Just got myself this nice brand new 24 Custom in Purple Mist, to add to USA Silversky and Gibson Les Paul(s) I own
Plays like butter, only thing I hate about it is black back side, that is picking up scratches as soon as you breathe near it.. Manged to put few scratches on the back of guitar just trying gently wipe it down with clean microfiber cloth
I assume this is general experience with black color on nitro finishes?
Gorgeous guitar!
I've had two recent models with a black back, my most recent one for about a year. The finish on the back of the guitar is like new despite frequent use. So I'll share a few tips that might come in handy:
1. Scratching and swirl marks are caused by dust and other particles being rubbed into the finish; less-than-ideal cloths are also prime culprits. Even soft cotton will create swirl marks because the size of the cotton fibers is much larger than microfiber's...er...microscopic fibers!
2. Never wipe down a black finish with only a dry cloth. All you're accomplishing is basically grinding it.
3. Always start with a surfactant to provide lubrication between the cloth and the lacquer to remove dirt, dust and schmootz. Then lightly wipe dry with a high quality microfiber.
Plain old water is a useful surfactant, so is the PRS Cleaner (NOT the polish; the cleaner has no abrasives like polishes, and polishes are another story entirely). Use very light pressure.
The idea is to slightly dampen the clean microfiber cloth with the surfactant (don't spray it directly onto the finish), and wipe dry gently with a clean microfiber cloth.
The deeper the pile on the microfiber, the less you'll rub particles into the finish because they get trapped by the microfiber's thick pile.
The goal is to avoid rubbing dust and particles into the surface of the finish.
Not all microfiber is alike. There's great stuff, and there's junk. You do want a pile surface instead of a flat one. Flat microfiber is more suited to metal hardware.
This is what I use, and there's plenty of info about it on the site:
After a detailing wash, dry your car with ease using our plush microfiber towels from Griots Garage.
www.griotsgarage.com
4. If you need to use a polish to take out swirl marks and very light scratches, you want to use the finest grit polish available that breaks down into even more microscopic particles easily.
I like Virtuoso polishes. I get the most satisfactory results with them. The grit is very, very fine, it breaks down quickly without hard rubbing, and the results of polishing are imperceptible if done right.
'Right' means light, quick strokes/circular motions with a tiny bit of polish on a clean, high quality microfiber cloth,
not heavy rubbing.
When polishing you want to break down the grit with light strokes and let the polish do what it's created to do. Once the area starts to shine up, buff lightly with another clean microfiber. You use a dry one for this, since the surface already has been cleaned with the surfactant and you're not grinding in contaminants.
5. I only ever use polishes to deal with a swirl mark or faint scratching. While that rarely happens, it's good to have some polish on hand just in case.
Might want to try better microfiber.
