Cleaning a very stinky old guitar

Jez6345789

My friend recently pulled out his trusty old 74 Les Paul custom as I had not played it for years and wanted to reacquaint myself with it.

Back in the day he gigged the crap out of it playing 3-5 gigs per week pubs, clubs, bars, pretty much 50 weeks per year. 

But as it was his pride and joy he always looked after it and regularly cleaned and polished it.

As he got it out the spare room he said you might like it still but you wont like the smell. 

Well its still a nice guitar but it stinks, he cleaned it for years with Pledge then when he retired it probably spent 5 years in the case untouched. 

Cleaning with normal guitar polish has not improved the stink which is something like rancid polish, wd40 and mildew. He has had it airing in the back room for the last year and it still radiates this sickly stink. The case has the same stink if not worse. The guitar is in good condiiton.

Anyone have any ideas of a way to lessen this normal stuff like febreeze in the case did not work and standard guitar polish has not changed it. 

I asked why the hell he used Pledge and it was after he read an article back in the 70's where Jimmy D Aquisto was asked the best way to look after one of his guitars. 

All suggestions welcome I would like to play it without a mask :-)

underdog

Baking soda in the case should soak up the smell, replace it daily until the smell has gone.

MikeDearing

Re case it.. And rub the body of the guitar with white vinegar sparingly..and lemon oil the board .. But not too much..

MikeDearing

Then chose something you like the smell of to polish it back up...

Adamski

Then get him to pledge never to clean it with common household polish again!



Get it? Pledge.....

skaguitar

I have a distant memory that apparently those freshener cloth type things you put in the tumble dryer with your clothes work quite well by laying them in the case with the guitar for a couple of days........of course that could be old age creeping in and I may have that completely wrong....

starwarsnosebleed

Chuck a load of tea bags in the case with it.
Soaks up moisture, and should neutralise the smell a bit.

earwighoney

@Jez6345789

Do you smoke?  If you don't then I'd recommend it to smoke some cigarettes in a room where you will clean the guitar.  

pintspiller

burn the damned thing and get it over with!!

i'd probably leave the case open in the garage to get some air around it. would teatree oil rubbed over it kill any bacteria that could be growing on it?

Sarge

@underdog nailed it first time, baking soda or Bicarbonate of soda (yes there's a difference) coat the inside of the case with it, remove all strings, knobs and plastics from the guitar and lay it in the case, vacuum it out completely eaxh day for a few days.
I've done this a couple of times and it wirks beautifully, degunk the fretboard with lemon/mineral oil and a toothbrush and buff dry, more bicarb on the board and in the case it goes.

ESchap

Been through this before with crusty old Gibsons.  Only solution is to remove the years of built up decaying silicone polish with a mild abrasive,  I've used T-cut very successfully.  It's the only way to get rid of the smell completely and for it not to return.  Guitar will also look a lot better for it!

p90fool

Not that I own any, or have ever polished a guitar really, but what's wrong with Pledge?

paulnb57

p90fool said:

Not that I own any, or have ever polished a guitar really, but what's wrong with Pledge?

It smells.......

richardhomer

p90fool;1055184" said:

Not that I own any, or have ever polished a guitar really, but what's wrong with Pledge?

As I understand it, it is silicone based, which is not advisable on nitro finishes.

It can permeate the finish and cause problems if refinishing work is required. They also 'build up' with repeated use - which sounds like the issue here.

drwiddly

Pledge contains a blend of waxes that build up over time. The only household polishes I've ever seen recommended for cleaning guitars are Mr Sheen and Sparkle because neither contain waxes.

Once the build up of wax and/or silicone is there, the only way to remove it is something like T-Cut and bicarbonate is the best thing for getting the smell out of the case.

p90fool

Ah ok, just wondered

shamus26

I've no idea how to clean the case,steam perhaps?.But you can clean the Guitar body with Toothpaste and a fine microfibre cloth (Aldi or Lidl sell them).Flush out any hard to get at places like the Bridge or around the pickups and Tuners etc with Servisol switch cleaner.Scrub the Frets and Board with a Toothbrush.DON'T use Lemon oil on the fretboard instead use Music Nomad F-One fretboard conditioner (it's the Dogs Bollocks believe me).You might need to do this Two or three times if its really dirty.Nick some of those little round cotton wool pads off the Mrs to apply and clean it with.Finally polish your Guitar with some Meguiars Quik Detailer from a car shop or Ebay.Now every time you finish playing it wipe it over with another Microfibre cloth.Don't waste your money on anymore polishes or cleaning products.Just give it a wipe over with the Meguires Quik Detailer when the Guitar gets dirty again.

Cabicular

Take the guitar out clean it with a damp microfibres cloth until it wiped clean (will take a good few runs)
Then polish it with some decent guitar polish (loads in the market to choose from)
Take case into the back garden
Apply fire until it is completely gone
Purchase replacement case

monoamine

Get rid of the case. The clean the guitar as mentioned above.

musicman100

Jez6345789 said:

My friend recently pulled out his trusty old 74 Les Paul custom as I had not played it for years and wanted to reacquaint myself with it.

Back in the day he gigged the crap out of it playing 3-5 gigs per week pubs, clubs, bars, pretty much 50 weeks per year. 

But as it was his pride and joy he always looked after it and regularly cleaned and polished it.

As he got it out the spare room he said you might like it still but you wont like the smell. 

Well its still a nice guitar but it stinks, he cleaned it for years with Pledge then when he retired it probably spent 5 years in the case untouched. 

Cleaning with normal guitar polish has not improved the stink which is something like rancid polish, wd40 and mildew. He has had it airing in the back room for the last year and it still radiates this sickly stink. The case has the same stink if not worse. The guitar is in good condiiton.

Anyone have any ideas of a way to lessen this normal stuff like febreeze in the case did not work and standard guitar polish has not changed it. 

I asked why the hell he used Pledge and it was after he read an article back in the 70's where Jimmy D Aquisto was asked the best way to look after one of his guitars. 

All suggestions welcome I would like to play it without a mask :-)

Most importantly, is the case the original? If so do not throw it away that's just stupid. All my vintage vintage guitars small but that's because thier old that's all.