Protecting Our Piece From Scratches

[wick5]

As much as I enjoy seeing old Fender basses with worn paint and road wear, I've always been one to clean and polish my basses to keep them as pristine as possible.  Do many of y'all especially treat your Alembic(s) with kid gloves?  For example: I'll never wear a belt buckle to keep the body back safe from scratches; I even refrain from wearing button up shirts if the buttons are sharp and/or metallic. Am I in the mainstream or am I a little too fussy about my Wickersham Special?

[growlypants]

I'm the same way.  Relax.  But, then again, maybe I'm too uptight about it, too!!

[jazzyvee]

I look after every instrument i own and try to minimise scratches and damage Not just alembics. Im less protective of those that have recieved mojo from years of active service before i owned them but still i like to mimimise further damage. If any of my alembics started to get beaten up i'd have them refinished and start again.

[dtothec]

I'm like you Jazzy, I don't have many scratches on my basses and no buckle rash.  I buckle my belts on the side when I play. This may be a little anal, but I cut cell phone screen protector electrostatic sheets and use them as pick guards to protect my basses where my fingers hit when slapping, it sticks without any adhesive, and you can't see it.

[ed_zeppelin]

At first, I wasn't sure the topic had anything to do with basses. Many, many gigs ago I asked a bartender for a clean bar towel, to wipe off my basses (with upright bass, that's a lot of wipin'). He complied, and at the end of the evening when I tried to give it back, he refused.  
 
Bartender: sorry, it's not mine.
Me: yes it is. You gave it to me.
BT: no, I loaned it to you, but it wasn't mine to give. I just work here. I don't own any of this stuff.
Me: wait a minute. If you didn't give it to me because it wasn't yours to give, and now you won't take it back, that means I'll be stealing it. This could be the start of an epic crime wave, y'know.
BT: technically, you haven't stolen it, since it hasn't left the building yet.
Me: good point. So in other words, you're paying me to steal from your boss.
BT: no, I loaned it to you. It's not yours. You just borrowed it.
Me: okay, how about I just loan it back to you?
BT: you can't. It's already on loan. Besides, that would be stealing. I think.
 
Back and forth it went. The reason I borrowed a dry bar towel in the first place was because I kept forgetting to put my fancy-shmancy polishing cloths in the cases. I've got zillions, too.
 
People never remember to check case pockets when they trade in or sell guitars, and as the repair geek for the world's largest retailer of used instruments at that time, charged with setting the guitars up for resale, I was usually the first one to open the case pockets. Oh my. The things I've found. I know! I'll hide it in my guitar case! Nobody will ever find it there!  
 
My point is that there is always someone willing to loan you a dry bar towel.
 
 
PS; I always make an attempt to return it, just to be on that annoying superior moral ground. But as soon as they reach for it, I snatch it back and say; wait a minute. This wasn't a gift, was it? No, it couldn't have been, because it wasn't yours to give ... Etc.
 
quote:The towels at my hotel were so soft and fluffy, I could barely get my suitcase closed! - Rodney Dangerfield
 
 
 
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(Message edited by Ed_zeppelin on March 13, 2016)