"Guitar Scratch Remover" Anyone tried this product?

I've caught some advice in here on automotive products for scratch removal, et cetera. Searches for Turtle Wax or Meigulars (spelling?) might get you rolling.

Basically, instead of one product you have a series of products varying from strong removal up to very gentle removal/polish.

Here is a solution I use often with outstanding results. I use automobile clearcoat polish/scratch remover. Inexpensive and available at Wally World. A buddy of mine had an expensive guitar that had been "played" by one of his kids. There was no pickguard and the finish from the bottom of the pickups to the edge of the guitar was opaque. It took an afternoon, but I was able to bring it back to new condition. It removes only a tiny amount of clearcoat at a time, so you there is no danger of over doing it.

I have used Turtlewax brand often. I used old T-shirts for application and buffing.

IdealWay said:

I've heard that automobile scratch removers can cause more scratching. Thanks

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They sure can, if you use the most abrasive as the only step.

I've used Stewart McDonald swirl remover (www.stewmac.com) before and it will easily take out light scratches on the surface of the finish. It will make the surface look new if the scratches are light. It's great stuff, but not real cheap. One bottle will probably last you forever though. Stewmac has more abrasive polishes that may be better with deeper scratches. Never had to use anything harsher myself.

I used a guitar scratch remover marketed by Planet Waves. I was very good, and worked as advertised.

THEN

I found that Turtle Wax Silicon Free polishing compound did just as good with much less cost.

Meguiar's is the way to go.

Mutato said:

Meguiar's is the way to go.

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+1 Great stuff. Their finishing/detailing mist is great for removing finger prints, sweat and beer.

IdealWay said:

thanks for all the help guys. I finally bought the "guitar scratch remover" and I'm completely blown away by the results! With a couple of applications it actually removed some of the deep pick scratches in my Modulus (previous owner), and all the small scratches disappeared. I was entirely skeptical of it at first, but now I will never use another method. Great product!

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Excellent review.. As a direct result of your efforts, I'll be investigating buying some of my own "guitar scratch remover" to keep my small collection of instruments looking minty fresh and perpetually shiny.. thanks much IdealWay...

In general, the first question to ask is about the instrument's finish. In the case of your Modulus, an automotive-grade polish is fine. I generally recommend Meguiar's Scratch-X. It's easily broken down (which is key...abrasives don't have to be aggressive to leave behind marring and scratching) and is mild enough for hand application. Use just a little bit, work it in with moderate speed & light effort, and you'll generally be very pleased with the results. Feel free to follow with NXT if you're a Meguiar's junkie. Apply a light coat, let it set up for 10-15 minutes, and remove. You'll have some protection and a nice gloss to the finish.

+1 meguiars, it's great being able to do my car and guitars with the same stuff

IdealWay said:

You bet man! for deeper scratches it may take a couple applications and some elbow grease, but this stuff really exceeded my expectations, which were high to begin with! Let me know what you think of it.

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Indeed I will give ya a 'heads up' on my personal experience with this new product (new for me anyway..) The other guys also had some great testimonials on car-care polishers I'll also eventually get around to... but "Guitar Scratch Remover" will get first dibs. It really sounds safe and obviously effective. Nice find, and I'll get on eBay right away to locate some.

IdealWay said:

thanks for all the help guys. I finally bought the "guitar scratch remover" and I'm completely blown away by the results! With a couple of applications it actually removed some of the deep pick scratches in my Modulus (previous owner), and all the small scratches disappeared. I was entirely skeptical of it at first, but now I will never use another method. Great product!

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I was looking at the same product for my acoustic dobro bass to get rid of some small scratches I made when I was trying to remove the screened sound holes (gonna take it a professional before I end up doing real damage!), and I was wondering if you went with the single bottle, or the whole player's kit? Thanks.

In spite of what I read here I remained very skeptical but ordered the kit anyway. I'm very anal. I lose sleep over a hairline scratch. Recently I've been looking at this specific guitar I feel will one day be a sought after item. Problem is most of what I have found were not in Good shape. It's a Budweiser promo guitar and people just have fun with this guitar I suppose and I can't find a mint one. I already have 8. None of them in real great shape. I planned on having these professionally restored to immaculate condition.

Before spending the money I figured, I'd give this product a try. Here's the result:
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I didn't take before shots because I was convinced it was not going to work! This guitar was full of scratches and scuffs before I applied this product. It took me 5 hours to make it look like this and used up the whole jar. (The Blue Jar). It took about 25 applications also (I told you I was anal). But I got it to a mirror gloss finish both front and back as you can see from the photos. This guitar definitely looked used before... and now it looks brand new / hardly played if ever. Even the pick up and the pickup rings were restored to it's gloss glory. I can stack this right next to my "never-played" collectibles and be just as convincing.

I bought the most expensive kit but the only ones you need are the Blue Jar and the micro-fiber cloth. Buy 2 or more if you are anal like me. The red one is a weaker version. Didn't do anything noticeable. I got 2 sprays with the kit. Don't really know if this is needed. Better than using Windex I guess. Definitely get more of the micro-fiber cloth. Works better than 100% cotton. The thing with the cloth though... remove the tag (label) on it before using. I accidentally used the side with the tag and added scratches to my finish.

Update: It will not remove gouges, nicks or dings. Will soften very deep scratches. Works best on pick scratches.