Virtuoso Premium Instrument Polish & Cleaner Combo

My 1968, ES-335 HAD a really, really " foggy" waxy build-up finish that no amount of other waxs, cleaners, or polishes has ever cleared up, until NOW. BOTTOM-LINE UP FRONT: Other than some hairline cracks in finish, due to being in an unpressurized, an apparently little temperature controlled, cargo bay for 12 hours a very long time ago, my ES-335 looks as glossy new as my other Gibson's (LP's, SG's,...).I have an original '68 ES-335, Walnut (yes the Gibson SN listings are wrong they did ship at LEAST ONE walnut finish that year because I have one and I have a factory verified shipping date from Gibson for that ES-335 SN). I bought it new and it has been in the humid S.E.A. areas of Viet Nam, Thailand, Taiwan, P.I., and most of the U.S. - it now resides in the America desert southwest. Over that many years and multiple environments, and frankly I didn’t take the best care, or even good care of the finish as a young man (now I baby all my guitars, amps, synths, and other equipment)- it looked like faded crap. Over the years I probably used gallons of Pledge, and Johnson's Paste wax, and any other house hold cleaner/wax/polishes - whatever the BX had on it's shelves, then later whatever my wife had under kitchen sink. At least until about 20 years ago when I started using some really good guitar care products. But you can imagine how much waxy crap-ola had been built up in the first 20 years!Part 1: Virtuoso CLEANER: I have read that it's a little too aggressive for some (and on new guitar it probably is). I don’t know how well, or even if, you should use the Cleaner on a NEW or WELL kept guitar or as mentioned on in previous reviews on satin and other types of non-glossy finishes. Although I ended up having to use it (read on) - and glad I did. I tried the Virtuoso POLISH first, only on small section on back and it just would not get the old wax and fogginess out/off. I also used the Naphtha trick to no avail in removing 20 years of crud. So I bit the bullet and tried the CLEANER - it worked VERY well, but not until it initially gave me a heart attack!Following directions for the cleaner, a dime sized drop on guitar then I worked it into a 6'ish" x6ish" section with a clean, 100% cotton, cloth and I THOUGHT I had REMOVED the finish in a few areas. When I got my heart slowed down what I was ACTUALLY seeing was the OLD wax lifted and now clumping in small areas deposited on surface as I rubbed (like someone had taken a wax candle and marred/marked areas which now also needed removed). It took me almost 5 hours, about 1/3 of the bottle of Virtuoso Cleaner of rubbing and buffing and a whole lot of elbow grease (my hands still ache) before it looked almost new.I then finally put the Virtuoso POLISH (thankfully very easy compared - one coat "easy - peasy") and that really made it come to life again.My once abused 1968 ES-335 now has an almost factory new finish (looks like same guitar I picked up and tried in that music store almost 40 years ago).

I got the polish & cleaner combo, but have so far only used the cleaner. Virtuoso has been on the radar for a while, but I finally pulled the trigger in a last ditch effort to deal with some spots in the nitro finish on my daughter's Gibson L-00. I have no idea what caused them, but at some point a mist of water, or hair product, or whatever got on the thing and probably sat for a while. Nothing so much as made a dent in reducing them. Lizard Spit, a host of Music Nomad offerings, and one or two other things - nothing worked. With very low expectations I gave the Virtuoso cleaner a shot. And with a little elbow grease and multiple applications I was astonished to see the offending droplets fade from view. Honestly, much of the additional muscle and need to go a few rounds is probably mostly due to the multiple layers of other gunk I laid on beforehand and not a critique of the cleaner under normal use situations. As an added bonus it's proven to be the best solution I've come across to address the chronic 'Sticky Neck Syndrome' some Gibson folks might be familiar with. The cleaner is truly remarkable stuff, which bodes well for the polish imo. Will try and remember to update after giving that a whirl. I'm kicking myself for not taking before and after photos...

I am a (former) musician/composer and recently picked the guitar back up to play again, fetching my instruments from storage only to find that one of my guitars, a vintage Gibson Les Paul, had moisture stains --unsightly white marks (“hazing”), the result of unwanted moisture getting trapped in the nitro finish (nitro ages beautifully, but it is also porous). On the recommendation of a friend and symphony player, and after my old regimen failed to remove these stains, I purchased the Virtuoso kit (cleaner and polish) which not only cleaned the guitar of these marks, etc. but restored the finish to a brilliant, high gloss shine. A little goes a very long way and the “trick” (if there is one) is the cleaner--use a very small amount of the cleaner on a very small area of the instrument and, in circular motion, firmly rub (there are seemingly no abrasives in this product), working that area back and forth before moving onto the next area, taking your time and always using a clean cloth (Virtuoso removes wax and other build ups, and could wind up with haze if there’s any other polish or residue on the cloth); wipe any excess and buff. Then, for that high gloss shine, follow up with the polish, which supposedly provides UV protection, keeping the finish from fading under fluorescent lights or if exposed to sunlight as well. In short, Virtuoso's kit is the best that I have ever used, saving me from what I thought would be a trip (and associated costs) to the luthier for a finish repair/restoration, and I highly recommend it.

A few years back I bought my dream acoustic, a Martin D35. Shortly after I bought it I was having a party in the back yard around and campfire and I grabbed my guitar and started playing… immediately as I started playing I noticed the guitar felt sticky… turns out I had forgot I had bug spray on and it burnt the finish on my new at the time D35, I was not pleased to say the least. Well, after a while I learned to deal with it until a couple weeks ago I saw a video on YouTube of a guy who had done something similar and he used this product to polish everything back to a nice finish, so I figured I’d give it a try and I’m so glad I did! There was chemical marks and finger prints all over my gorgeous Martin and this stuff got rid of 99% of it very easily. I’m certain I could get that last 1% with some more elbow grease, but it’s good for now. It brought my D35 back to its original beauty and I could not possibly be happier about it.