don’t get an answer, try Customer Service

[email protected]

 

[docteurseb]

Ditto. You're not going to find too many owners willing to splash their guitars with Naphtha to find out ;-)
Let us know either way.

 

[JMS]

Yeah, I emailed [email protected] yesterday. I'll let you know what they say.

 

[JMS]

I guess the "CAB Nitro" is the stuff that's scary & new to me. I've done lots of nitro finishing on guitars & have always used naphtha to safely clean things, but I was using pure nitro instead of the "CAB Nitro" stuff. Is the PRS customer service responsive, or will I have to wait wait wait? I see PRS sells some bottle of cleaner, but I don't to unnecessarily pay for that if the naphtha in my garage works.

 

[bodia]

I guess the "CAB Nitro" is the stuff that's scary & new to me. I've done lots of nitro finishing on guitars & have always used naphtha to safely clean things, but I was using pure nitro instead of the "CAB Nitro" stuff. Is the PRS customer service responsive, or will I have to wait wait wait? I see PRS sells some bottle of cleaner, but I don't to unnecessarily pay for that if the naphtha in my garage works.

They’re responsive. Not on the weekends, though. Also, not sure if they’re running full staff due to COVID.

 

[RonHal]

I have used PRS Guitar Cleaner to remove dried Epoxy Glue from the finish. (long sad story). It should come with every purchase.

 

[alantig]

I'd be willing to test this. I just need some naphtha.



Oh, and someone's nitro guitar. I'm not doing it on mine!

 

[JMS]

Still no word from PRS customer service. It's been 3 days, but I can understand if that's still too soon since it's certainly a lower priority. I'll keep waiting. Maybe I need to wait a full week or two?

 

[DISTORT6]

Well, you asked your question on a Saturday, yesterday might have been a holiday for the factory, so it’s possible it’s only been one working day.
<edit: just saw you asked on Friday.>

 

[JMS]

Ahh, yes ...MLK. My bad. I had two work yesterday, so I didn't even stop to recall that it was MLK. Either way, I'm in no rush and will keep waiting.

 

[bluenova]

Naphtha is pretty much safe on anything *knocks on wood*

 

[ViperDoc]

If you’re not sure, don’t do it, man.

 

[JMS]

Just got the following response from PRS customer service:. "Naphtha may cloud the nitro finish on your guitar, so we recommend that you do not use it on your PRS Guitar."

 

[Boogie]

You could always light it to remove the naptha.

Don’t use naptha on any finish.

 

[aphantomvaper]

You could always light it to remove the naptha.

Don’t use naptha on any finish.

This is how you get that Flame finish! Roasted Maple technique?

 

[DISTORT6]

This is how you get that Flame finish! Roasted Maple technique?

Dragons Breath.

 

[ScottR]

You could always light it to remove the naptha.

Don’t use naptha on any finish.

Jimi did it...apparently, he pissed the guitar gods off by doing so. Look what happened to him. I'll pass.

 

[JMS]

I would've hoped that PRS would've provided an alternative solvent/solution for cleaning the dirt, funk, sap, oils, etc from the guitar when they emailed me back. All the other high-end guitars I've read about and own have pure nitro as the finish, and it's super commonplace to be able to lightly wipe it down once awhile with naphtha. I usually only wipe the nitro body/neck (& only fretboards if they're maple but I skip the rosewood/ebony fingerboards).

 

[SinSir]

I'm guessing it was the safe anwer by them. I wonder if you emailed another manufacturer if you'd get the same response?

If they recommended another product it would probably be the PRS branded line. Would that help you feel better about the response if they recommended their product instead of nothing at all for an alternative? I wouldn't have. It would have immediately sent my brain into thinking their response was more of a marketing push than anything.