cleaning and restoration on an old electric guitar

Splinter

Hi All,

i'm based in Dublin and recently got back into playing guitar after about 8 years off it and have an Encore SG copy electric guitar that i'd like to get into playing but its not well kept and dirt is caked on the strings and neck. I've no problem restringing it myself but (i really hope i have this right) its got a floating bridge and i remember in the past having problems with adjusting this myself. any tips or suggestions?

thanks
Mark

damonjewel

Splinter wrote: »

Hi All,

i'm based in Dublin and recently got back into playing guitar after about 8 years off it and have an Encore SG copy electric guitar that i'd like to get into playing but its not well kept and dirt is caked on the strings and neck. I've no problem restringing it myself but (i really hope i have this right) its got a floating bridge and i remember in the past having problems with adjusting this myself. any tips or suggestions?

thanks
Mark

For the most part your guitar is probably fine. Purchase a decent brand of strings ( Personally I like Ernie Ball striings ) and if you are not use to playing regularly a lighter gauge might be best like 9s. By the sounds of it, Before you restring you will need to get in there and give it a decent wipe down. The bridge I think on most Encore SGs are tune-o-matic, so if the action feels high and difficult to play even after using a lighter string then I suggest you look up youtube for some videos on diy set ups, and if you feel you want to make adjustments then take things slowly with trying to get the feel right for you.

Demeyes

I'd recommend giving the guitar a really good clean. Use lighter fluid to get off really bad dirt but try not to use too much on the fretboard. Get some lemon oil for the fretboard which I'll assume is rosewood if it's an SG copy. I've used an old tooth brush with the lemon oil before to clean off the fretboard. Give it a good wipe with a cloth too and then apply the lemon oil as per the directions on the bottle. I find this really helps bring a fretboard back to life and make the guitar feel and look cleaner.
Youtube is really good for finding videos on how to setup your guitar so you should watch a few videos and you should get enough info to help you get it playing good. If it's a floyd rose type floating bridge check these videos out for how to keep it in shape and set it up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEyg_sEACdE&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noOAnVb3kEg

If it's a different type of bridge then you won't have as much hassle setting it up, as someone said above if it's an SG it's likely a TOM bridge which is pretty handy to work with.

travis1976

Hey man, for cleaning the fretboard I would sugest a trip down to the local cheapie shop, our one is called Supersavers. Pick up a tin of that metal polish (like brasso), some masking tape and some furniture polish, if Lemon oil isin't available.
Tape up the fretboard, leaving the frets accessible. give them a good clean with the brasso stuff, and then polish to a shine with a soft cotton cloth, old t-shirt will suffice.
Then remove the tape. Spray the furniture on to another clean cotton cloth, not the metal polish one, and apply to the fret board. When you've done that give the whole neck, fretboard and frets a good wipe down with another clean cloth. There you go. The difference is amazing.
I also use the furniture polish on the guitar body to remove the gunk. If I strip the guitar down, I'll use the metal polish on the hardware. I hope this helps, it always has for me.

Splinter

Cheers for the help guys, mainly out of sheer laziness, I dropped into a few places in Dublin with it and one shop is doing the cleanup for me for 40 euro, will defo do it myself the next time though