Cleaning Your Ric?

[nextcliffburton]

Hey guys! Recently just bought my Ric. I wanted to know if there's a specific cleaner I can and cant use when cleaning ric's? The finish on this is perfect and so is the neck and If I want to clean it can I use any guitar cleaner or string cleaner? I dont want to use something that will damage the color or neck or take off the finish. If anything really is ok let me know! Thanks!

[pflash4001]

Zymol, elbow grease, and LOTS of TLC! You can find Zymol in the car wash and polish section at Wal-Mart or any auto parts kind of place. I bought some of those microfiber car polishing cloths and use one to apply and another to buff it. I keep a third one in the case to wipe it down after I finish playing. Congrats on the new Ric! Any pics?

[jingle_jangle]

Cotton diapers are the best way to polish, if you don't want to eventually see "haloing" in the finish of your Rick...microfiber cloths can still micro-scratch, as the individual tiny fibers are still harder than the Rick finish. This is most obvious on darker colors like JG and BG.

Microfiber polishing cloths are sold for use on cars, which have a much harder clearcoat finish than the CV used on Ricks. Their softness is deceptive.

[Bighouse]

Jake,

As you have only 15 posts here, I should tell you that Paul is pretty close to a demigod in the pantheon of luthiers. Trust his recommendations without reservations.

[doctorwho]

For light cleaning, I find that just polishing it up with the factory-recommended Turtle Wax does just fine.

[jingle_jangle]

The good thing about the factory-recommended Turtle Wax is that it's an industry standard. It's been around, in one form or another, for over 40 years. It's relatively inexpensive, goes on like a dream, gives a good gloss to the surface, and is easy to apply and buff off. It's literally available everywhere on the planet including Uzbekistan. When I lived in an out-of-the-way city in Brasil where proud citizens washed their bicycles on Sundays with street gutter water from paint cans (no hoses, Jose), and a VW Beetle was a symbol of wealth (I exaggerate for dramatic impact), the only wax available in stores was Turtle Wax 123, and it was PRICEY there.

It's easy to understand how it became "the wax the factory uses".

There aren't a whole lot of drawbacks to it. I can name two: It uses solvent ("Stoddard solvent"--a petroleum distillate, and another blend of distillates, comprising about 15% of its total volume), which means that any application will strip any wax remaining on the surface even as it applies new wax. The kaolin powder left after the solvents flash off (most of the rest of the remaining solid components is kaolin; there's a lot of water and an emulsifier to keep everything from settling out) collects in nooks and crannies and can make a darker surface look "overwaxed".

The wax I prefer is Zymol Cleaner-Wax, for two reasons--it contains no solvents; water only is its vehicle. This means you can build coats on top of one another. It uses very high-end waxes with high burnoff temperatures, primarily Carnauba #1 and #2, and natural oils. This is unique, to my knowledge, in consumer wax products. Apparently the reason that no other companies use a water-based formula, has to do with the VOC content in manufacturing. I don't know how Zymol gets around this; whether it's the formula or the location of their manufacturing facility I don't know.

The second reason I like it is that it leaves no residue. Oh, and it smells like a Hawaiian Tropic bikini contest.

The MSDS for Turtle Wax 123 is at: http://www.turtlewax.com/main.taf?p=6,5,1,1 for anyone interested. It tells very little, however. Manufacturers are only required to list reactive or hazardous components; any other parts of the formula are optional. So, we don't see the kaolin (finely-powdered clay that gives it its creamy texture and which is the stuff that you dust off after the solvent has flashed), nor do we see what kind of wax is present or whether there is silicone present in the formula. Since RIC has mentioned using non-silicone products in its literature on care of finishes, my assumption is that there is no silicone in 123.

The MSDS for Zymol Cleaner Wax is at: http://www.zymol.com/msds.aspx and you will note no solvents and no hazardous materials listed. In fact, nothing is listed; this MSDS seems to be a "pro forma" document to show that there is nothing dangerous in the wax's composition.

NOTE that if you've carefully built up several layers of Zymol on your Rick and it's gleaming like a mirror, and you use ANY other wax, liquid or paste, over the Zymol (including Turtle Wax 123), be sure you look at the contents of the wax--if it says "contains petroleum distillates" or something similar, by applying it, you will be stripping off all of the Zymol you've carefully applied and buffed. Time to start over...

I know of NO other wax that is water-based. If anyone has a nominee, I would be delighted to know about it so I can test it.

BTW, the BEST substitute for the gone and lamented "Original Scratch-X" is Nu-Finish Scratch Doctor. Hands down In fact, I think it's superior to Scratch-X. I've been using it for a few months now. I completed three paint jobs this past weekend: JDog's Cloverfield Green 1000, a JG 615, and an AZ 4001, and used Scratch Doctor to remove the buffing swirls. Unbelievable gloss with very little rubbing. After buffing this stuff in by hand, a couple of coats of Zymol and these paint jobs looked WET. The JG especially was impressive.

[libratune]

Here's a bit more info on Nu-Finish Scratch Doctor.

[jingle_jangle]

Thanks, Ron!

BTW, Scratch Doctor is the only NuFinish product I'd recommend. Their waxes and glazes contain distillates or silicone or both. In fact, Scratch Doctor contains a tiny percentage of silicone to help it to apply easily, but so did Scratch-X, and I have never had a problem with keeping either product in my paint area.

[pflash4001]

Thanks about the microfiber thing. I guess I'll go back to using old socks!

[jingle_jangle]

100% cotton t-shirts are better, and cloth diapers (Wal-Mart, K-Mart) are best.

[Tarrbot]

I still see the original Scratch-X on store shelves.

Is this uncommon?

[jingle_jangle]

They've phased it out, and replaced it with Scratch-X 2 and a new product called "Swirl-X", which is similar to original Scratch-X.

[Tarrbot]

So I'll stop at Murray's on the way home and buy all they have.

Thanks.

[longhouse]

I've been using Brillo pads and Blundstone shoe polish on mine.

[Tarrbot]

I've been using Brillo pads and Blundstone shoe polish on mine.

Your definition of "finish" and mine must be radically different.