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silicone in guitar cleaner?

#3
From an acoustic/vintage guitar forum that asked the same thing and emailed Dunlop the question. This was Dunlop's response:

"Yes, there are trace amounts of silicone, silicone poses no threat to the finish unless you have a nitro-cellulose or vintage instrument. Formula 65 polish is generally OK for a nitro finish. I would not use it if there are cracks, checking, or dings in the finish. I also would not use it if it is an old and thin finish. No matter who the manufacturer is of the polish, rubbing anything on a thin and old nitro finish with a liquid and a cloth can take off color---I've seen it first hand. To be honest, on my vintage guitars, I do not use any polish."

If you want silicone-free guitar polish try the stuff from Music Nomad: Invalid Link Removed
 
#10
The problem with the silicone isn't so much that it damages existing nitro.

The problem is that you can never put anything layer or repair spot of nitro.

***. Selling a guitar cleaning product with silicone in it without warning people about it should get them sued.
 
#14
FWIW, the cheap "Scratch-X" sold at Target is or was silicone-free. They now have a "Mk 2 product" that I didn't look up yet.

Also note that there is a big difference between these two things:
- a cleaner
- an abrasive polish

To make things really bad one of the most trusted vendors has a "Virtuoso cleaner" which is an abrasive polish and "Virtuoso polish" which is a non-abrasive cleaning product :)

I think there is work to do here...
 
#17
Floyd Eye said:
I'd say this guy knows a thing or two as well.

http://books.google.com/books?id=zF...onepage&q=Silicone on guitar finishes&f=false
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd read Erlewine's take on it. That's what prompted me to ask the question here.

Hey, I very much appreciate all your comments and insights! I didn't know this was a controversial thing; just assumed that I oughtta stay away from using Lemon Pledge on musical instruments.

None of my basses have a nitro finish, but my main player is a Carvin SB5000 (love that thing!). The body is poly, but the neck is tung oiled.

So I'm wondering if it's OK to wipe the whole thing down (including back of neck) with the Dunlop cleaner--or if I should get a product without silicone. Again, your thoughts are much appreciated!
 
#20
if you want silicone free i suggest heading to a bodyshop supply store/web-site and buy something there. keeping silicone out of the paintshop has been a huge issue in recent years so there are some really great products available. to me the only real drawback to silicone in a guitar polish would be the possible effect it COULD have on future repairs or refinishes. use a high quality POLISH and it will not "pile up" like coats of paint. one coat will reflow the one under it for a uniform finish. build up is possible but only if you use way too much and don't wipe it down completely. just follow the directions.

p.s. wax and grease removers will not completely remove a high quality silicon product! using two wipe downs with wax and grease remover, one after the other, is just the beginning step in trying
to avoid a silicone contamination issue. this is an every day battle in the refinish business and i wish it was that simple! as you are sitting there reading this forum i would bet there is silicon on
your hands right now as well as your clothing, hair and almost everything you touch.
 

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