Removing odors - Success! - but then...

[Qvart]

Re: Removing odors

wondered if it indicated the Moderators were commencin' to clean house, at LTG! :shock: :roll:

Hehe...of course, wouldn't you have been wise to that before reading the thread? :lol: :lol: :lol:

(They're coming to take me away haha, they're coming to take me away ho ho). :lol:

 

[taabru45]

Re: Removing odors

Its not comming out of Vancouver, is it Joe? :lol: Steffan

 

[markus]

Re: Removing odors

My DV4 came in an also new TKL case with a pretty muddy smell. I tried ground coffee and febreze what made thing better but I didn't get rid of all of the smell …

btw. the room where I febrezed the case is still smelling … :mrgreen:

Markus

 

[killdeer43]

Re: Removing odors

Its not coming out of Vancouver, is it Joe? :lol: Steffan

I give up....is it? :shock:
Did I miss one along the way? Do you know something I don't?

Nothing but questions, eh?
Joe

 

[taabru45]

Re: Removing odors

I was just wondering if you got mine by way of Vancouver, but that would be a pretty quick turnaround... :lol: :lol: Steffan

 

[krcrisp]

Re: Removing odors

If you want to go the baking soda route, take a coffee filter, put the baking soda in it, fold it in half and staple it, then toss it inside the sound hole. You can do this with a couple of them.

Actually much more effective than baking soda is activated charcoal from the pet store, as used in aquarium filters. Do the same thing with the coffee filters and the charcoal.

I would also polish the body of the guitar, and oil the fretboard, working it in with 0000 steel wool.

Good luck.

 

[Dr. Spivey]

Re: Removing odors

dip it in cigarette butts swimming in sour beer :lol:

Uh oh...Don't let Fender hear you say that. They might get an idea to branch off of their road-worn series: the Down-and-Out blues acoustic, comes fully stocked with the stench of a life on skid row, without paying your dues! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Don't forget a Sharpie to black out a few teeth, and some duct tape for the shoes. Maybe throw in a coupon for a $3 haircut and a pint of T-Bird. A vintage cardboard suitcase in a strange color, and you're ready to tour. :lol:

 

[Qvart]

Re: Removing odors

Success!

So, I sprayed the case with Febreeze multiple times over a couple days and left it sitting open to air out. I clipped a dryer sheet to the strings and let it dangle inside the guitar for about 24 hours. Yesterday I put the guitar back in it's case and let it sit for a day closed up to see how it would smell upon opening. Final report: it went a lot better than I thought it would. I really expected that strong, smarmy Aqua V smell to be a lot tougher to remove, but hey, it's gone and that's what matters. Whew. What a relief!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to keep them in mind for the future if faced with a similar situation. I especially like the coffee filter idea for holding baking soda or activated charcoal. Sounds pretty logical and practical.

\m/-_-\m/

 

[Qvart]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

UPDATE:

So I got the D35 out tonight - yes, it's been awhile. I've been playing the '73 S-100 the most. Anyway, I noticed a gritty feeling on the sides when I took it out of the case. As it turns out, the lining of the case is disintegrating and reacting with the finish on the guitar. Has to be the Febreeze I used on the case. Even though I made sure it was completely dried out before storing the guitar.

Ugh, it's always something.

 

[chazmo]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

Hmm... Qvart are you sure it's not just glue coming off the case due to humidity in the case? I have that happen occasionally if I over-humidify. Stuff just comes off the guitar with a damp cloth, no harm done.

 

[Qvart]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

Hmm... Qvart are you sure it's not just glue coming off the case due to humidity in the case? I have that happen occasionally if I over-humidify. Stuff just comes off the guitar with a damp cloth, no harm done.

I'll check it out, but it doesn't look good. Haven't seen the humidity get above the low 50% range though.

 

[Qvart]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

Hmm... Qvart are you sure it's not just glue coming off the case due to humidity in the case? I have that happen occasionally if I over-humidify. Stuff just comes off the guitar with a damp cloth, no harm done.

I'll check it out, but it doesn't look good. Haven't seen the humidity get above the low 50% range though.

UPDATE:

Nope. It left some marks in the finish. Weak. At least I caught it before it got too bad. This case is going right in the trash.

 

[Jeff]

Re: Removing odors

Well, Q' as usual, I have nothing constructive to add. I was just amused by the title of the thread and wondered if it indicated the Moderators were commencin' to clean house, at LTG! :shock: :roll:


~nw

Now that's darn funny. Thanks for the chuckle

Oh, before I forget, years ago I reglued some of the foam in my Old Classic's case. Elmer's woodworking glue it was & the stuff has crystalized. leaving small quantities of coarse gritty dust. I'm unsure what the correct adhesive would be, Elmers is incorrect.

Household products contain some pretty darn strong chemicals. Trace amounts persisting in the sealed environment of a guitar case make me nervous.

 

[fused]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

I was hoping to find something here to help with a guitar case that housed an A-500 for 40+ years, never being opened... Just lived in the back of a closet for that long.
There was an old string in a plastic sleave, the sleave actually melted into the case. The smell is extremely bad.
Like something dead is in there.

The guitar smelled the same, of course. Aired it out overnight. Took it to the shed workbench, wasn't doing this in the house. EB Guitar cleaner, lemon oil and about 4 hours of careful cleaning seemed to clear the guitar up nicely.
Its setup and playing great... And no more smell.

The case though, I febreazed the heck out of it. And even though you can now get close enough to look inside without getting sick...once you get close, THEN you get sick.
Yeah, it lingers....

Best solution is on the way. A brand new case.
I just felt that putting the guitar back in the old case would undo all that hard work of bringing the guitar back to life.

Anyhow, problem now solved. When the febreaze container runs for the door, new case time.

fused

 

[adorshki]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

UPDATE:
Nope. It left some marks in the finish. Weak. At least I caught it before it got too bad. This case is going right in the trash.

Qvart, so sorry to hear this. Must be some kind of of persistent solvent in the Febreze even though it was dry. Guess I won't be trying that stuff in my house. THANK YOU for posting the warning. Some places would call it taking one for the team but I guess that's small consolation.

 

[taabru45]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

I've used talcum powder, baby powder, to polish out very fine scratches on my guitar and pickguard, its softer than the finish, so its very safe but works. I used it dry and with a soft microfiber cloth. You could try that on a small area....

 

[Qvart]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

UPDATE:
Nope. It left some marks in the finish. Weak. At least I caught it before it got too bad. This case is going right in the trash.

Qvart, so sorry to hear this. Must be some kind of of persistent solvent in the Febreze even though it was dry. Guess I won't be trying that stuff in my house. THANK YOU for posting the warning. Some places would call it taking one for the team but I guess that's small consolation.

Word.

I'm going to give it some good attention over the weekend, maybe after the US - Ghana game if I'm not too drunk. We'll see how the finish looks after cleaning and polishing. Guess it's a good time to slap on some new strings too. And it's a good thing I have no desire to sell it. I'm sure there are other acoustics I might like better but the sound of this one is good, I like the neck, and I don't have to hold my breath worrying about it getting dinged up. Time for some more summer night Guild time on the back porch.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

UPDATE:
Nope. It left some marks in the finish. Weak. At least I caught it before it got too bad. This case is going right in the trash.

Qvart, so sorry to hear this. Must be some kind of of persistent solvent in the Febreze even though it was dry. Guess I won't be trying that stuff in my house. THANK YOU for posting the warning. Some places would call it taking one for the team but I guess that's small consolation.

Word.

I'm going to give it some good attention over the weekend, maybe after the US - Ghana game if I'm not too drunk. We'll see how the finish looks after cleaning and polishing. Guess it's a good time to slap on some new strings too. And it's a good thing I have no desire to sell it. I'm sure there are other acoustics I might like better but the sound of this one is good, I like the neck, and I don't have to hold my breath worrying about it getting dinged up. Time for some more summer night Guild time on the back porch.

I'm not sure that I got all of this.
Are you saying that Fabreze caused some finish damage to your guitar?

I have sprayed Fabreze inside several guitar cases for odor problems with no ill effects.

 

[adorshki]

HI TMG yeah, he's not sure what caused it for sure but he's got a finish problem after treating the case with Febreze and storing it in there for a while. On giving it a little further thought, it's possible that the Febreze in COMBINATION with the old cologne might be the real culprit....

 

[Qvart]

Re: Removing odors - Success!

I'm not sure that I got all of this.
Are you saying that Fabreze caused some finish damage to your guitar?

I have sprayed Fabreze inside several guitar cases for odor problems with no ill effects.

The lining of the case started coming apart and sticking to the guitar, so that's the theory. Didn't happen before using Febreeze.