Smokey Gibson

[jsm610]

I have an old (early '80s) Gibson Les Paul - great guitar, but the guitar has seen many barroom gigs and smokey rooms. The guitar is pretty yellowed, and it smells like smoke - as will your hands when you play it. I'm assuming that I can remedy that by rubbing it down with naphtha and re-waxing? Or is it better to just leave it out of the smokey case and let the smell weaken over time? Not sure if the scratch-x/zymol process will work on the Gibson finishes? And what is there to know about the ebony board?

Thanks in advance!

[teb]

Smokey Gibson sounds like an old blues player.

[jingle_jangle]

Good one, Todd...

John: The smoke is in the varnish (the wind is in the buffalo...). Getting it out may be tougher than you imagine, because besides being imbedded like the Christian Science Monitor in Fallujah, it's also probably in the control cavity and pickup and wire routs.

Best thing to use here is naphtha, as you suggest, John. I'd also try a citrus oil mixture; Dr. Stringfellow's combines both in a spray bottle, but I think you'd use more than one...a good smell to fight the nicotine.

For reasonable success it might be necessary to disassemble the guitar partly to get under the edges of the pickup rings, guard, knobs, ferrules, truss rod cover, and back cover for the control cavity.

Ebony fretboard? Same treatment, #00 steel wool. A sharpened dowel or popsicle stick to get the crud from around the frets. Tape a glad bag around the body before you use steel wool on the frets.

In the end, it just might take a year or two on a stand or hanger for the smell to go away, even after a complete cleaning. Depends upon how bad it really is...

BTW, can anyone identify the source of my "wind is in the buffalo" digression? Now THAT'S trivia!

[eric_b]

I'd guess it's a reference to the Mike Nesmith movie...

[dswp]

I'd guess it's a reference to the Mike Nesmith movie...

+1

Elephant Parts?

[jingle_jangle]

You old-timers...+1 for yez both!

[scott_s]

They make those Arm & Hammer baking soda containers with a fine-screen window for deodorizing your fridge -- leaving one in the case might help...

You should definitely be wary of removing mojo, however -- you might want it back later!

- Scott

[beatlefreak]

I've heard fabric softener sheets for the dryer work well for removing odors from cases.

[jsm610]

John: The smoke is in the varnish

So what's the thinking with using scratch-x on that Gibson varnish? Good idea or bad?

Thanks again!

[jingle_jangle]

Is the varnish gummy (can you scratch it off using a fingernail)?

If so, nothing will render it glossy. If it's nice and hard, you might want to try 3M Perfect-It 3000 first, then scratch-X. That oughta bring it up reeeel nice.