Used guitar, cigarette smoke smell - need your input

[steve_k]

I am just glad to get something that hasn't been mauled, crushed, smashed or mutilated by UPS or Fedex when it gets here.

 

[glip22]

Ionizer is the best solution here thus far - case and guitar - locked down and left to the radicals that are ions. Good call.

I love cigarettes... My only complaint with cigarettes is they're not water proof

Mo

Before this I would clean th eshit out of everything. Fabreeze is a bad idea. Any chemical really. Take it to the ozone room Ryan.

 

[RSRD]

It's completely irresponsible for a seller not to mention that the guitar was kept in a smokey environment. You should state all defects and damages when selling something online, and smoke odor in definitely damage.

+1,000

Im calling bullshit on those of you who think its okay for someone to sell a guitar that smells like ass or cigarettes without saying so. That's hiding something. Hiding something is a reason in having to take your item back.

And for those of you who say thats how it used to be...yeah... we also had the plague in the 14th century that killed about 100+million people...should we revisit that time as well

 

[RSRD]

I purchased a used guitar off of TGP. I opened up the box and you could instantly smell the cigarette smoke. Of course the fretboard, body, everything reeks of it. I am thinking about sending this e-mail to the seller:

Overall I am happy with the Dano. I mean it looks and sounds fantastic. I can't really play it much though, it smells of smoke pretty bad. It's on my fingers now, can't really get it off. I'm going to be leaving it out with fabric softener wrapped around it. I hope that works. I really wish you would have said something about the smokey environment. I am one of those people who just can't handle the smell, it literally makes me gag. If the smell doesn't subside I will have to demand a refund which I would hope and assume you'd understand. Sorry to be so emotional about this but it is something that is unbearable to me. I'll send you an update in a couple days.

Am I being unreasonable here? I feel like I might be a little bit here...? Just wanted some input before I send it out. Don't want to come off as unreasonable. Seems like this kind of thing should be mentioned in an ad...?

BTW, hoff, if you decide you really want the refund and have trouble getting it, PM me the guys name on TGP and i'll see if I can help.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

as it was mentioned before smokers don't smell so they are oblivious to the smell of smoke just as cat owners can't smell cats...sorry cat owners, your house smells like cat shit/piss/kitty litter you just cant smell it

 

[sam hain]

I bought a real nice ESP that reeked of old cigarettes. I asked a friend of mine who has a disaster/crime scene cleanup company how to rid the cigarette smell. He uses white vinegar and charcoal to neutralize the smell along with some good cleaning using the solution below. So what I did was...

Get a Tupperware bin that the entire guitar could fit in. Took off the strings and opened up the PUPS. Placed a few saucers of white vinegar in the Tupperware, then placed the guitar in there for a week. I then threw a few big chunks of raw charcoal.

I pulled it out a week later and cleaned it pretty well using this solution,1 gallon of warm water, 1/2 cup plain ammonia, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 1/4 cup washing soda....but could still smell the cigarettes, so I repeater the process along with another good cleaning. This time the smell was gone. Worked well.

 

[Anonymous]

try giving the whole guitar a rubdown of lighter fluid (NOT THE FRETBOARD THOUGH, just use lemon oil for rosewood or ebony, or a rag with warm soapy water for maple or light woods).

then, hit it with a diluted, but still bubbly solution of dawn dish washing detergent and warm water on a rag. rinse with a warm rag.....and you should be good to go.

i'd leave the case outside for however long, as it'll probably take much longer to get it off that than the guitar itself.

to me, febreeze just masks the odor, and doesn't do much to remove the cause of the smell.

 

[Knockout]

I used to trade bunch of Jacksons with guy who smoked: pot, sigs, salmon... The guitars smelled like shit, but I was getting deals from him I could not refuse so I had to go with it. I cleaned the guitars with Gibson guitar polish and it help kill the smell for the first couple days, then it gets less and less notieceble. In about two weeks guitars were fine, cases took way longer, but I never really took them outside or anything.
Just remember those ddays when you used to go to used guitar store to trade something, that smell is kinda nostalgic...

 

[glip22]

as it was mentioned before smokers don't smell so they are oblivious to the smell of smoke just as cat owners can't smell cats...sorry cat owners, your house smells like cat shit/piss/kitty litter you just cant smell it

Have to disagree with you on the cats. If you know what you are doing you will not have one issue. The trick is to have males only and get them neutered before they start spraying, even once. I have three Bengals and you would never know they live here by any smell. First off they do not smell. Their survival in the wild depends on it. They are insane about using the box and covering. They freakin dig to the bottom of a large cement mixing pan before going. They barely shed at all. You can hold one of them with a sweater on and you will not have a hair on you. So you are incorrect about your cat statement. Bengal cats are flat out awesome animals to own. Now the shit part. You think Grandpa can light the toilet up Bengal shit You'd be proud of yourself.

 

[iplayloudly]

Personally I doubt the smell will ever completely go away on its own. I used to play drums in a band that played in smokey bars a lot (I don't smoke personally), and after I quit the band, I literally had to sand down the shells and refinish them to get the smell to go away.

Another story... I bought a Taylor acoustic about 10 years ago that smelled like vanilla. It was quite a strong smell too. Like you could open the case and smell it across the room. Most of the time I leave it out of its case, hanging on the wall. 10 years later, it STILL smells like vanilla. No idea what the previous owner did to it. It smells good though, and its an amazing guitar, so its never really bothered me that much.

 

[guitarobert]

Ran into that situation once but I wanted the guitar badly so I kept it. Actually, the smell ended up going away. I aired out the case and left the guitar on a stand outside of the case for a while. Sprayed a couple of squirts of "That New Car Smell" spray by Ozium into the case. No lie - it's the best odor neutralizer! Don't get the regular Ozium, get the one that says "That New Car Smell" on it. 1 or 2 sprays of that in the case, let it air out. The smell should be reduced greatly.

 

[Anonymous]

my buddy has a yamaha bass that almost 25 years later STILL smells like donuts!!

it don't help that he's a cop ahahha!

 

[155]

return it asap that would drive me f'in insane

 

[Shawn Lutz]

my buddy has a yamaha bass that almost 25 years later STILL smells like donuts!!

it don't help that he's a cop ahahha!

lol

 

[The Hoff]

Seems like you guys are as split on this as I am.

As an update:
I wrapped the fretboard with dryer sheets and let it air out for three days. Funny thing is, the mixture of the cig smell and the dryer sheet makes it smell like fritos.

Tonight I am going to give it a good wipe down with windex and then polish it/clean it with my Dunlop cleaning set. I think I'm going to be able to get the smell out.

But yeah, I decided to just let it be. While I agree that it should have been mentioned, I just as easily could have asked. I've learned my lesson. Thanks for all the input guys.

 

[The Hoff]

my buddy has a yamaha bass that almost 25 years later STILL smells like donuts!!

it don't help that he's a cop ahahha!

That's awesome!

 

[Mailman1971]

I bought an Original Charvel San Dimas Demartini "skull and blood" *Not the reissue* but from the 80's....
paid $1200 for it.....it came in REAKING of smoke but other then normal wear.....it was fine.
I kept cleaning it....bought a new case for it....kept cleaning it....
It was fine after a while.
That smell will subside.

 

[The Hoff]

I bought an Original Charvel San Dimas Demartini "skull and blood" *Not the reissue* but from the 80's....
paid $1200 for it.....it came in REAKING of smoke but other then normal wear.....it was fine.
I kept cleaning it....bought a new case for it....kept cleaning it....
It was fine after a while.
That smell will subside.

Looking forward to it.

It'll be worth the work and te inconvenience because this thing is a player.

 

[RSRD]

Seems like you guys are as split on this as I am.

As an update:
I wrapped the fretboard with dryer sheets and let it air out for three days. Funny thing is, the mixture of the cig smell and the dryer sheet makes it smell like fritos.

Tonight I am going to give it a good wipe down with windex and then polish it/clean it with my Dunlop cleaning set. I think I'm going to be able to get the smell out.

But yeah, I decided to just let it be. While I agree that it should have been mentioned, I just as easily could have asked. I've learned my lesson. Thanks for all the input guys.

Man, i have bought and SOLD a lot of gear in my days but not ONCE have I asked (or someone asked me) if the equipment smelled like cigarrettes...... dont blame yourself. Just a shitty seller IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

on another note, you could have your mom tell you (mind you, im 38 years old and quit smoking like 7 years ago!!!!!!!!)
"you need to start smoking again so you start feeling better and stop getting sick all the time".

so, by my mom's rationale, just start smoking, it won't bother you anymore!