cleaning a vintage bass

[bhunt1]

Do you have any good products to use to clean dirt and grime off a vintage bass with a nitro finish. I received an early G&L L1000 bass, and while it has lots of cool mojo, it also has grime on the back of the neck and yellowing on the headstock and nut. In fact it smells a bit of cigarette smoke. Any good ideas for that?
Thanks!

[AzWhoFan]

learn to enjoy smoking cigars indoors? lol

I've never found anything to remove cig odor, but I do remember a discussion on it here from a year or two ago.

[Addison]

The smell is going to be the hard part... one of the better things to do is let the bass sit outside of its case, and leave the case open and exposed to fresh air for a really long time... it can take months. If you have an ionizer or air purifier in the same room, it'll help.

As far as a cleaner goes, this is the best stuff I've found...

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_s ... olish.html

You'll probably have to clean it several times over the course of a few weeks... a lot of times that muck and funk gets integrated with the silicone from old polishes and there's a gummy residue on your finish.

That polish will slowly break it down over time, but is gentle enough to not kill your nitro.

I'm sure people might have other great suggestions and miracle cures, but... patience and a gentle silicone-free quality polish is what I've always used.

[bhunt1]

Thanks Addison I am going to give that a try
No AZWhoFan, I am not going to give that a try

[Milo]

Thought I would share this for those that have this problem come up and for future reference.
At one time I had a side business buying, restoring, and selling antique furniture. More often than not, the finish would be coated with a greasy, grimy, sticky, layer of age old crude built up for decades. An old re-finisher/restorer gave me a tip to remove the goo. This may sound crazy but GoJo hand cleaner w/Lanolin works wonders. Very affordable, one $3 tub will last almost a lifetime for this application. Find it at most any auto parts store. It's the same stuff that mechanics use to clean their hands at the end of the day. It's amazing how it quickly and easily it cuts through the crude while leaving the original finish or bare wood and stain alone. Simple to use, just wipe it on with a soft cloth, light rub, wipe it off. A little bit goes a long way so don't gob it on. I wouldn't leave it on or let it soak, hoping it would dissolve all the goo in the first try either. It's a bit smelly so if that bothers you, find the citrus scented. It does leave a bit of a film so after getting the crude off, polish and wax.
Note: as with all cleaners try it in a small inconspicuous spot first. I've used this on all types of wood and finishes with excellent results.