Aria C-16

I recently returned this Aria C-16 classical guitar to its owner. Coincidentally, he was my wife's ex-primary school teacher who is my current colleague. It's a small world after all.

The entire fretboard was thoroughly cleaned. I have a feeling it wasn't attended to since day one. Ditto the frets, some of which turned green at the edges. As you can see here, clean frets will give a new lease of life to seasoned instruments.

Strings were dead (left), the wound ones were corroded so off they go. D'Addario Classic Nylon set (normal tension) to the rescue, available at Swee Lee ($8).

I was also given the permission to replace the tuners which had turned stiff due to corroded metal parts. No amount of polishing could save them so replacement was the answer. I believe in lubricating the open gears occasionally to keep them smooth & functional. These are not costly at all, the ones you see here (right) are the Maxtone brand ($15), available at Davis GMC.

I enjoy doing light guitar maintenance time & again. This keeps my interest relevant & I gain important experience & knowledge along the way. All this know how was self-taught, most of it involves common sense & the right tools to see things through. I am the firm believer of knowing what to do with my possessions which include simple plumbing & electrical tinkering at home.