Instrument Care - Entertainment - Music

Care for your instrument fall into three categories -- prevention, maintenance, and repairs.

Polishes and beautifies, while hiding and sealing small cracks. Polishing also builds a layer of chromium oxide on the surface of the instrument. Cleaning and polishing the strings will last at least twice as long if you wipe them each time after playing. Commercial polishes are generally OK, but make sure they are appropriate for your instrument finish. Never use polish or alcohol as a cleaner.

For example traditional guitar polishes often leave your guitar looking worse than when you started, leaving light scratches, a smear of oily fingerprints, and a dull haze all over your guitar's body. Be careful not to get polish inside of your instrument. There is a wide variety of polishes and cleaners available for stringed instruments. If using a polish or cleaner, always test for compatibility with the varnish in a small inconspicuous area of the instrument.

Care should be taken when polishing lacquered and silver plated instruments. Cleaning the violin with furniture polish and/or water could damage the varnish and acoustics of the violin (water could also cause the violin seams to open). Use polish sparingly, but clean and polish the instrument at least once a month. Polish removes dust, fingerprints, smudges and body oils from all polished surfaces. The use of solvents or chemical polish is not recommended because of the danger of damaging the finish or rendering a crack or seam ungluable.

Never use a furniture polish or any other form of liquid (including water) to clean the instrument for they can be dangerous for the varnish. Also never use polish to clean the strings for it will not only ruin the strings, but make it impossible to produce quality sound with the bow.

Wood will shrink in very dry conditions, and cracks may appear in your instrument. The neck & fingerboard can be wiped with linseed or almond oil to prevent drying and cracking in the wood. Stringed instruments are made principally of wood, which expands in the humid summer months and contracts in the winter. Luthier's purposefully use wood glues which soften when heated (to 145o F) so that an instrument can be disassembled for service when necessary. Ideally, solid wood instruments like about 40% humidity.

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