# anybody ever use turtlewax



## copperhead (May 24, 2006)

anybody ever use the turtlewax products like the scratch remover for buffing a guitar


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2008)

Been wondering about that stuff too.
My guess is that it probably dissolves the 
surrounding paint and blends it in. It may
leave a tarnish of some sort. Hey, nothing
wrong with having war wounds on your axe.
That's my


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## martyb1 (Aug 5, 2007)

I don't know for sure,but the guys over at TDPRI say to watch out for car waxes.Most of them have silicone in them and apparently that is not a good thing for lacquer.Can't say about poly.This is just what I have read


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## rythmlizza (Jul 3, 2008)

copperhead said:


> anybody ever use the turtlewax products like the scratch remover for buffing a guitar



I got a few nasty scratches on the back of my Epiphone LP guitar due to the darned buckle of my jean ! ( watch out guys !! ) . I did a research on The Net and found it safe to use turtle wax "Scratch & Swirl Remover" (Canadian Tire at around 12$ a pop for a 473 ml bottle) . It works very well for swirls and minor scratches .

In my case, it restores to about 75 % due to the rather serious scratches . Every few days, I use the wax again and it seems to improve each time ... Hopefully, I may get rid of the scratches by Christmas !! :food-smiley-004:

From then on, I wear pantie :smilie_flagge17: or take off the belt when I play guitar in my room !!


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I've used car wax to improve the look of my club heads on my driver and 3 and 5 wood. But I don't think I'd take the chance on my guitars. I'm pretty sure there has got to be products out there that cater specifically to guitars.


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## rythmlizza (Jul 3, 2008)

guitarman2 said:


> I've used car wax to improve the look of my club heads on my driver and 3 and 5 wood. But I don't think I'd take the chance on my guitars. I'm pretty sure there has got to be products out there that cater specifically to guitars.


==============

Quote from article in link below:

"...I have always had great results using good old green Turtle Wax[R] as a final wax, along with their "Scratch & Swirl Remover" to hand-buff any minor scratches. After that, I use Dunlop Guitar Polish before the guitar goes into the case. It's a lot of work to do a good paint job, but with some hours under your belt you'll find that it's a very rewarding job. Good luck....."

__Read this and relax.... :food-smiley-004:

http://www.premierguitar.com/education/200602_educationcenter_meangene.asp


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## dwagar (Mar 6, 2006)

If you have lacquer, don't use it. Poly, sure.

Mequires products are safe afaik for lacquer, Dan Erlewine recommends them, and that is what you get in the Fender polish kit - repackaged Mequires.

You can get them at any auto store too.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

dwagar said:


> If you have lacquer, don't use it. Poly, sure.
> 
> Mequires products are safe afaik for lacquer, Dan Erlewine recommends them, and that is what you get in the Fender polish kit - repackaged Mequires.
> 
> You can get them at any auto store too.


Dwagar is right on this one. If you have lacquer don't use it. I use 3M polishing compound on my poly guitars if they need it. It works really well and it easy to use. Make sure you use a pure cotton cloth though, it really makes a difference.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Hamm I used Turtle scratch and swirl with no problems. Can Tire had a neat car buffer on sale a month or so ago for $12 that I used the Turtle with. Cheap and Cheery as the say.


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## rythmlizza (Jul 3, 2008)

An interesting link on guitar cleaning & polishing :

:banana:http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/cleaning.htm :food-smiley-004:


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

rythmlizza said:


> An interesting link on guitar cleaning & polishing :
> 
> :banana:http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/cleaning.htm :food-smiley-004:


That's a nice link...I noticed that he speaks against silicone which is one of the first things told to me when I started playing guitar. I was told : "*don't use any silicone OR WAX on a guitar as they will clog the pores of the wood* (thus changing the sound) *and cause build-up*"

I thought it relevant as Turtle Wax is the thread topic.

I also noticed that he states that he uses Dunlop Formula 65...which is what I use. I used to use Martin Guitar Polish but they changed the formulation a while back when I went to find a new bottle. I wish they still made it because I loved the smell of it-it had no wax or silicone in it either.

I find it odd that Taylor doesn't dissuade people from using wax (to my knowledge)...on a related note: I tried a Taylor 12 string acoustic today that was $1250 ish and I tried a Larrivee 12 string acoustic that was $1100ish...the Larrivee absolutely sounded like it was in a different class altogether than the Taylor. The strings felt about the same but the Larrivee projected more, rang more...the thing just sang. The Taylor was dead. It didn't even have that signature Taylor chime.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

If you have a poly finished guitar, wax isn't going to hurt anything. The pores are already filled solid, so a layer of wax or a silcone based polish won't destroy anything.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Ripper said:


> If you have a poly finished guitar, wax isn't going to hurt anything. The pores are already filled solid, so a layer of wax or a silcone based polish won't destroy anything.


That is a great point!!


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## caaustin02 (Nov 1, 2007)

The original question in the thread points towards the abrasive Turtlewax products, not the waxes.

The best known are Turtlewax Red, and White compounds. The red compound is used to remove rust and other light layers of oxidation, and is perfect for fibreglass. The white compound is good for removing oxidation from the finishes of older cars. Hey - who cares this is a guitar thread right?

The guitars that I build are finished with uncatylzed nitro lacquer, and Turtlewax white is used in the last couple of polishing steps. This helps to produce a finish that is very smooth and glossy.

It is absolutely safe to use Turtlewax White on lacquer, I cannot say the same thing for waxes, only because I have no experience with them. As a rule of thumb, I have heard to never polish anything that has electrical connections with a silcone polish. The silicone tends to creep all over everything including the electrical connections.

For the member who posted that the wax will cause clog the pores, does the silicone in most waxes allow the wax to permeate the nitro on a molecular level, because I have always thought that once the lacquer cures it is like a layer of plastic. Also, do you know how it might react with the wood pore filler that has to be used an open pore wood like ash?


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

I'm just curious as to why you think the silicone will hurt the electronic connections? Lots of electronic contact cleaners contain silicone to help lubricate things like pots etc.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

Lacquers have always needed to be buffed to get a good finish. Lacquer finishes on cars and furniture are buffed with a cutting compound to give that hight lustre to them. I use the 3m version of the turtlewax white and I have found it works great too.


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## caaustin02 (Nov 1, 2007)

Ripper said:


> I'm just curious as to why you think the silicone will hurt the electronic connections? Lots of electronic contact cleaners contain silicone to help lubricate things like pots etc.


Hey Ripper:
Some amplifier manuals warn against using silicone based cleaners, and some were pretty explicit. I just googled the Hiwatt manual and they warn against it. I couldn't find a manual that explicitly says why though, but I am working off my own underperforming memory that I have seen the warning about mucking up the electrical connections. I could be totally off, so take it with a grain of salt.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

I think you'll find that they put that in so people don't use WD-40 and other automotive type silicon sprays which sometimes can be conductive, and also tend to attract dust etc which can build up inside the unit. If you use cleaners and sprays designed for electronics you will be fine


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## copperhead (May 24, 2006)

scrap the turtle wax ideal !!! meguires scratchx works so much better and way faster


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

See what the Turtle wax product contains before using . 

I like and use Meguires.....lots of products available at your local CTC from a cleaner right to different types for polishing out light to fairly deep scratches . I'm sure if you google you will find a Meguires web site showing all their products .

I hear you on the dead Taylor smorgdonkey , I don't know what it is but any I have ever tried sounded dead to me as well . It may have been the strings but I've tried a few and they did not impress me . Do not be sniffing the guitar polish m that's what happened to batboy .


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

i used turtle wax on this guitar-
http://guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=16112
the nitro was only a week old, didnt seem to harm it- no scratches, brought it from the satin after a wetsand to a semi-gloss in about 20 minutes.
i just put the paste on a rag and hand buffed until i was happy.
still no probs with the finish. my quality standards may not be the same as others however.:smile:


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

copperhead said:


> scrap the turtle wax ideal !!! meguires scratchx works so much better and way faster


+100

Love Scratchx .... pricey though. I also use the Meguires polish/wax.

Somebody correct me but I believe that gloss = smooth = pores filled.


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