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I have spent the last 5 years of my life as a touring musician and I can’t tell you how many instruments I have seen that aren’t properly taken care of. Excess buildup of grease, sweat, and dirty is not good for your guitar or let alone any instrument. This is the main reason we are looking at the best guitar polish and cleaner available.
Musicians are often busy while on the road so it’s understandable that they’re instruments get dirty. When you’re driving from show to show, the last thing you want to worry about is cleaning your guitar.
Skip Ahead: We like the Music Nomad MN103 Guitar Polish And Cleaner
Best Guitar Polish And Cleaner – A Quick Glance
IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | |
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Editor’s Pick |
Music Nomad MN103 |
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Runner Up |
Dunlop 654 Formula 65 |
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Acoustic Guitars |
Martin Professional Cleaner Kit |
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How To Clean Your Guitar Properly While Touring
I would recommend that you are cleaning your guitar at least once a week while you are on tour since you will be sweating frequently on your instrument. You only need to clean your fretboard once or twice a year because you don’t want to remove the natural moisture on it. The good thing about this is that you have to change your strings frequently anyways.
The first step to cleaning your guitar thoroughly should be removing the strings from your fretboard. This makes sure you don’t get any polish and cleaner on the strings. Also, this allows the musician to get at all the dirt and sweat that gets below the strings in the first place.
When it comes to cleaning the body of your guitar you will want to do so frequently so you don’t have the appearance of sweat and dirt on it while you’re playing for a crowd. I recommend covering your pickups while you clean so you don’t damage them as well.
Looking for polish for other instruments? Check out my favorite piano polishes here.
Clean Your Tuning Keys
The tuning keys on your guitar look really nice when they’re shiny and they are definitely something that the audience will notices if they are sparkling.
A lot of times musicians forget to clean these and these will definitely improve the look of your instrument.
If you’re looking to learn more about guitars and other instrument reviews, you can check out Musical Instru here.
Things To Look For With Guitar Polish And Cleaner
Price: The good thing about guitar polish and cleaner is that they are very inexpensive. However, you still want to find one that is efficient, yet inexpensive.
Natural Oils: I recommend you use a polish that has natural oils.
How Many Ounces Are In Your Polish Or Cleaner? You want to pay attention to how many fluid ounces are in your cleaner or polish because some will have more ounces than others for a cheaper price.
You will want to use a soft dry rag while cleaning your guitar so you don’t scratch or damage it in any way.
Let’s get into our favorite guitar polishes and cleaners below!
Music Nomad MN103 Guitar ONE All-in-1 Cleaner
The Music Nomad MN103 is an all in one polish and cleaner that is inexpensive, yet effective for guitars. This gives a great finish because it is infused with a Brazilian wax that leaves your instruments shiny.
This is safe for all guitars that have a lacquer finish but not recommended for matte finishes. The smell of the polish is actually quite nice, not that this really matters.
Something that is unique with this cleaner is that this is the first bio-degradable polish. The music Nomad MN103 comes with 4 ounces or 12 ounces depending on your liking and need for it. The 12-ounce bottle will last you quite a long time.
Are you new to the guitar? Check out my guide on guitar vs piano here.
Dunlop 654 Formula 65
The Dunlop 654 Formula 65 and cleaner is one of our favorites because of its price. This is one of the cheapest polishes on the market and it is still made by a quality manufacturer. This product leaves a stain-resistant finish that will work for your guitar for months.
Martin Professional Cleaner Kit
I really like this product and it is one of the best on the market. This can be used on other guitars that aren’t Martin guitars and it works really well. It comes with 6 ounces so that’s why it’s just a little bit more expensive than some of the other options that are available.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things to look at when cleaning your guitar and I think the biggest thing to take away from this is to take care of your instrument. It is much easier to maintain rather than letting it get dirty and then trying to refurbish it.
So many musicians just neglect their guitars and then try to come back to them later in life to find a guitar that is rusted and not really playable. This is frustrating because it doesn’t take a lot of time to keep your instrument in good condition.
Our favorite is the Music Nomad cleaner and polish and this is because it’s quality, yet still inexpensive. We hope you enjoyed the content and if you did let us know in the comment section below.
Additional resources: If you’re an aspiring guitarist, be sure to check our friend’s awesome blog for music lessons and guitar insight.