After some time a guitar can start to look dull and lose the finish it once had. When this happens there are a couple of ways you can go about this.
In this article, we compiled a couple of ways to make your guitar glossy again. Some methods are harder than others, but I still encourage you to go through all of the methods to see which one you are capable of doing.
Please make sure to NOT do anything you aren’t comfortable with. Some of the methods are quite hard and you might need to go to your local luthier. I still listed them for the crafty readers over here.
Ways to make your guitar glossy
Here are the different ways to make your guitar glossy again:
Polishing you guitar
This method is the simplest way to get a guitar shiny. Most people are able to do this at home. This is the most common method of making a guitar shiny. Most of the time this would be the only thing you would need to do to get that shine you are looking for.
What you are gonna need
- Guitar polish
- Microfiber cloth
How to do it
All you need to do is spray some polish onto your cloth and start rubbing it into the guitar in a circular motion
For more in-depth instructions on how to polish, check out our page on how to safely polish a guitar at home.
Wet Sanding
If polishing won’t do the trick, my next best advice that isn’t that hard to do is to wet sand. When I found this out I was honestly shocked at how easy it was and how well it worked.
What you are gonna need
- 3,600-12,000 grit sandpaper
- Water
- A little bit of liquid detergent
How to do it
Make a solution made up of water and a little bit of solution. Then, take your sandpaper (starting at 3,600 grit) and sand the solution into the guitar. Gradually use a higher grit until you get to 12,000 grit.
This is gonna take some elbow grease. It is
Buffing
Now, we are getting a little more advanced. Buffing is gonna take a bit more work and supplies. It works great though.
What you are gonna need
- Buffing compound
- Drill
- Polishing pads (at the end of the drill)
How to do it
Apply some of your buffing compounds to your polishing pads and start drilling or “buffing” the finish.
It’s not as simple as it seems you may need to contact your local luthier or watch a video on this that teaches you how to buff in depth.
Apply clear coat finish
This method is even harder. This method requires you to take off all of the hardware and start spraying your guitar. I myself wouldn’t feel comfortable taking off all of the parts of my guitar leaving the body alone. But I did research it for those who are willing to do it. Besides taking apart everything, it’s quite easy to do.
What you are gonna need
- Any tools to take apart your guitar
- Clear coat
How to do it
Once you are left with just your guitar’s body, simply spray your guitar with some layers or a clear coat to get a nice gloss.
Again, this method also isn’t that simple. I would watch a more in-depth video or contact you, the local luthier.
Refinishing
This one is definitely the most difficult method. Refinishing requires you to take off all of the parts and even scrape off your guitar’s paint until you are left with a piece of wood. From there you paint and finish your guitar. This method is also quite long since you would need to wait for things to dry and stuff like that. I myself wouldn’t feel comfortable doing this to my guitar I would definitely contact my local luthier.
Conclusion
And those are the ways you can make your guitar glossy again. Some are easier to do some are harder. I put all of the ways I found whether they were easy or hard for all of you readers out there. I hope you found a method that’s good for you and a method you are comfortable with doing.
