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What is the best way to clean a nitro finish?

Nitrocellulose lacquer, the finish that is both loved and hated at the same time.

Nitro is loved because it makes wood grain really “pop” and brings out that liquid-like smoothness of paint color wonderfully. And if the instrument is played regularly, the finish “checks” where it cracks and flakes off over time, giving that oh-so desired used, worn look.

Nitro is hated for several reasons. When newly applied, it has an odor that while not offensive does cause nausea for some. This odor eventually goes away, but it takes time before it does. New nitro does cause skin irritation for some players, particularly on the forearm where the instrument is plucked, and on the fret hand palm if the neck has been coated (this irritation eventually goes away once the finish has been worn down sufficiently with regular play.)

But those annoyances are minor compared to the #1 complaint about nitro, which is that it’s a high maintenance finish.

There is great debate as to how to clean wood finished with nitrocellulose lacquer. We carry maintenance products that can do the job, but some argue that nitro should only be cleaned dry, some say to use warm water only with same-direction drying technique, some say certain waxes are okay to use, and so on.

What do the pros use?

An unofficial standard to get nitro to have that showroom luster finish is the car detailer’s method. Namely, Meguiar’s M7 Show Car Glaze followed by Meguiar’s M34 Glaze Final Inspection. Yes, those are the real names for both products, and both are highly praised by those who use them…

…but bear in mind the car detailer’s method is for showcasing. It is certainly not appropriate for an instrument that’s used regularly.

What is the best way to clean nitro for those who play regularly?

It’s almost a certainty some of you would reply to this with, “If you gig regularly, don’t bother cleaning it. Just play your bass, let the finish deteriorate, check naturally and let nature dictate how it looks.”

That’s certainly an option, but you do have to clean your bass sometimes, if for no other reason than to keep the electronics working properly.

How do you clean your nitro finish bass to keep it working like it should? Dry? Wet? What solutions do you use, if any? Do you use specific cleaning cloths?

9 thoughts on “What is the best way to clean a nitro finish?”

  1. I usually just wipe it down with a microfiber. If I’ve neglected it for too long, I’ll ever so slightly dampen the microfiber.

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  2. Get a bottle of T-cut and buff it up by hand with that. It’s an abrasive so it will eventually wear away the lacquer If it has, the bass won’t shine up so well. If you want to remedy this, strip it down to the body, treat the paintwork with an ultra-fine grade wet and dry paper then apply several coats of cellulose lacquer. Reassemble the bass and play for a couple of weeks then strip back down and cut back the hard coat with the wet and dry before buffing up with T-cut. I know this is possibly more aggro than you probably want to have to deal with but it’s the only way I know. all this stuff can be bought from car spares shops.

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  3. Lizard Spit cleaner from Sweetwater and microfiber cloth. I use it on my Cola Can Red Fender American Standard Jazz Bass quite regularly. Cleans the metal hardware nicely too.

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  4. Use a good funiture wax.No silicone.It stops finish from drying out and checking.I worked furniture biz 28 yrs and nitro is industry standard.Guitars are no different.Protect from cold as that also causes checking!

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  5. Believe it or not, Windex is a good cleaner for guitar (Nitro) finishes and won’t hurt the finish and works well to get off the grime, grease, dirt etc. Works good on the chrome too. Also it has no silicone in it. Another good cleaner for a Nitro finish is Varsole…however it does leave a wet looking residue that needs to be wipe off with a clean cloth or towel.

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  6. I made the mistake of using methylated spirits on a matted black nitro finish – it lost its matt sheen and I don’t know how to get that matt look again. It looks shiny where I have used the methylated spirits. Anyone knows how to get the matt finish back? Should have used Naptha….

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    • Don’t use naphta. It does the same thing. Naphta is fine on other finishes, but not nitro. If you put some on your guitar and it doen’t start to melt the finish it’s not a nitro finish

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