How do you clean your 10+ guitars?

[Pointy]

I have two guitars, they both get played. I keep them on stands, they collect some dust over time and get cleaned as necessary - usually during string changes.

So i was wondering, you lucky guys with huge guitar collections that you keep on stands and wall hangers, how do you deal with keeping all of them clean? Do you play all of them and restring them often? Do you have a super-efficient magical feather duster? Do you spend en entire weekend with a piece of cloth in your hand? Keep them in special, climate controlled and air-filtered rooms? Or do you only clean them for the family photos?

[ralph]

My solution is to only have a couple guitars and keep them in their cases, I dont know how the guys with 10+, 20+ etc. do it, they must be constantly restringing!

[DonP]

I'm pushing 40. Almost all stay in cases (kids, pets, the wife). The only ones not in cases I need to get cases for. I do not like to leave them out because I notice they do get dusty.

I buy mostly used guitars and they get a good scrubdown, polish with Virtuoso, fretboard conditioning with dr. bore oil. New set of GHS Boomers.

Changing strings? I'm not hard on stings. Dry hands, and rotatation throughout the 40 guitars spreads the usage of strings.

[Musician78]

I keep all mine on the wall although most of them I never play. Every so often I simply wipe them down with a soft cloth, but never all at the same time. Seldom more than one at a time. There is nothing special about the room they are in but I do keep it humidified. The two that I do play I give a good fretboard cleaning to when I change the strings.

[DonP]

I guess one of those cans of compressed air could help. I have one of those ION filter things that cleans the dust out of my office (where the computers are). I would probably get one of these if I were to start hanging guitars on the walls.

[Shawn Lutz]

one at a time...same with strings. I'm looking at aroun 18-20 or so right now... never a fun task I've been trying to cut down for a few years, although I havent bought anything, I'm having a hard time downsizing. I'd like to keep maybe 6 or so and call it a day.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Sometimes I leave all mine out, but usually it's just 3 - 5 that are out. I play them all and kind of just rotate them in and out of the cases.

I don't worry too much about dust and fingerprints unless I'm taking a picture, but I will clean them off when I change strings.

I have an Excel spreadsheet that I keep info about the guitars in. Last string change, what pickups, any special wiring or other info about it.

[Pointy]

Fingerprints are natural, they don't bother me (i clean everything at string changes too). Dust is natural i guess, but annoying.

[Musician78]

I have an Excel spreadsheet that I keep info about the guitars in. Last string change, what pickups, any special wiring or other info about it.

I have an Excel spreadsheet as well, but mine only has the serial numbers associated with each guitar.

[nor]

Avoid the canned air. It does blow the dust off, but it blows it across the finish at high speed (hello swirl marks!). I keep a few soft brushes of various sizes to gently lift the heavy stuff off the surface before polishing/waxing. When they do get 'swirly' I hit 'em with Megulars Ultimate Compound. Amazing stuff.

[wilkinsi]

I'm supposed to clean my guitars? ... was months ago.

[BenoA]

I'm supposed to clean my guitars? ... was months ago.

yeah I didn't know that guitars needed to be cleaned.

Joke aside, I do it when re-stringing or before a gig.

[Grim]

I don't have 10+, but I will usually do them as needed.

So if I'm playing one and I notice it could use a re-string, it gets re-strung and cleaned ASAP.

It's not like I sit down and go "Time to re-string the guitars!" and do them assembly-line style.

A note on the compressed air: I use it to clean computers, so I always have a few cans around the house. I use it to clean the trem, and to get any residual steel wool off the pickups from fret buffing. I don't see why you would use it for surface cleaning.

[DonP]

I have an Excel spreadsheet as well, but mine only has the serial numbers associated with each guitar.

I have a spreadsheet as well. I need to add s/n and string change dates like you two, and maybe type of strings and size. If you guys have seen The Beauty of the Burst, Slash's tech (or maybe Slash?) just puts masking tape with the date and gauge on the back of the headstock.

[stevieb91]

Easy... Leaf blower.. One shot and done..