The finish and all the visible parts, were almost completely dull, probably due the touch of dirty and greasy fingers, dust and and smoke over the years, without ever cleaning it. Leaving it to develop a matt film over the finish, the fingerboard, the brass, the silver logo and gold tuners.
For cleaning the finish I used a lightly moist microfiber cloth to wipe most of the dirt film off. Next I cleaned it with Alembic Supreme Polish and buffed it to a brilliant shine with a polishing chamois. I thought I would need a polishing machine, but this was sufficient.
Cleaning the silver logo and the brass parts was quite a time consuming job. I had to use soft (to prevent scratching the finish) wooden tooth picks, to get old dirt and old dried up polish residu off that was firmly stuck inbetween.
To get back the shine on the gold Schaller tuning pegs and the silver logo, I used Jewelry Wipes from Connoisseurs (
www.connoisseurs.com). That made them shine brightly and it provides a anti tarnish shield.
The brass parts were polished with Brasso fluid brass polish, which shines and protects (and leaves no residu).
I cleaned the fingerboard with a lightly moist microfiber cloth. Next I cleaned it more intensiveley with lemon oil, using cotton buds and wiping it clear with a soft cloth. Then I rubbed the fingerboard in with essential lemon oil en let it draw into it and feed the ebony for a few hours, and wipe off any residu afterwards.
Well, that about covers it. Oh yes, and I put some Vaseline on/in the straplocks, to prevent them from becoming squeaky.
I know what's best for my baby ;-)
Duncan
