De-stinking a vintage case and guitar

[Joseph Lazo]

I recently acquired one of my "bucket list" guitars - an Oahu Tonemaster in excellent condition. A major plus was the Geib case that came with it, also in excellent condition. When it arrived, though, both the case and the guitar stunk of mildewy basement. I cleaned the guitar with a damp cloth, then a guitar cleaner/polish and left it and the case out on the balcony for a day. The guitar was pretty much cured of its stink after 3 days, but the case still reeked.

There's a lot online about how to de-funk and clean a case, but the method I used involved these concoctions:



- A bottle of 50/50 water and vinegar: I did about 6 light sprayings of the case interior and left it in the sun to dry, the exterior was sprayed and dried by towel

- A bottle of "Showtime", a cleaner I bought from a door to door salesman years ago...fantastic stuff! Did two cleanings of the case exterior with this. Here's some of what came off:



More removal of vintage gunk:



- A bottle of Turtle Wax Formula 2001 vinyl, plastic and leather protectant. Applied to exterior after 3 cleanings.

- A dab of automotive leather conditioner for the leather parts of the case.

After 3 days of cleaning and de-stinking, the case emits only a faint whiff of basement mildew, and only within one foot of it. Will probably put some baking soda in a lid and set it in the closed case for a day or two.

But look at this beauty!













Original keys:



Why can't they make cases like this today?

Some vintage case candy it came with:





And the Tonemaster looks like it was barely played!









I think the Tonemaster is one of the most aesthetically beautiful lap steels ever made. Sounds and plays great, too.

[Stephen Cowell]

I bought a commercial ozonator... the kind used in hotels. I put the disassembled guitar and open cases in a bathroom closet, locked the machine full ON, and left them in the closet for a week. I ran the bathroom exhaust fan so I didn't have to smell the O3, it's bad for your lungs. Then I stopped the machine and left the stuff in there for another week. Mold smell gone! I did wash the disassembled hardware with dilute bleach too beforehand... I found green powdery mold inside the guitar.

[Joseph Lazo]

I bought a commercial ozonator... the kind used in hotels. I put the disassembled guitar and open cases in a bathroom closet, locked the machine full ON, and left them in the closet for a week. I ran the bathroom exhaust fan so I didn't have to smell the O3, it's bad for your lungs. Then I stopped the machine and left the stuff in there for another week. Mold smell gone! I did wash the disassembled hardware with dilute bleach too beforehand... I found green powdery mold inside the guitar.

Wow, you weren't messing around! I don't know if there's mold inside mine or not. At the moment, it smells like the inside of an antique furniture drawer if I smell it up close. Not bad enough to bother me.

[Bill Groner]

Wow! Beautiful purchase Joe and great job making it look brand new. N JOY!

[Joe A. Roberts]

Nice guitar and interesting post!

With old wind instruments, there is the extra gross factor of dealing with something that someone blew into...

The great Pete Fountain on the clarinet he inherited from the great Irving Fazola:

"Pete tells an interesting story regarding Faz's instrument: "Faz's mother gave me his mouthpiece, which broke later on in years.
Then his mother called me and gave me his clarinet after he died, which is an old Albert system Buffet.

I still have it, but every time I play it, it reeks of garlic. I swear! He loved to eat garlic!
When he died, they put his clarinet in a case. I guess he didn't swab it out too much, and so the garlic just sort of "marinated" in there.

After two or three years his mother gave it to me. I sent it to Leblanc to try to get the garlic smell out, but they couldn't get it out.
It's in the wood. I can take it on stage and play a couple of choruses, but once the wood warms up, the garlic smell comes right out."



Pete later lost that instrument among other things in Katrina...

[Paul Seager]

At the risk of laying myself open for ridicule, my old Granny used to swear that a glass of milk, left standing in close proximity to the offending object, will work wonders!

I've tried this in a room that I once occupied that suffered a moldy smell. I left several glasses over a weekend and, yes there was a noticeable improvement!

Dear Granny never mentioned whether she had experimented with half-fat, half n half etc..

[Kirk Francis]

what an absolutely gorgeous and tastefully designed piece that guitar is--wow!

[Charlie Hansen]

I've used a handful of coffee to get rid of smells. Sprinkle it around and after a day or two vacuum it up. It works for me.

[Joseph Lazo]

At the risk of laying myself open for ridicule, my old Granny used to swear that a glass of milk, left standing in close proximity to the offending object, will work wonders!

I've tried this in a room that I once occupied that suffered a moldy smell. I left several glasses over a weekend and, yes there was a noticeable improvement!

Dear Granny never mentioned whether she had experimented with half-fat, half n half etc..

I never make light of folk remedies, though I've never heard of this one.

[Joseph Lazo]

I've used a handful of coffee to get rid of smells. Sprinkle it around and after a day or two vacuum it up. It works for me.

When you say "a handful of coffee", do you mean used coffee grounds or unused ground coffee? And does it leave a coffee smell at all?

[Joseph Lazo]

what an absolutely gorgeous and tastefully designed piece that guitar is--wow!

Thanks, Kirk. I have to agree with you!

[David Weisenthal]

That's a beautiful set you got there Joseph! Problem is, you made the case so pretty and won't want to use it

Glad the vinegar worked destinking the mildew...good to know.

[Jerry Overstreet]

I recentlly acquired a hsc for acoustic that had a rough cigarette smoke smell. I put one of those Hefty lavender scent garbage bag in there for a few days and closed it up.

Seems to work pretty well. Also leaving a scented dryer sheet in there for now just to make sure.

[Michael Butler]

i've used coffee grounds before. they did a decent job but the best was baking soda. i've used baking soda and vinegar to clean with also.

play music!

[Mark van Allen]

Beautiful guitar! One thing I’ll add about that vintage of Tonemasters- there’s something magical about the ergonomics. I’ve owned literally hundreds of laps over the years, and except for banging into the tone control with the heel of my hand ( I sometimes take off the knob!), they are the most comfortable and Mark-friendly laps I’ve ever played. Just joy.

[Joseph Lazo]

Mark, yes, it does sit nicely on the lap!

I love these Tonemasters. The look, the feel, the sound. I know they're not regarded as "high end" guitars, but every time I play mine I feel like I'm playing a Stradivarius of lap steels.

[Mark van Allen]

Exactly. Just something about the synergy of the parts, scale length, width of the fretboard, etc. I’ve had good luck with Febreeze and drier sheets on stinky cases.

[Joseph Lazo]

Mark, post a pic of yours if you have one!

I know I paid too much for mine at nearly $1k, but I wanted one in exceptional condition with a period-correct case. I don't regret the purchase one bit. It's an absolutely fabulous guitar.