A Virtuoso at work: a legendary cleaner and polish vs 25 years of grunge

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I said I was fine with the patina on my newly acquired Eastman El Rey - and I am....I'll go over it with Virtuoso and call it a day.

...and a promise is a promise. It's not my fault that Virtuoso is so incredibly good that it made me look like a liar. Look closely at the images and you can see all the marks, lines, etc. But Virtuoso cleaner got rid of the haze where other arms have held it and the dullness of sitting on someone's knee. I really tried to leave the swirlies, 'Moon - but most of them mysteriously disappeared along with a quarter century of extraneous material.

For those of you who doubt that Virtuoso is worth it's cost, I present Brother Rey after a dip in the fountain of youth:















I apologize for the rudimentary setting and lighting. Apartment living has its drawbacks. Flexibility and storage space are lacking, so I use furniture and track lighting as best I can.

[vinnyv1k]

Nothing better on the market IMO.

[Mark M.]

Wow!! It never looked that good in the time I had it! Beautiful. Virtuoso is great but I can’t find it anywhere.

[starjasmine]

Virtuoso is great but I can’t find it anywhere.

Is this it?
Cleaner and polish combo pack:
Amazon.com

Polish only:
Amazon.com

Cleaner only:
Amazon.com

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Is this it?
Cleaner and polish combo pack:
Amazon.com

Polish only:
Amazon.com

Cleaner only:
Amazon.com

That’s it.

[Mark M.]

Ordered. Thanks!

[Mark M.]

..BTW, that guitar has one of the prettiest bursts I have ever seen. I’m getting seller’s remorse!

[GuyBoden]

Wow, such a beautifully looking and wonderfully designed guitar, I regret not buying the 7 string "El Rey" 15-20 years ago.

But, I was put off by the potential "Neck Dive" of a 7 string neck on a small body.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I regret not buying the 7 string "El Rey" 15-20 years ago.

I discovered Eastman guitars when Ed Roman opened what he called “the world’s biggest guitar store” in Las Vegas (in spring 2001 IIRC, months before 9/11). He was an early importer and had several of their archtops including 7s. I played a few there and was knocked out by the sound, the feel, the look, and the apparent quality. But…

They were Chinese and they were cheap. I just couldn’t get past the concern that they’d fall apart in a few years and wouldn’t be repairable or worth the cost to put together again. I’d bought a new AF207 in late ‘97 and loved it for its obvious toughness as well as its great feel and amplified sound. It was giggable & reliable, although it was (and still is) rather heavy. It was not a match for the carved Eastman archtops (which felt and sounded as good to me as some of the best guitars I’d ever played). But it looked and felt like it would gig for the rest of my life. So far (28 years later), it’s still like new after many hundreds of gigs.

So I didn’t buy my first Eastman until 19 years after I first played one - and now I have 3. I think they’ve passed the test of time, although it still concerns me a little that except for this one, I don’t recall seeing a 20+ year old Eastman archtop for sale. But I also haven’t seen reports of Eastmans that fell apart. Hopefully, the early ones have been keepers for players like me who do not suffer from GAS.

As for neck dive, there’s none on mine. The last owner put on wood tuning buttons to remove the weight of the original metal ones, which are heavier in their baggie than I thought they’d be. But I’d be surprised if a few ounces made a huge difference.

[nyc chaz]

I discovered Eastman guitars when Ed Roman opened what he called “the world’s biggest guitar store” in Las Vegas (in spring 2001 IIRC, months before 9/11). He was an early importer and had several of their archtops including 7s. I played a few there and was knocked out by the sound, the feel, the look, and the apparent quality. But…

They were Chinese and they were cheap. I just couldn’t get past the concern that they’d fall apart in a few years and wouldn’t be repairable or worth the cost to put together again. I’d bought a new AF207 in late ‘97 and loved it for its obvious toughness as well as its great feel and amplified sound. It was giggable & reliable, although it was (and still is) rather heavy. It was not a match for the carved Eastman archtops (which felt and sounded as good to me as some of the best guitars I’d ever played). But it looked and felt like it would gig for the rest of my life. So far (28 years later), it’s still like new after many hundreds of gigs.

So I didn’t buy my first Eastman until 19 years after I first played one - and now I have 3. I think they’ve passed the test of time, although it still concerns me a little that except for this one, I don’t recall seeing a 20+ year old Eastman archtop for sale. But I also haven’t seen reports of Eastmans that fell apart. Hopefully, the early ones have been keepers for players like me who do not suffer from GAS.

As for neck dive, there’s none on mine. The last owner put on wood tuning buttons to remove the weight of the original metal ones, which are heavier in their baggie than I thought they’d be. But I’d be surprised if a few ounces made a huge difference.

I've seen many 20 year old Eastmans for sale.The problem with those older Eastmans is you have an equal chance of getting a stud or a dud tonally speaking..Those older ones don't have the consistency of the ones made in the last 10 years.I just bought a 2007 Eastman this spring and it has one of the sweetest acoustic voice i have heard on an archtop.

[SierraTango]

I gig out with a 20 year old '05 Eastman John Pisano 880. The scary thing is that 2005 was 20 years ago! I bought a 7 string from Gordon around 2000, and it was awful. they were in Maryland at the time and I returned it for a full refund. I kept a eye on the brand at NAMM and watched the steady improvements in the next few years. Rumor was that Mark Lacey got involved but I have no proof of that. Finally when they introduced the Pisano 880 (the first Pisano model-solid spruce and maple) I had to have one. My old friend Bob November (RIP) was a dealer and got me the dealer price.
It's a lovely instrument that has been on hundreds of gigs and always performed wonderfully. It gets the call on gigs/venues that my '90 Benedetto Cremona is not appropriate for.
Big fan of the Virtuoso product here!

[sgosnell]

IME, the Virtuoso cleaner works pretty well, used sparingly and with judgement. It can be a little abrasive if rubbed heavily in liberal quantities, but I don't think that's unusual compared with similar products. I have a bottle of both cleaner and polish, and a little goes a long way for both.

[Cunamara]

Don't underestimate water and a very soft cloth like cotton flannel for cleaning guitars.

[vintagelove]

Before pics?

[sgosnell]

Water on a microfiber cloth is my usual cleaning method. I only use polish when necessary, maybe once a year if that. And I use the cleaner even less often, usually on an instrument with built-up grime that water won't easily remove.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Before pics?

NGD post (Pics after an initial cleaning with damp microfiber cloth followed by Virtuoso polish) The cleaner arrived a few days ago, when I tackled the stuff that doesn’t photograph well. The worst area was the rim and adjacent top at the lower bass bout, where the unclothed arms of previous players had left a large area of dull, whitish haze that wouldn’t polish out. The cleaner completely removed it, along with a similar patch where the waist sat on a leg.

The overall increase in smoothness after the cleaner made it glow in a subtle way that isn’t adequately captured in pics. It now looks like a proper aged nitro finish should look on a well used high end archtop. Yes, it’s well used - and it’s a fully carved solid archtop. It’s just not high end I have more detailed closeups on my computer and will post them later.

[John A.]

I have a Les Paul with what Gibson calls a "Vintage Nitro" finish. It's not exactly gloss, not exactly satin. I got it used, and it was pretty dirty and had some tobacco stink. Virtuoso cleaner took care of that, and the polish got it closer to full gloss. So, another satisfied customer here. Another satisfied Eastman (flattop) customer as well.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

before pics?

The hazy areas under the right arm and in the treble waist where it sat on a leg didn't photograph well. I couldn't get rid of the reflections from the light source and still capture the finish damage. But I think the following are decent evidence of success. I'd really love to know what caused the striations and gouges on the top running up to the cutaway.

before / after:




___________________________________




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close-up of top at cutaway before touchup and clean / polish:



end result:

[jazzgtrl4]

I have both, cleaner and polish. used the cleaner on a small area on the back of my Moffa, its foggy/haze now, i kinda got it out but it still seems to be there.. Dont know what happened. glad i didn't do the top or anywhere else. I really like this stuff for other finishes too, like on my strat, tele etc...

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I have both, cleaner and polish. used the cleaner on a small area on the back of my Moffa, its foggy/haze now, i kinda got it out but it still seems to be there.. Dont know what happened. glad i didn't do the top or anywhere else. I really like this stuff for other finishes too, like on my strat, tele etc...

Some Moffas are varnished, and Virtuoso is only for use on polyester, polyurethane, and nitro according to their website. If your Moffa is varnished, that may be the problem.

The cloth you use has to be completely clean. If there's any particulate matter on it (no matter how fine it is - even a little dust), it can dull or even scratch the finish. I use a fresh section of the cloth for each pass over the area being cleaned or polished, because the cloth picks up whatever's on or in the finish as you wipe - even dried cleaner and polish that wasn't wiped off while still liquid.

I assume you used the polish after cleaner. If you didn't, try that - it often restores the shine. If that doesn't work, I'd ask the Virtuoso people what to do. Use this address from their website: [email protected]

[Jimmy blue note]

I have both, cleaner and polish. used the cleaner on a small area on the back of my Moffa, its foggy/haze now, i kinda got it out but it still seems to be there.. Dont know what happened. glad i didn't do the top or anywhere else. I really like this stuff for other finishes too, like on my strat, tele etc...

The cleaner is abrasive. When it's applied, it scuffs and puts micro abrasions that, when polished up, actually refracts in a way that presents as a cloudy surface, especially on lacquer.
It acts differently on a poly which has a different hardness.
I find that as I work the polish in, it shines up, and it actually clears up. I follow it up with Music Nomad polish/cleaner, which changes abrasively as I'm working it in. That stuff gets steadily finer as it's worked and leaves a nice smooth surface. I'm not in the habit of using a sheepskin buffing wheel, but when I do, it shines up to a mirror finish.
I will follow up with a Carnuba based wax which dries up nicely over any micro abrasions and protects the lacquer from UV degradation.

' don't know if this regimen works for you but it's what I do and the customers love it.

[58flame]

Those marks by the cutaway look like pick damage to me. I’ve seen those type of marks on a lot of guitars, on both treble and bass sides.

[bluejaybill]

I would just be careful about using these type products with a vintage instrument that has lacquer chewing, it can get in the cracks and then is hard if not impossible to get out.

Not speaking about Virtuoso in particular, polishes in general.