Guitar Polish - scam ?

What is this "brand" guitar polish deal ? You can buy Fender, Gibson, etc..
I've always used Butchers Wax on my guitars and they shine ! It's the same stuff they use on bowling alleys. Nice & glossy finish ! So what's in the other bottles...?

A great polish is actually a silicone and wax free furniture polish made under the Guardsman name (Lilly) this is the same company that makes pro finishing materials such as lacquers and catalyzed finishes.

This can be found in most grocery stores.

When I bought My breedlove never having a guitar of that caliber before I e-mailed them to see what to use on the body to polish/wax . The answer surprised me any household furniture wax Pledge est... I went and bought a couple guitar waxes , Gibson , Martin and one called Smith Pro Formula
Polish.I liked Smith's the best, I have never used any household wax on any of my guitars and don't plan on it.

I had the same obsession, but a little before you. Nice to meet a fellow pattern freak.

I agree 100% - This is the stuff to use on guitars !

In reality, the same manufacturer may produce wax for different labels. I was watching a car show a few weeks back with the "main guy" from Meguire's wax. He said that they make guitar waxes, I think he mentioned the Fender label.

I currently use an orange smelling paste wax intended for furniture. Can't remember the name, but I think Home Depot sells it. It is NOT easy to apply and remove, but looks great. In between waxes (done at string changes) I touch up with
Dunlop 65.

I had some friends that ran an autobody shop. You should have heard them complain about customers bringing in cars with this stuff on them. Soon, all of the automotive products, or just about all of them, had these compounds in them. Eventually, they had to change their tunes and get on with program.
I suspect the same thing is true of most refinishers.

In one of my hobbies, R/C model planes, some manufacturers repackage air tool oil and sell it for quite a bit more money than the air tool oil sells for per ounce. I mean quite a bit more, like ten times as much. The air tool oil is used as an after run preservative.

The unknowing hobbyist insists upon buying the repackaged stuff because the package says that it is for model airplane engines on the package. I shake my head and laugh. I suspect that the same thing is happening with guitar polish.

Well..IMHO, the problem with silicone is not that it will necessarily hurt the finish (whatever it may be), it's that it makes repairs, refinishing and restorations an expensive proposition...nothing sticks to silicone and once it is on, it gets all over...every nook and cranny...and God help you if you have a crack or nick in the finish...it will eventually get right into the wood. What makes things even worse is that, once applied, it is very, very, very difficult to take this stuff off...and the caution is just as valid for poly bodies as for lacquer ones...waxes and polishes that contain silicone will indeed make your axe shine, the silicone will help repel dirt, dust, grime and moisture. So far so good...but if you ever need repairs, you should expect to pay more...a lot more...particularly if you neglect to tell your repair person about your "special" care techniques and they end up having to do it over a few times due to a complete lack of adhesion. When I get an instrument with chips in the body, I used to simply burn in new lacquer after a quick cleaning. I've gotten wiser in my old age (either that or I've had to redo the work too often to ignore the lesson), now I ask the owner what they use to clean their guitars before I do anything...lacquer won't stick to silicone, glue won't stick to silicone...nothing sticks to silicone. My advice, if it doesn't say "silicone free", don't use it on your instrument, keep it for your car and your furniture...it isn't worth the hassle down the line.

I used to have an R/C Pattern obsession. I got 4th at the Nationals in
1996 then serious burnout hit.