Cleaning Up A Stringmaster

[Earl Grubbs]

Hey all. Long time dobro player and newbie steel player here. I recently rescued a '54 Fender Stringmaster D8 and was wondering what you recommend for cleaning and shining all the chrome on this axe and if it is ok to use it on the pickups as well.

[Ken Metcalf]

It looks pretty bad,
For a small fee I could haul it away for you.
You know they charge extra these days to relic a guitar.
I would start by taking the strings off, and go with a damp rag Q-tips and work your way up to a mild watered down soap,if necessary , maybe some chrome cleaner.
Not too much and not to wet.
I like it the way it is.
New strings and you'll be set.

[Eric Philippsen]

Very nice. I would not call that being in bad condition.

Now, you're not so much the owner as you are the caretaker of it. So, here I go being blunt: Please don't refinish it.

[Earl Grubbs]

Ken, thanks for the info!

Eric, I think it's in pretty good condition also, all things considered!

[David Beckner]

Earl a visit to Guittar center or store that sells Virtuoso polish and a little elbow grease and this will look splendid.

[Alan Brookes]

I've seen Stringmasters in a lot worse condition than yours. Solvol Autosol is a chrome cleaner made for automobiles, but it's the best chrome cleaner I've used on guitars. Since your guitar is natural wood color you might try Old English furniture polish. It's good for covering scuff marks.

[Jon A. Ross]

Wow, lookit all the wear around the p.u.s! It looks like someone played the daylights outta this gtr; cool! I would much rather see that than a 50-60 yr old gtr in "unplayed" condition!

[Tom Wolverton]

Careful what you use to clean up the wood finish. Some stuff will eat it. Treat the wood finish like a nice old D-28 Martin and I think you will be OK. Maybe a moist cloth and that's about it. For the metal clean up, see what other's have recommended. Now, there's one thing that I do with all Stringmasters. I carefully remove the nut and take the tuner pans out and clean them up and give them a good oiling. Sometimes the crown gear is too tight (see Paul Hosteler's web page about that)

http://www.lutherie.net/tuner.maintenance.html

Those old lollipop tuners are fragile, so be careful. It's a great, long scale guitar. and yes, please don't refinish it. : )

[Ben Feher]

If it doesn't come off with a slightly damp soft cotton rag its meant to be on the guitar. Its earned that grime from years of dedicated service.

Now if it was impeding its playability or tone, that's a different story, but it's not very likely.

I say take a damp rag to it and what doesn't come off leave it, but that's my opinions.

At the end of the day though its your guitar, do what you know is right.

[Earl Grubbs]

Thanks to all for the advice and no, I'm definately not going to refinish it. I just wanted to clean off some of the grime and dust that has accumulated over the past 50+ years.

Tom, thanks for the tuner advice. I actually road bike so I have plenty of tri-flow at the house. I hadn't even thought of using that as a lubricant for the guitar.

[Tom Wolverton]

...and based on an interesting thread over in the non-pedal forum, you might check to see if your neck bolts need to be tighted up.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=181969

[Rick Winfield]

Looks to me like it's got a lot of "character".
Many happy hours spent entertaining the "folks" and themselves.
If it were mine, I'd just use liquid gold on the wood, and polish the chrome a little
good times, with a nice axe
Rick

[Earl Grubbs]

Yes Rick, the guitar came from the vicinity of the Arkansas/Texas border so I imagine it's seen a few state line bars and dancehalls in it's days.

One interesting side note: underneath the tuning pans written in pencil is the date 12/54 and the initials LF (Leo Fender perhaps).

[Rick Winfield]

Sounds "authentic" to me.
From what little I know, beneath the tuning pans, was where they recorded it's "birthday", and who assembled it.
I'm excited for you !
Rick

[John Billings]

An excellent, pretty non-aggressive cleaner is Meguiar's Professional Swirl Remover 2.0. I've used it on old Shobuds, an it works wonders. It really does clean up grime, and gunk, and haze, and makes the finish shine. Wax it afterwards. And apply it by hand, not with a buffer as suggested.