Virtuoso Guitar Polish for Gibson / Nitro Cellulose

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay UK

This is a listing for Virtuoso Polish, also available is the cleaner in a separate listing, or a combined offer for both bottles. Virtuoso Premium Polish and Virtuoso Premium Cleaner grew out of the need to care for valuable vintage instruments finished in nitro cellulose, such as Gibson, Martin and Fender. Even though they may have been world class instruments, they aren't always in world class condition. The guitar care products available would not clean the finishes without either (a) adding to the grime or (b) damaging the finish. Virtuoso then set out to find a chemist capable of developing a guitar care system that would allow them to clean years of accumulated dirt and grime without lifting or damaging the finish and also help protect the finish and wood underneath going forward. After numerous attempts and formula changes they arrived at the products now known as Virtuoso Premium Polish and Virtuoso Premium Cleaner. It is the only two part cleaning system designed specifically for nitrocellulose lacquer finishes. It also works wonders on polyurethane and UV cured finishes found on newer instruments.If you’ve ever had a problem with a tacky/ sticky or milky finish on a nitro cellulose guitar then try this stuff! I run a Gibson Authorized Service Center for Repair of Acoustic and Electric Guitars, here in the UK, () and a while ago I had a real problem with a Gibson J45 guitar that belonged to a famous footballer that had been serviced somewhere, and returned with 7 or 8 misty white palm prints on the body and neck. The guy that had worked on it had had a natural reaction with the nitro cellulose finish (this is quite common) and the finish had become slightly sticky where he had handled it. I’d heard that its a rare blood type that reacts with the finish (a customer confirmed this with me a few years ago after a blood test), as well as some manufacturers finding that sometimes their finishes don’t seem to cure as quickly or consistently as they’d like. Also the glues used in guitar cases can soften nitro cellulose. I’ve known for years that no cleaner or polish available over the counter in guitar shops could help – most end up making it worse in fact. I looked long and hard for something new and found (amongst other brands) Virtuoso. I bought one of everything available and gently tested them all on my own Gibson guitar. Once I knew it was safe I tried it on the J45, which was becoming a sticky, milky coloured mess. The Virtuoso products were as close to a miracle cure as I could have ever hoped to find! Since then I’ve become a lot more relaxed with these finish problems, this stuff just always seems to do the trick. There is also a cleaner available which is great for removing gunk and spills off before polishing. I’ve had guitars in the workshop that I thought would need to be re-finished but tried Virtuoso before hand and its taken the grime away with little bit of effort and left the finish feeling harder and more ‘cured’ than ever before. Continual treatments seem to help the finish become hard and glossy and drastically reduce the stickyness – reversing it in fact. The polish then makes it harder and ready to use, with a beautiful gloss. Companies like Gibson have been asked many times why they use a finish that can have minor issues like this when a cheaper guitar with a poly finish is far less fragile. Their reply is best summed up as this: “If you has a Stradivarius violin, would you dip it in plastic to get a tough finish, or would you continue to use a fine thin finish that allows the instrument to breath, vibrate and sound its best?” Point taken. A great gift for owners of guitars finished in nitro cellulose, it might look like a boring present at first, but when they use it they will be very grateful!! Virtuoso polish costs £10.99 per bottle, or £19.95 for 1 bottle of polish + 1 bottle of cleaner. P&p is £3.50 courier, tracked. Please feel free to email me a place for the courier to leave the parcel, they have boxes on the cou... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.