A few years back I took apart two of my natural finished basses that had been in storage to remove a funky smell that they developed. I used advice from this forum and scrubbed them all over with a product that was recommended to me here but I forgot the name (not lemon oil) using 0000 steel wool. after I wiped them clean and let them dry they looked beautiful and my p-bass lytes mahogany glowed. then using more advice from this forum I used Howard feed n wax, this made my alder p-bass come to life but had the opposite effect on my mahogany lyte. The mahogany appeared faded and all the golden luster of the grain was gone no matter how much I buffed it. Discouraged I put them back together and have been playing them ever since. I am planning to go through the lyte to replace the pups, pre-amp and hardware. While its apart I want to clean it to remove any remnants of the feed n wax and start over, I may even spray a gloss clear on it. I have no idea what to use that wont further tarnish the wood. Any advice would be helpful.
Weird. I hope you get it resolved, and I also hope that my thread praising the wonders of Howard F&W wasn't what inspired you to use it And ultimately screw up the P-Lyte. Maybe it was previously treated or finished with something that reacted strangely with the F&W? Good luck and if you could, update this thread after you get it fingered out.
Wax cleans up (read: dissolves) w/ mineral spirits. It won't harm the wood, but since it's mahogany, I recommend using a medium to stiff toothbrush at the end to ensure all of the dissolved wax is out of the pores. Any wax still on the wood will prevent a finish from being applied. Rob
I'm worried that alcohol is too harsh. If I can get it clean I think I'll use a tung oil or a tinted poly. Both of my basses are raw but my guitars are glossy and I find great pride in the shine I can get from them after my rainy day cleaning rituals. The basses just get lemon oil rubbed on and they look good until they dry.
This is a list of solvents that will dissolve wax. BUT, I would still ask Howard what they recommend first! Carbosol Goof Off Goo Gone Mineral Spirits Ronsonol (Lighter Fluid/Butane) Heptane Xylol Naptha
Set it on fire. It may be a bit drastic but it will get rid of the wax. Seriously, any number of wax removers will do the job. The ones mentioned here are fine, but I would use mineral spirits. Alcohol will be less effective. Ammonia water is used to strip wax from hardwood floors before refinishing, but beware that it can have some unwanted effects on the wood - like discolouration and raising of the grain.
