Instrument Maintenance – Polishing – Upstate Suzuki Academy

Before we dive into polishing the instrument, let’s talk about our tools and supplies. In the previous post, I talked about cleaning cloths for the washing process. You want to use the same here. In all, you will probably want to have about 4-5 cloths:

One dry for daily rosin clean up
One for weekly washing
One for polish
One dry for buffing

Again, they don’t need to be anything special, but you want them to be reserved for this purpose.

You can buy cleaner, as I mentioned before, but you can also use water for cleaning. For the polish, though, make sure you get a product specifically for instruments.

Cut up t-shirt — You can cut up an old t-shirt to use as cleaning cloths for your instrument.

Cleaning First

Before you polish, be sure you clean the instrument. Use the same process as your weekly cleaning. You don’t want to seal the grime and dirt into the instrument.

Small Circles

Once you are done cleaning, you’re ready to start polishing. You want to work in small areas, and apply small amounts of polish in small circles. Let the polish sit for a minute while you change clothes, then buff it off. Repeat on the next section.

That’s it. You’re done. Your instrument is now clean, polished, and ready for the stage.