How to Clean an Acoustic Guitar Without Efforts (10 Things)

Hey guys, today we are going to discuss a day-to-day yet very important topic which is How to clean an acoustic guitar.

If you are a guitarist then you surely loving your guitar more than anything, so it is necessary to clean such valuable things. But let me clear you guys that cleaning a guitar does not mean just wiping it.

It includes lots of things, which I am going to tell you in this article. Cleaning your guitar properly is the first step to maintain your guitar for a longer time. And friends, the look of your guitar also affects your performance.

Because if a guitar looks awesome it helps to increase your confidence and ultimately it makes your performance good. As we know that confidence matters a lot.

So take your socks up, because it is work time. Do not worry guys! it is not much hard if you follow my steps neatly then it would be a loving experience for you.

And do not think for a second that you are wasting time. You are just spending time on your guitar which a mostly a soul for every guitarist.

How to Clean an Acoustic Guitar?

    Items you need to Clean your Acoustic Guitar

    To clean your guitar you need some items. You need two soft cloths (you can use your old t-shirt or handkerchief). Even you can buy a cloth specially made for cleaning a guitar.

    Also some other products like lemon oil, guitar polish, something pointy like a needle, low tack tape, a bottle spray which contains detergent.

    And one more thing that, you have to use buff cloth if your guitar has a shiny finish.

    So the question may arise that which items are more good, professional products from shops or household items. Let see:

    Whether you should Use Professional Products or Household Items to Clean your Guitar?

    If you buy a professional product kit that contains different tools. Such tools make your work easy and in less time you can clean your guitar.

    This kit contains a spray bottle, proper polishing cloth, different types of cleaners for strings, neck, and body.

    how to clean your acoustic guitar

    But guys such guitar maintenance kits are expensive. So if you are not able to buy such a kit then it is ok you can use household items instead of professional products.

    Just make sure your items are not harmful to the guitar. Do not use distilled vinegar to clean fretboard it makes your guitar smell bad. Your guitar started smelling like a pickled guitar.

    Do not use pure lemon oil may it is good for cleaning the house but it will damage your fretboard and make it dry. So avoid using things like this and then you can also clean your guitar at your home very neatly.

    So both the options are good now it is on to you, what to choose. But if you ask my opinion I will definitely suggest you go with a professional kit.

    Because there are lots of special things in this kit and with the help of these things you can clean your guitar more neatly.

    How to Clean your Acoustic Guitar’s Fretboard?

    Firstly you have to remove all the strings of the guitar. But before doing this, take a look at the manufacture’s guide of guitar first. And then remove the string without damaging anything. Now you can easily clean your fretboard of the guitar.

    how to clean an acoustic guitar fretboard

    The next thing you need is low tack tape. Cover the sides of the fretboard and soundhole with the help of this tape. After touching the fretboard with your hand you can feel the roughness and greasy spots of it.

    Now we will use steel wool to remove the grime on it. You can also use a conditioner. You can buy steel wool or conditioner from any nearby shops or simply order it online.

    Just rub this steel wool up and down onboard very carefully and you can easily get a positive result.

    Use a small paintbrush to remove the remaining wool particles from the board. Do not use more abrasive than steel wool because may it make scratches on your guitar.

    I also have another option:

    You can also apply some conditioner on polishing cloth and wipe your fretboard with the help of it. It will maintain your guitar for a longer time by preventing the cracking of guitar in the future.

    But guys in this process there are lots of things that are not mostly available at home. So now I will tell you how you can clean your guitar’s fretboard at home.

    How to clean your Guitar’s fretboard at home?

    If you have any old toothbrush then do not throw it in a dustbin. Because I am going to tell you how to use it.

    Just apply a conditioner on this brush and rub it on your fretboard. Now using any soft cloth wipe the fretboard.

    After doing this your guitar looks shiny and restored. And also your fretboard becomes smooth due to this.


    Also Read:


    How to Clean your Acoustic Guitar’s Body?

    You can easily clean your guitar by wiping it with a soft old cloth just do not use too abrasive cloth such as a paper towel.

    You can also clean the guitar’s body with different cleaners. But before cleaning or wiping the body of the guitar we have to know about some restrictions.

    As we know every guitar has different finishing so the method of cleaning is also different for every guitar.

    1. Acoustic Guitar with raw bodies

    Never ever use wax and oil containing cleaners to such guitars. It is harmful to the guitar who has raw wood finishing.

    If you mistakenly do this then lots of spots will appear on your guitar’s body. Which is definitely not going to look good. So do not do this mistake guys.

    Just use a Lint-free cloth damp it with water and a small amount of elbow grease carefully rub it on the body of the guitar.

    It is the easiest way to clean a guitar that has raw wood finishing. But if you want to give a new and shiny look and want to remove the grime of guitar, then all you need to do is just settle it down in the sand.

    If you do not want to do this method then I have another for you rather then using sand equipment you can also use a high-flash solvent which is lighter fluid. This fluid is definitely going to do a good job.

    2. Acoustic Guitar with satin/matten finishing

    To clean such kinds of guitars you can use a water-based cleaner or directly use plain water. You can also use different cleaning products to clean guitars.

    But maybe it causes spots on your guitar body. But don’t worry guys, because the guitar has protection.

    Such spots appear in very rare cases. But I will always suggest you one thing, use the cleaning products very carefully. Because precaution is always better than cure.

    3. Acoustic Guitar with gloss finishing

    You can easily clean such a guitar by water and dish soap only. Spray this solution on a cloth and wipe your guitar with it.

    Wipe your guitar’s body, back, soundhole, and even a neck. Wiping a neck with this cloth doesn’t only make it clean and shiny but also becomes better for playing.

    How to Wax your Acoustic Guitar’s Body?

    Most guitar get benefit from lighted coated wax. It help to remove splotches on guitar.

    You can buy wax from any nearby market. But guys avoid silicon-based and abrasive waxes it may be dangerous.

    Just spray the safe wax on the cloth and rub it on the entire body. Now take other dry cloth and wipe the places where you applied the wax.

    And do not forget to clean the back side of neck.

    Read Also: The Guide to Using Car Wax on Guitars

    How to Clean the Inside of an Acoustic Guitar?

    Inside part of the acoustic guitar is a soundhole. So guys let me clear one thing, never ever try to clean the inside part of a guitar like outside part.

    Do not use the detergent spray, wax and other cleaning products to clean the soundhole of the guitar.

    If you accidentaly spray cleaning product inside it may be it will be harmful for guitar. So while cleaning the soundhole just wear gloves or you can also use towel.

    Soundhole may have lots of dust and also a cobwebs. So just wipe it without using a water. And in this way you have to clean inside part of acoustic guitar.

    But I will suggest you to clean inside part of guitar once in a week or atleast once in a month.

    Do not wait till it gets dirty with dust and webs. Ok guys, I know I know that I am sounding like your mother buts it is necessary if you want your guitar looks awesome and sounds brilliant.

    How to Clean your Acoustic Guitar’s Strings?

    You can clean the strings only by clean cloth. Take a lint-free microfibre cloth and wipe each string neatly.

    how to clean an acoustic guitar strings

    If your strings are old then you can use cleaners as well. Most people will suggest you use regular alcohol which is isopropyl.

    But it has some disadvantages. It happens many times that while cleaning strings, liquid seeps on the fretboard and it may become dry.

    Along with this sometimes due to side effects of alcohol strings also get shriek.

    Ok, guys, I am not saying that do not use cleaner but I will suggest you take precaution before using anything. And guys we cannot compare the new sets of strings with such cleaned one.

    Because cleaner just only increases the life of strings for some days. But it does not work if your strings have been rusted in such case restringing is the only option.

    You may change your guitar string from any nearby guitar shop however it can also be done at home. So guys now I am going to tell you how to restring your guitar at home.

    Restringing your Acoustic Strings

    Insert the ball end of the string into the correct bridge hole. And place the pin in the hole and make sure pin faces the soundhole of the guitar.

    Now pull the string from one hand and push the pin from the other one. Do this still it fits perfectly into its place.

    Now thread the end which you are pulling towards bridge direction onto its slot on the tuning post. Now the next step is to twist a tuning key. After doing this you have to check is it working properly or not.

    Play each string and make sure that it is not overlapping and check does it is sounding neatly. That’s it guys, and now you have new strings for your guitar.


    Also Read: Top 5 Best Acoustic Guitars Under 400 Dollars


    Ok friends, I have told you everything about how to clean your guitar. But take a look at this as well:

    Things you Should Avoid while Cleaning your Acoustic Guitar

    After reading this article you surely have got an idea that we can clean our guitar in many different ways but there are also many things we have to avoid.

    Avoid using:

    • household furniture cleaners
    • Bleach
    • Silicon
    • lacquer thinner

    How to maintain your Acoustic Guitar after cleaning?

    1. Keep your guitar at such a place or room which has consistent humidity. Due to this your guitar not get cracked in the future.
    2. After playing your guitar always clean it with a soft cloth.
    3. Keep your guitar in a solid case, away from dangerous elements.

    Final Thoughts on Cleaning your Acoustic Guitar:

    OK, guys, it is ok to keep your guitar hanged if the room is humidified. Make sure you sanitize or wash your hand before playing the guitar so for preventing the grease and grime of the guitar.

    Always keep a soft clean cloth in the guitar case and neatly wipe your guitar after playing it. Give time to your guitar and clean it neatly.

    If you maintain your guitar today then it would be live longer. And if you are going outside for some days rather than keeping a guitar anywhere, keep it safely in a solid case.

    So this is it for today if you have any question feel free to ask me in the comment box. I hope you have liked this article. Thanks for reading.

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