Everclear with guitars?

I just used Red 190 proof, an Everclear equivalent, to dilute a light amber tinted shellac that I top coated my abysmally ugly Mary Kay relic project with. I haven't gotten it near any lacquer yet.

But I might try mixing it with some tonic.

The solvent I use depends on what I need to do and I always go with the mildest one first, which is usually water.

Next on the list is Windex.  It's a mild detergent and doesn't harm nitro...but I'm not hosing stuff down with it.

Always apply the cleaner or solvent sparingly to the cloth or paper towel.  Never squirt anything (even wax) directly onto a guitar.

Unless you're spraying a finish.

Doesn't windex have a bit of isopropyl in it? I use it occasionally for hardware. Been considering putting my sharpening stones into a jig and lubing with windex as is popular among the woodworking folks these days, but over spray with guitars was a concern. Maybe it is worth revisiting.

My arsenal of guitar wiping things is usually: water, water w/trace amount of dish soap (shockingly effective), naphtha, and a particularly good guitar polish which is more a cleaner than a polish. Very rarely does one of these not work well; sometimes one won't touch something at all and another will work brilliantly, and the pattern will seem to reverse on the next instrument. With naphtha being the only solvent there, I'd like to have a milder option available. I keep isopropyl handy for certain things (excellent for solder prep), but am careful not to hit the guitar finish with it. It is funny that iso seems to be easier on skin and brain cells, but harsher with finishes. Also worth mentioning the simple green for the ultrasonic cleaner (good investment for a busy shop), and some old jewelry cleaner who's label has long since rubbed off (it is pretty mild, and a bit fruity smelling).

I've never thought to use it on anything guitar-related but I use vinegar for lots of things around the house.
Acetone? I know it has a bit of a reaction with polyester but don't know about lacquers.

Keep the acetone far away from guitars! Lacquer thinner is mostly acetone. It'll burn through lacquer, as well as super glue fixes. Acetone does work great for de-oiling surfaces for gluing, too bad it is so dangerous.

I've used vinegar for deodorizing on occasion. It doesn't hurt finishes, but it is slightly corrosive, so leaving it on hardware isn't a good idea. It also is excellent if you have exploded batteries somewhere. It'll dissolve the nasty explosion stuff, and not harm anything else. It just turns it into water, salt and CO2 if my chemistry isn't total garbage these days. Supposedly it softens glue joints, but I've tried using it as a glue softener to little success. I tend to be no more cautious with it than I would with plain water.

I realize the Jack Daniels answer is a joke, but it might be part of the answer. If ethanol burned through lacquer, there'd probably be an entire repair category of booze spilled guitars, but I really don't see that at all.

I occasionally see beer-soaked guitars, but it's kinda rare.