A guitar is an excellent musical instrument, which is very common due to the beauty of sound and mobility. It can be easily visited and played during a feast. The musician, distracted from the table, picks up the guitar and runs along the strings. Of course, such behavior cannot but affect the quality of the instrument and its life span. Finger grease and dirt remain on the pad. In addition, the guitar is often used on the street, in the bathhouse, which is very bad for wood, which does not like changes in humidity.
Therefore, good performers firmly know that the guitar, like any other musical instrument, requires careful care. Oil is a good help in this. It will help protect against the harmful effects of the environment. Lemon oil for the guitar is the most frequent choice for grooming. Of course, there are other types of funds that are also popular.
Care
If a musical instrument has not been taken care of for a long time (more than a year), the first cleaning will take a long time, so you will have to be patient. As a prophylaxis, lemon oil is best used once every 3 months.
The guitar has several components that especially need proper care:
It happens dark and light shade. For dark vultures (usually unvarnished), rosewood is used, and for light (lacquered) - maple. Of course, other types of wood are also used, but these are the most common. A piece of steel wool and a soft toothbrush will help to clean the ladle.
It must be remembered that the strings and neck are made of different materials (metal and wood), which means that they need different care and are cleaned separately.
The cloth for the care of the guitar body must be soft, not leave marks and scratches on the instrument, and also dry and clean, without visible fibers and threads. The most affordable option is a microfiber cloth. For lack thereof, you can take a simple cotton wool or bandage.
Lemon oil for the guitar is also good to use with every string change. Amateurs do this out of necessity, and professionals do it every month. In the process you need to remember to wipe the pad under them.
If the tool is not cleaned on time, dirt and grease from the fingers get under the frets. This mixture destroys the structure of the tree, the tool begins to slowly rot.
In order for the sound of the guitar to always remain clear and sonorous, after each use it must be wiped with a clean and dry cotton scarf.
For strings, it is better to take a special cleaner, rather than oil.
They consist of steel, which in turn is susceptible to corrosion. This is a chemical destruction that is activated by high humidity (rain, sweat on the hands of a musician). Therefore, it is necessary to use oil. In hard to reach places it is best to use a soft-bristled toothbrush.
Various means
Having figured out why lemon oil for the guitar, you can talk in more detail what means are generally used in this matter. Here are some of them:
Perfectly destroys dirt and grease. But it dries the wood structure and effectively destroys parts of the guitar made of plastic, especially if they are not varnished. Wiping metal parts is possible only with subsequent lubrication with oil, otherwise corrosion may occur, which the responsible guitarist can not afford.
In defense of this tool, it is worth saying that you can not do without it with especially deep pollution.
To clean the tool from dirt, it is better to use soft, non-corrosive products that are not able to damage the wooden surface and plastic parts.
It cleans the surface very well and gently, but has one significant drawback - it is a smell.
4. Lemon oil.
Cleaning the guitar with lemon oil will be soft and neat, leaving a delicate lemon aroma. It moisturizes very well, fills small cracks and scratches, makes the tool smooth and even. The surface will become glossy and velvety.
Types of oils
Lemon oil for guitar is more often used by amateur musicians. Professional guitarists who carefully monitor the condition of a musical instrument prefer to use special oils to protect wood: Dunish Oil and Polish Oil. This means Danish and Polish production, usually sold in construction stores in large containers. That is, a person who does not earn money by playing the guitar to buy such banks is simply irrational.
The linings of rosewood and ebony are impregnated with such oil, it resists moisture exchange. The pad remains in optimal condition both in dry and in humid air.
As for the lemon oil itself, you can buy a branded product or cheaper at the nearest pharmacy.
Pharmacy products
Lemon oil from a pharmacy for a guitar is a budgetary tool and a priori should only be beneficial, because the pharmacist will not advise bad things. But even with such a purchase, it will not be superfluous to look at the composition: it should include only one hundred percent ether of lemon oil and certainly no alcohol solution that can corrode the surface of the instrument.
For all the positive aspects of this tool, do not forget that it is primarily created for massage, adding to aromatic lamps. This list does not have a wooden surface, so when using lemon oil from a pharmacy, you should be careful not to use it on non-varnished surfaces.
Benefit or harm?
Despite all the advantages of using this tool, there is an opinion that it is better not to process the tool at all. In this regard, the question arises whether lemon oil is harmful to the guitar. Many argue that the lemon in the remedy is only a fragrance.
What will happen to the tool if it is not treated with oil? Most likely nothing. But proper care will help extend the life of the guitar and make the sound more sonorous and easy.
Before using the oil, wipe the tool from dirt with a mild soap solution or a specialized detergent.
Whatever decision the guitarist makes - to use this tool or not, one should not forget that the measure is important in everything. From an excessive amount of oil, the guitar will begin to “mutter”, the wood will soften. The impregnation will remain on the fingers.
How often to use?
It is not worth refusing to impregnate completely. Wood may become dry and crack. It is best to soak the top layer of the lining, and then constantly maintain its moisture content.
For home use, it is better to use lemon oil a couple of times once a year. To do this, you need a cotton pad, a microfiber cloth, cotton wool or bandage, depending on what is at hand. With it, you need to apply oil to the tool and let it absorb a little. Then repeat the operation. When the second coat dries, remove the residue with a dry, clean cloth. At the end of the process, the guitar should be smooth and velvety, and not oily to the touch.
Branded funds
Lemon oil for Dunlop guitar will help to quickly and efficiently remove dirt and restore the natural shade of the neck. The proprietary product will make the pad beautiful, shiny and protected from harmful environmental influences.
The cost of such lemon oil for the guitar currently ranges from 400 to 500 rubles. Significantly more expensive than a pharmacy, but there is a guarantee of quality and you can not be afraid to harm a musical instrument.
It is worth noting that this tool is not suitable for maple fingerboards, so when choosing a tool you need to be careful and know exactly what the guitar is made of.
You can buy lemon oil in specialized stores or on the Internet.
The proprietary product already has a special dispenser, with the help of which it is easy and convenient to apply it to a musical instrument. The liquid should be applied so that the surface is completely wet. After that, in accordance with the instructions, you need to leave lemon oil for the guitar for several hours, then remove the excess, wipe it dry and enjoy the result.
In addition, the device from a specialized store is more economically consumed, it will last for several years at home. While the usual oil from the pharmacy runs out very quickly.
Structure
If the choice fell on a professional lemon oil for guitar, the composition will also include soft cleaners made of synthetics, which quickly disappear. Also included are moisturizers that maintain moisture balance in the tree. In this regard, such a tool can only conditionally be called lemon oil.
This composition allows you to quickly and deeply dissolve contaminants and gently removes those substances with which this could not be done.
What tool to choose?
Here are examples of budget funds from a pharmacy and special oils for musical instruments, which will not be so cheap. What to choose, everyone will be able to decide for himself on the basis of the need for the final result and financial capabilities.
Brief completion
This article details what the lemon oil is for. Thanks to this simple but very effective tool, the tool is cleaned of dirt that is stuck in it. If you regularly carry out such an operation, the strings begin to sound like new. Time and money spent on caring for a guitar will surely pay off, and the instrument will delight you with its clean and sonorous playing for many years.
It is best to use professional tools for this, which will quickly, efficiently, and most importantly safely relieve pollution. But such oils have a considerable cost, and as an alternative, you can use the usual pharmacy essential oil, which costs an order of magnitude cheaper.