For you guitar players/collectors.
Son recently purchased a 10 yr old Gibson acoustic guitar and wanted to know what to wax it with to protect the finish. Said he believes it is a lacquer finish.
Would the Renaissance wax I use on some of my firearms be appropriate or is there a better product to use?
Guitar is in excellent condition.

I've never heard of waxing a guitar. Talk to a local luthier and see what he says.

No wax needed.

Just get these and he'll be fine. It's all I use on mine.

If he wants to use wax, use pure carnauba with no additives. I tend to just use Music Nomad or Gibson products.

I 2nd Gustofer. The only time you need a wax is when the wood is unfinished. My Warwick requires a paste wax and I only use their brand as to be sure not to screw anything up.

If you watch the video below from Taylor, they use turtle spray wax when doing maintenance at the factory. I started doing the same a couple of years ago after watching this video and everything has been fine. I figure if it’s good enough for their guitars it’s good enough for mine.

Link - https://youtu.be/plU27QJBKn8

quote:

Originally posted by McGregor:
Would the Renaissance wax I use on some of my firearms be appropriate or is there a better product to use?
Guitar is in excellent condition.

No, please don't do that. Dunlop 65 guitar polish, or just about any other guitar polish. If you want to keep the guitar in excellent condition, do not experiment with products made for everything but guitar finishes.

quote:

Originally posted by DaveL:
If you watch the video below from Taylor, they use turtle spray wax when doing maintenance at the factory. I started doing the same a couple of years ago after watching this video and everything has been fine. I figure if it’s good enough for their guitars it’s good enough for mine.

Fun fact: Taylor uses UV cured finishes, not nitrocellulose. Major, major difference.

Thanks. Knew if I came here i would get some guidance for him.

I’ve long used Lizard Spit Guitar Polish because it was recommended by an old friend who is a certified guitar tech (both acoustic and electric) for several major guitar builders, Martin for sure, don’t remember if Gibson as well.

Virtuoso Cleaner and then Virtuoso Polish for me. A lot like the Martin spray cleaner/polish.

I play a Martin 000-28
A good quality guitar polish is all you need for fingerprints, oils, etc.
Please don't experiment, I hate the thought of jacking up a wonderful guitar.

Any of the big brand polishes made for guitars. Some are Nitro,some are poly. No wax..

Of the roughly 20 guitars I have owned, I never waxed a single one of them.

quote:

Originally posted by DaveL:
If you watch the video below from Taylor, they use turtle spray wax when doing maintenance at the factory. I started doing the same a couple of years ago after watching this video and everything has been fine. I figure if it’s good enough for their guitars it’s good enough for mine.

Link - https://youtu.be/plU27QJBKn8

No, not on a nitrocellulose lacquer finish. That will ruin it and make touchups and repairs very difficult. Turtle Wax and other car polishes have silicone in them and are only for synthetic finishes. Most modern furniture polishes like Pledge have silicone too.

Taylor uses a very thin coat of UV-cure polyester, so pretty much anything is OK on it. But it's best to stick with purpose designed guitar polishes that are OK on all finishes.