What kind of cloth do you use to clean a guitar?

Last Updated on March 30, 2024 by Justin

The Guitar polishing cloth is an essential piece of kit to any guitar player’s arsenal of gear. Why is it essential you may ask? Well, the polishing cloth for guitars is used to maintain the guitar and prolong the life of your precious instrument.

I’ll be discussing some frequently asked questions about the guitar cloth, explaining the uses and need for one as well as reviewing some of the best guitar polishing cloth that you can buy so don’t forget to read until the end.

What is the Polishing Cloth for Guitar?

It is a specially made cloth specifically designed for guitars and instruments. They’re used for cleaning as well as the general maintenance of your acoustic or electric guitar.

What sets the guitar polishing cloth from other cloth’s is that they are made from microfibres. The microfibres as I mentioned above, are used for guitar cloths because they are the best for collecting dust and removing dirt and grease on your guitars.

They’re also specially made to ensure that they cause absolutely no damage or scratching to your instrument. In fact, these are used to care for your guitar and make them last longer.

What parts of the guitar can these be used?

The simple answer to this question is that the guitar polishing cloth can be used to clean literally any part of the guitar. They’re particularly useful to clean your pickups, strings, and guitar body.

An important thing to keep in mind is that you get different liquids available such as lemon oil or guitar polish that can be used in conjunction with the cloth to further clean and care for your guitar.

However, the use of cleaning liquids is not necessarily essential however they’re generally advised. If you’re not sure which liquid to go for, choose lemon oil. You can’t go wrong and won’t damage your instrument.

Are all guitar polishing cloths the Same?

Whilst the application and function of the guitar cloth remain the same. The way in which the various companies choose to make their guitar cloths will differ.

I’ll be discussing some of the best polishing cloths for guitars below. It is important to keep in mind that a lot of the following guitar cloths are the same in many ways besides our number spot. However, you won’t go wrong choosing any of the cloths for guitars on the list.

LIST OF THE BEST GUITAR POLISHING CLOTH:

1) Fender Premium Plush Guitar Polishing Cloth

Fender Premium Plush Microfiber Polishing

The guitar polishing cloth by Fender is my top choice. The reason is that it is the softest guitar polishing cloth that I’ve ever come across.

Fender was the inventor of the electric guitar so if anyone is going to know a thing or two about guitar maintenance and cleaning, it’s them!

• Extra soft plush
• Made from microfibers
• Is free of lint
• Fully safe to use on any type of guitar with any Finnish

 

2) Ernie Ball Guitar Cloth

Ernie Ball Ultra-Plush Microfiber Polish Cloth

The Ernie Ball polishing cloth is an exceptionally good contender for the number one position on this list. It just fell short of Fender in my opinion however, it is definitely one of the best guitar polishing cloths you can get on the market today.

You just have to read the user reviews to see how praised this simple yet effective product is.

 

3) D’addario Polishing Cloth Guitar

D’Addario Accessories Micro-Fiber Polish Cloth

I’ve always said that D’addario are a very innovative company. Especially when it comes to their guitar accessories.  This can be seen with their range of guitar polishing cloths. The one pictured above is their microfiber version. However, they offer another two versions of guitar cloth. They are Pre-treated & Non-treated.

These two other guitar cloths are not made from microfiber but instead cotton and the difference is one has been pre-treated with a special cleaning liquid that is built in.

 

4) Dunlop Japanese MicroFiber Guitar Cloth

Jim Dunlop 5430 Guitar Finish Cloth

The Dunlop comes in third place with their guitar cloth. It is probably the one cloth on this list that is made from the highest quality microfibers. The microfibers from this cloth are from Japan so you know the quality will be on point. However, This cloth is also washing machine friendly so it can be like new whenever you decide to give it a wash.

 

5) Music Nomad Suede Microfiber Guitar Cloth

MusicNomad Microfiber Suede Polishing Cloth

The Music Nomad company is relatively new to the scene however, they specialize in guitar cleaning equipment and produce this awesome cloth made from suede microfibers. This cloth will let you care for and maintain your electric or acoustic guitar so that it can live a much longer life. This particular guitar polishing cloth has non-hemmed sides which ensures that there’s no scratching of any sort.

 

6) Gibson Guitar Polish Cloth

Gibson Gear AIGG-925 Standard Polish Cloth

This cloth made by Gibson is designed to be used on Gibson guitars with a particular finish (nitrocellulose). Therefore, I would only recommend getting this cloth if you own a Gibson or a guitar with a nitrocellulose finish. It is unfortunately not universal like the other microfiber cloths in this list. As I mentioned, still a great choice for the Gibson guitar owner.