I not too long ago bought a Martin DX Johnny Money and find it irresistible. For my solid-wood guitars, I’ve at all times used Dunlop polish and a mushy fabric for smudges. For the reason that DX is manufactured from laminated materials, ought to I follow the identical method, or is there a greater possibility for cleansing the physique, neck, and fretboard? Additionally, is humidity a priority for this kind of development?  —David Bellamy

To begin with, congratulations on the brand new guitar! This may occasionally look like a easy query, however these are regularly those price asking. In my restore work, I’ve typically wished extra people would take the initiative to maintain their guitars clear. I’ve troweled off extra fretboard grime than I’d care to recollect.

It sounds such as you’re heading in the right direction together with your cleansing method: the guitar-specific cleansing and sprucing options from corporations like Dunlop, D’Addario, and StewMac are formulated to work properly on typical guitar finishes and are freed from some doubtlessly problematic components that may generally be discovered in additional general-purpose cleansing merchandise.

Touching shortly on these, I often advise folks to keep away from merchandise marketed as a polish. A lot of these present in {hardware} shops are meant to go away a movie of wax, oil, or different residue on the floor. This may be effective when making an attempt to shine up and shield a kitchen desk, but it surely’s virtually by no means crucial or fascinating for a guitar. Some, equivalent to Briwax, additionally include pretty aggressive solvents like toluene, which may soften or assault lacquer. 

Different solvents, equivalent to alcohols, acetone, and even sturdy vinegars or different acids, may doubtlessly be problematic. Oils can wick into the checks on lacquer finishes, leaving ugly blotches which are not possible to eliminate. More often than not, the guitar will look finest if it’s merely given a delicate and cautious cleansing. 

The final of the massive dangerous elements to keep away from is silicone. Some merchandise, like ArmorAll, include it, and will by no means be used on a guitar floor, as it could actually complicate future repairs or touchups.

In conditions the place a guitar has been extensively performed and requires a deep clear, generally a humid rag or guitar cleaner isn’t fairly sufficient. Greater than as soon as, I’ve skilled circumstances the place the grime layer on a guitar would soften up however not come off. As an alternative, it could drift round and go away a haze that seemed awful and was stubbornly immune to elimination. One of the best treatment right here is avoidance—common cleansing means your guitar received’t seemingly ever get to that time. However in circumstances the place one thing extra heavy-duty is required, or when eradicating a sticker or some previous tape residue, the most secure solvent for many guitar finishes is naphtha, generally out there in small portions as Ronsonol lighter fluid.

The laminate portion of your guitar is kind of immune to most issues, so I might don’t have any concern about utilizing the identical merchandise to wash the again and sides of your Martin. One concern with laminate: on the HPL materials used in your DX, the colour and even wooden grain can generally be a skinny beauty layer on the floor. Regardless of their robustness, these supplies are usually not bulletproof, so I might advocate fastidiously avoiding any abrasive cleansing merchandise, equivalent to “magic sponge” eraser pads. These have their makes use of across the house, however they’re finest reserved for cleansing bathe tiles. They will go away ugly scuffs or worse in your guitar.

The most effective issues about laminated guitars is their resistance to humidity adjustments—the tops received’t crack in dry situations, and the setup often stays extra steady all through the seasons. Nevertheless, the bracing in your guitar continues to be manufactured from wooden, as is the bridge on some laminate fashions. The bond between dissimilar supplies is at all times a possible weak level, and I’ve seen circumstances of free bracing in laminated guitars when the braces reacted extra to humidity than the highest. I’ve additionally discovered that the HPL materials is much less porous and thus generally much less receptive to connect than wooden. Regardless of the development, I’d advise sticking to finest practices: avoiding sudden adjustments in warmth or humidity, retaining the guitar away from warmth sources or direct solar, and never leaving it in a sizzling automotive. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t have to put a humidifier within the case, which makes it a fantastic candidate for leaving it on the sofa within the wintertime for simple entry.

This text initially appeared within the July/August 2025 situation of Acoustic Guitar journal.