What is the best means and hand rubbed product to use to polish out minor blemishes in the clear coat finish, front and rear? I have a mid 90s custom 22 with a black cherry 10 top clear coat finish. I’m not sure if it’s nitro or some poly? I’m not positive what they were using at the time, but it’s typical of PRS 1994 production. I have some minor pick scratches and abrasions. It’s nothing dramatic, but I would like to polish them out. How do I best accomplish that?
Polishing out scratches?
- Thread starter Raym
- Start date
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
Some guys here use Meguiars car wax with great success
Birdsofprey
All Birds that Fly.
Black Cherry my FAV PRS color! Picture?
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
And that would be moi.
doublescale1
doublescale1
This - it really works wonders and will get your PRS back to where it used to be, unless you've aggressively relic'd it.
.As a luthier , I use the 3 various colortone-polishing-compounds available from Stew Mac , they are designed for guitar finishes. I've also used Turtle wax clean polishing and rubbing compound - all these are liquids.
ALWAYS start with the lightest grit to see if it will work , Nitro finishes aren't that thick ..hand buff is slow , but safer if you aren't real experienced. In more extreme case ..wet sanding is available out to 3000 grit
ALWAYS start with the lightest grit to see if it will work , Nitro finishes aren't that thick ..hand buff is slow , but safer if you aren't real experienced. In more extreme case ..wet sanding is available out to 3000 grit
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I prefer Menzerna compounds over the rest. If you are dealing with swirls and not deeper scratches, here is my choice: https://www.amazon.com/Menzerna-SF3...ocphy=9007502&hvtargid=pla-465737535563&psc=1
After you polish out the swirls, you should wax the guitar with carnauba wax. I am surprised by how few guitarist wax their guitars. It extends the life of the finish and makes swirl marks less of a problem.
After you polish out the swirls, you should wax the guitar with carnauba wax. I am surprised by how few guitarist wax their guitars. It extends the life of the finish and makes swirl marks less of a problem.
Actually, waxes are an option with pluses and minuses. The main plus is that they fill in surface imperfections like swirl marks, and make the guitar shinier by reflecting light more uniformly. To a small degree, if you sweat a lot on a guitar, they'll offer a modicum of surface protection.
Waxes have a few drawbacks that are worth considering. I learned this stuff back when I was entering cars in shows.
Waxes build up. A second coat of wax doesn't remove the first coat, unless it has abrasives or more chemicals, which most players don't need. They yellow over time, so the more layers, the greater the yellowing.
Unlike car finishes dealing with road grit and dirt sticking to the paint and being scraped across the car while it's washed, guitars don't usually need it.
Many waxes also contain mild abrasives, especially the so-called 'cleaner-wax' products. This stuff is useful on a car, but isn't necessary on a guitar.
Carnauba wax is used by car people because it's very hard, and is therefore resistant to the kind of dirt, grinding and sand that sticks to a car; it's so hard, in fact, that even in a car wax it has to be combined with more petroleum distillates than other waxes to soften it up for use - it comes in the form of pellets that are as hard as plastic. OF course, because it dries so hard, it builds up more quickly. Most people don't need that level of protection from abrasion on a guitar, so it's unnecessary unless you're dragging your guitar through sand.
All of this isn't necessarily a criticism of using waxes, because lots of people like them, but it's something to keep in mind when you think about what you want building up on your guitar. It all comes down to personal choice.
If I was to use wax on my guitars I'd use it very sparingly.
Most show cars are polished first, using something very mild, like Meguiar's No. 7, and then waxed. This will reduce swirl marks before waxing, so there are fewer microscopic valleys and pits for the wax to fill.
Lots of players have come into my studio and asked me how I keep my instruments in such showroom-new condition. Here's how I do it, but of course, folks have their own techniques. My philosophy is like the physician's - do no harm! So that means, keep them clean, minimize the use of abrasives like polishes, don't add layers of wax.
1. Keep them cased when not in use. Nothing good happens leaving them out. Houses have all kinds of crap like food grease and dust in the air to land on the guitars and gunk them up, which creates a sticky dirt. This also buffers the temperature and humidity changes that occur from hour to hour in all houses, so the wood isn't expanding and contracting so quickly, keeps the gunk off, and obviously, accidents are less likely to result in damage to the instrument. Yes, I get that you want to eyeball stuff. Buy some real art that's meant to hang on a wall.
2. I wipe them down with a slightly damp, soft microfiber cloth after a few days' use. I dry them with another fluffy microfiber cloth.
2. If I see swirl marks, which almost never happens since I don't overpolish my instruments with abrasives, I polish them out using a very fine polish like Virtuoso using a soft microfiber cloth. If you're going to use a polish, remember that it works when the abrasives break down to microscopic particles. The smaller the particles, the fewer swirl marks. So you want as mild an abrasive as will do the job, and you want to use lighter, faster strokes instead of grinding the abrasive hard into the paint.
Keep in mind: all polishes contain abrasives. They work by removing finish, like sandpaper, and they create ultra-fine scratches that progressively beome finer and finer until you can't see them with the naked eye. You don't want to be sanding your guitar all the time.
Yes, it seems like babying the guitar, but it's very easy to overdo it.
3. Maybe once a year I'll put a little of PRS' cleaner on a soft microfiber cloth and shine 'em up if they need it; they don't always need it. This stuff has no abrasives and leaves a nice shine. It's what they use at the factory before shipping the guitars.
That's it. Keep it simple, protect the guitars using cases, and do no harm with abrasives in polishes.
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Sybo
Jim
I am a freak about my car, but I make sure I am educated on what I use on it…..same with guitars.
( there are some peoples cars I will NOT ride in. ) People can be really gross sometimes…….. I can’t believe how poorly some people treat things they had to work really hard for.
( there are some peoples cars I will NOT ride in. ) People can be really gross sometimes…….. I can’t believe how poorly some people treat things they had to work really hard for.
ArchonRye
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2024
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I have a 2022 PRS SE Standard 24 08 and I noticed lately some fingernail scratches in the pickguard area of it. Will Meg's Scratch X help? I know They're considered "battlescars" now but they look annoying to me when the guitar is viewed from a certain angle and they show up.
The truth is I looked to see if there were topics that coincided with this, because I tried it a while ago and was so impressed that I always try to recommend it for scratches, I use a paste called MEGUIARS NXT tech wax and it works incredible for me, you do have to rub it with force, but it leaves your guitar like new
Tonart
Tone of the Art......or is that backwards?
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2018
- Messages
- 2,777
Totally agree. The whole “sentimental battle scars” sentiment comes to mind when I read that fine statement. It just doesn’t resonate with me. The more pristine the guitar is, the freer it is to collect those scars. Why not just keep your options open for as long as possible?
A guitar can be pristine and authentically vintage at the same time. If I were to fancy vintage guitars, which I thankfully don’t, I’d insist on a pristine one over a banged up one. It’s the year of manufacture that matters not it’s cosmetic relic quotient. Show me a pristine 59 burst and I’ll show you the same happy face I make when I browse any other new guitar.
I keep the guitar in the case when not playing. I put a bag of dessicant in the case when the weather is humid. I designate a permanent play space at home where there is nothing around that the guitar can knock into. I don’t play the guitar any where else. I don’t like to move the amp around anyway.
I bring a more affordable proxy to gigs. The new SE’s are the real deal and it’s the playing that matters much more anyway.
It’s easy to keep guitars in pristine condition. The only thing that should wear out are the frets.
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So true!
I should add a suggestion that might be a more effective year-round alternative to desiccants in the case. Not only does this solution regulate humidity better, since I started using it I have NEVER needed a setup on any of my guitars, and some are nearing 9-10 years old. No setups. No neck bowing. Nothing. Perfect for seemingly forever.
In the cases of my electric guitars I use a D'Addario Humidipak or the Bovida-branded one (Bovida makes both) in the 49% RH size. I keep the humidipak in the nylon pouch the set for acoustic guitars comes in, but a thin sock would probably be as good. They do not leak or smell. They need changing when they dry out and get crunchy which happens 3-4 months later.
The beauty is that they absorb excess humidity when it's humid, as in summer, and release humidity when it's dry. A desiccant only works one way, and it can't be regulated. The humidipak is regulated by its chemistry to keep the case interior 45-50%. I was told by someone at PRS, might have been Shawn, that PRS keeps the factory at 45% RH or thereabouts year 'round. Since they're made there, dried there, etc. I figure that's the right humidity.
The chemicals in the Humidipaks work both ways, humid weather or dry weather, to keep the guitar at the right RH; the packet is permeable, and I find they last around 3-4 months.
I've been using one in each electric case either in the headstock area where the whole neck can absorb it, as in the French fit artist or WL cases, or in the pocket below the neck (don't keep it in the pick box because it won't do anything there except humidify your picks).
Great products.
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