Will naptha hurt a lacquer finish?

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 12 Nov 2010 1:50 pm

I am planning on degunking and relubing a lacquer body guitar, and it seems like naptha is a popular solvent for cleaning parts. Is it safe to use naptha around a lacquer finish? Is there any problem with it clouding or melting lacquer if it gets on the finish? Or is it best to remove the parts or mask the finished wood?

Thanks!
Cliff

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 12 Nov 2010 4:43 pm

short answer: no it will not harm lacquer finish to my knowledge but better check with someone who REALLY knows first.

I assume this is for your fender? Mine was refinished to bare wood and lacquered and i cleaned the changers, pulleys and other stuck parts with three whole bottles of Ronsons lighter fluid(naptha). I didnt mask anythign or remove any parts. NO damage. I put a rag under the changers and just squirted the bottle into the slots as best as i could hoping to flush it out, it worked. You wanna do this away from your water heater and other open flame...

You wanna get rid of those rags in a responsible manner also

once cleaned , lube with tri-flow.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 12 Nov 2010 7:45 pm

What Ben said,keep a window open unless you like fumes? I do!

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 13 Nov 2010 2:19 pm

Cool--thanks guys.

Is the stuff in the picture the same as what ever is commonly called "naptha", or lighter fluid?
I assume it is except for the different spelling and the extra letters, which I have no idea what they mean. Is this all the same as what is also called "white gas" or stove fuel for Colman camping stoves?

Rich Sullivan · Post by **Rich Sullivan** » 13 Nov 2010 2:51 pm

VM&P means "Varnish Makers and Painters." There are many grades of naphtha, and this is one of them. White gas is another. They are very similar, but are probably not identical. Naphtha is a catch-all term for all the chemicals in petroleum which boil between 30 deg C and 200 deg C. (Probably more than you wanted to know.)

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 13 Nov 2010 3:10 pm

Thanks, Rich--that is what I was wondering--what are all of those letters. For all I know it would mean it's a different product.
Thanks again.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 13 Nov 2010 5:15 pm

the good thing about buying the ronson lighter fluid bottles is they have that nice squirt nozzle and you can really get some good pressure going to flush out the changer. plus, it is known to work

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 13 Nov 2010 5:48 pm

If you have the time and patience, disassembling the changer and cleaning each finger separately can make a big difference in an old guitar. Flushing the changer while assembled may get most, but not all the gunk outta there.

Clete

Don Brown, Sr. · Post by **Don Brown, Sr.** » 13 Nov 2010 8:00 pm

What Clete said, is correct. Also, Ronson lighter fluid is in fact Naphtha. However it will remove labels, so I'd avoid getting it in places as such....

Scott Walker · Post by **Scott Walker** » 13 Nov 2010 9:12 pm

As a full time electric guitar builder, I use Naptha to clean tape residue from the various processes. It is fine to work with on lacquered finishes.
Scott

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 13 Nov 2010 10:13 pm

Great looking guitars, Scott!

Scott Walker · Post by **Scott Walker** » 13 Nov 2010 10:25 pm

Thanks Cliff!
I use Naptha with the blue shop towels to clean (they are fairly low lint) and then some basic blue turtle wax to shine and wax.
Acetone is the stuff that will ruin lacquered finishes.
A little redundant...but I had a couple afterthoughts.

Max W. Thompson · Post by **Max W. Thompson** » 15 Nov 2010 3:09 pm

I learned about naptha years ago in a violin shop. The owner had a gallon can of it, and a cloth, and was cleaning the surfaces of a very old 'cello with it. He said that the reason it was safe on the finish was because it evaporated before it had time to react with the finish. I am always careful not to get it on raw wood.

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 16 Nov 2010 1:13 am

I got these Behlen products from Stew-Mac along with some great fret files and other luthier tools.

For raw wood like rosewood necks, tung oil is good after cleaning with naptha.

Clete

Dr. Hugh Jeffreys · Post by **Dr. Hugh Jeffreys** » 27 Nov 2010 3:13 pm

I would not use ANY hydrocarbon on that finish--especially compounds containing any amount of acetone. You might wind up with a sticky-glue that can't be removed.