To prolong the life of the finish of your new PRS instrument, we highly recommend that after each use the entire instrument, including the strings, be wiped thoroughly with a soft, clean, dry cloth. We recommend PRS Guitar Cleaner and/or PRS Guitar Polish for all PRS guitars with our normal acrylic or V12 finish. However, because the PRS Guitar Polish is NOT safe for Nitro finish, a quality furniture polish can be used to polish your Satin or Nitro finished PRS guitar.
Please note, if your guitar has a nitro finish, we strongly recommend not hanging or setting the guitar in a guitar stand/hanger outfitted with chemically active synthetic/surgical tubing. Doing this may cause a chemical reaction with the nitrocellulose finish on the neck (ex: CE, Swamp Ash) or the body (ex: Modern Eagle, DGT, Sunburst Series), which could cause the finish to dissolve. Nitro is also prone to chemically react to exposure to leather straps and other synthetic materials. Do not store your nitro-finished guitar with your leather strap attached as this could cause the finish to dissolve. This damage will not be covered under the PRS Limited Lifetime Warranty.
For the cleaning and conditioning of a rosewood fretboard or a solid rosewood neck, we recommend the use of PRS Fretboard Conditioner. This will also clean tarnished frets as well as dirt built up on your fretboard if used with a toothbrush. After the conditioner is applied, thoroughly wipe down all of the surfaces with a soft, clean, dry cloth and seal it with a quality furniture polish. The natural oils in your hands, over time, should seal and treat the rosewood as well. Do not oil the headstock of your rosewood neck, as it may cause the headstock logo to lift.
Dirty, corroded or worn strings will cause loss of sustain and treble frequencies and may result in faulty intonation and tuning instability. Fresh strings will not only improve the overall tone of the instrument, but it will also make the instrument more enjoyable to play.
We use a nickel/silver combination to plate our hardware. While this plating does not wear as well as chrome plating, the tonal qualities of nickel/silver are far superior. We have found that Blue Magic Liquid Metal Polish works very well in removing tarnish from our nickel hardware. Other mag wheel polishes also work well. These products can be found at most auto parts stores.
Please remember that your PRS instrument is temperature and humidity sensitive. Do not expose your new PRS instrument to extreme temperatures or humidity as it could be damaging to the instrument. We have found the optimal temperature to be between 70 and 74°F with a humidity level between 40%- 45%. If the instrument is overexposed to sunlight, the stain color may fade.
HERE IS SOME ADVICE FROM THE BEST LUTHIER CREW IN THE WORLD, THE PTC.
These folks know exactly how to maintain, fix, or upgrade anything on your PRS Guitar. If anyone knows it, they do!
If you want to prolong the luster and appearance of your guitar, a few simple guitar care practices will go a long way. We chatted with our PTC (Paul Reed Smith Tech Center) employees to come up with a few quick tips that will guide you in caring for that special guitar in your life.
First and foremost, a great way to consistently care for your guitar is to simply wipe it down with a microsuede or microfiber cloth after each use. This will prevent the natural oils on your hands from slowly eating away at the finish over time.
Another great practice is to keep your guitar in its case when it’s not being played. If you live in a part of the world were temperature and humidity fluctuate often, keeping your instrument in its case when you’re not rocking out will provide a more consistent temperature environment.
Now, if it has been a while since you’ve wiped down your guitar or pampered it, you may be ready for some deeper cleaning. This is where the guitar care products come in.
Fretboard Conditioner
PRS Fretboard Conditioner restores the sheen and luster of your fingerboard. We recommended using it for dark unfinished natural woods (rosewood, ebony, cocobolo, etc).
Grab some PRS Fretboard Conditioner HERE!
We do NOT recommend using fretboard conditioner on maple fingerboards - applying fretboard conditioner will darken light colored fretboards. Instead, a simple guitar cleaner will work well on maple fingerboards.
First remove the strings from your guitar. Apply a small amount of fretboard conditioner to a microsude cloth (a few drops will be perfect) rub the cloth over the fingerboard and frets. Flip your cloth around to a dry side and rub off the excess conditioner.
You should use fretboard conditioner about every 6 months. If you live in a harsher / dryer climate, consider conditioning your fretboard more often as the fretboard can dry out more quickly. You will not harm the fretboard by over conditioning - as long as you wipe off the excess.
If your guitar has a natural rosewood neck it should be conditioned lightly about once a year. Try to avoid rubbing the conditioner over logos and signatures as it can eat away at them over time.
Guitar Polish
Finally, PRS Guitar Polish gives the guitar a nice sheen and can be used as needed. We recommend polishing about every 6 months. Avoid using polish on guitars with satin finishes.
“A little goes polish goes a long way,” says PTC employee James 'Skitchy' Zimmers, “be careful not to get polish in the crevices of your guitar: under pickups, under your tremolo, inside the backplate edges, if it builds up there it can look unsightly.”
Put a few drops of guitar polish onto your microsuede cloth and rub it onto your guitar’s top, back, and sides. Wipe off any excess polish, and hopefully your guitar looks like it did the day it left the factory!
Guitar Cleaner
For the body of your guitar, PRS Guitar Cleaner is a great treatment.
“We’ve seen a lot of sweaty, funky, guitars in our days working at the PTC” says Len Johnson, PTC employee. “Consistent use of a guitar cleaner is a great way to preserve the finish on your instrument and maintain its original appearance.”
Spray a few spritzes onto a microsuede cleaning rag and rub it on the top, back, and sides of your guitar’s body.
PRS Guitar Cleaner also works well to clean your nickel or gold pickups. If your nickel pickups have already started to tarnish, try using a metal polisher, but pay attention to the individual polisher’s instructions. Do not use metal polish on gold pickups.