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  #16  
Old 10-02-2022, 08:25 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Originally Posted by wrench68 View Post
Yes, they look like they'll work fine. Don't be shy about the low price. The pieces I used were four for a dollar at the local dollar store.

To drive my point home, the guitar I saved with this wasn't just smelly, it was stone dead. I left it outside overnight a foot away from a smoldering wood fire. Actually, I didn't leave it, I was there with it. Don't ask.
LOLOLOL

This is cigarette or cigar smoke... but I'll give these a shot. Thanks
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  #17  
Old 10-02-2022, 10:12 PM
BluesKing777 BluesKing777 is offline
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Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
Recently bought a guitar and case that stink of smoke. So far Ozium is not cutting it to get rid of the smoke smell.

Suggestions?
What sort of guitar? What sort of case?

Ciggie smell lasts about 200 years I think..... I bought 'Old Stinky' - 1959 Gibson LG3 years back and the previous owner must have chained smoked in to the guitar and the case and then died and was buried with both in a swamp or something.

So, case was aired outside patio for weeks really....

Guitar was aired in the living room by the window for ages, had the 'dried rice thrown in and swirled around and emptied' treatment suggested on this very forum, aired more, then a drop or two of very, very strong pure real Sandalwood Oil was sprinkled in the guitar. (My Better Half's suggestion).....

Got a bit better, except on hot days the guitar warming up is like it is getting ripe!

I put 2 Robert Timms expresso coffee bags in the guitar and case, regularly replaced. Good if you like coffee smells.


Now, years later, it is OK, but I think the guitar would need to be out of the case permanently and live in the living room corner by the window to be truly free of it.

BluesKing777.

Last edited by BluesKing777; 10-02-2022 at 10:18 PM.
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  #18  
Old 10-03-2022, 08:04 AM
catndahats catndahats is offline
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as others have suggested, the ozone generator from what I have read is supposed to work quite well.
Back in the smoky bar days, I found that charcoal briquettes left in the case, coffee, and baking soda were fairly effective. Wiping the guitar down repeatedly took the top layer of yuck away eventually.

If you think cig smoke is gross, I once bought an old resonator that must have lived in a bar or brothel. I bought it outside and did not notice the smell until I opened the case at home. Somehow it reeked of cologne/cheap perfume (probably to mask the smoke smell). I tried everything mentioned above to get rid of the smell, and nothing gave a quick 100% solution. Got rid of the old case, and after about 2yrs of being left out in clean air the odor eventually went away...it was gross!
Best of luck with your project.
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  #19  
Old 10-03-2022, 08:12 AM
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Mr. Jelly Mr. Jelly is offline
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Bake it in the sun without the guitar in it. Open of course. That's the old school natural way to do it.
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  #20  
Old 10-03-2022, 08:18 AM
rollypolly rollypolly is offline
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I probably wouldn't out the guitar in the case anymore. The case could be where most of the smell is, in the interior lining. I bet the guitar would air out on its own pretty fast, but don't put it back in the case.
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  #21  
Old 10-03-2022, 08:27 AM
rmp rmp is offline
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The case might be too far gone.

you could try Febreze, and as much sun light and fresh air as you can, but it's a slow process

I had a case that reeked that my '78 Alvarez Yari came in back in '89, I replaced it and threw the old smelly case away.

the guitar eventually lost the smell It was pretty bad when I got it tho.

Either way I'd be case shopping if I were you.
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  #22  
Old 10-03-2022, 12:49 PM
upsidedown upsidedown is offline
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I've never been able to 100% de-funkify a stinky guitar case. Tried just about everything too.

I'd buy a new case.
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  #23  
Old 10-03-2022, 01:01 PM
Kinda Old Kinda Old is offline
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I would say... Don't sweat the small stuff. However, I still feel your pain.
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  #24  
Old 10-03-2022, 01:03 PM
GCWaters GCWaters is offline
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Open box of baking soda in the case worked for me....
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  #25  
Old 10-03-2022, 02:24 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Originally Posted by upsidedown View Post
I've never been able to 100% de-funkify a stinky guitar case. Tried just about everything too.

I'd buy a new case.
You'd buy a new Calton for $1500? Yeah, I doubt it.
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  #26  
Old 10-03-2022, 02:42 PM
Meursault Meursault is offline
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Originally Posted by Rolph View Post
A common houseplant called Pothos, left in the closed case, may reduce the intensity of the smell. Baking soda scrub will lessen it as well. Good luck, I hate when that happens and it isn't disclosed. Maybe smokers are oblivious to it.
Didn’t know this. I have three golden pothos and one satin pathos so I’m set if I ever get a smelly guitar. (Hope it’s not the one coming tomorrow though &#128514

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  #27  
Old 10-03-2022, 03:12 PM
upsidedown upsidedown is offline
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You'd buy a new Calton for $1500? Yeah, I doubt it.
Silly me! I should have scrolled down to post #7 to find out it was a Calton.
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  #28  
Old 10-03-2022, 04:36 PM
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This is a very common question with a never-ending stream of well-intentioned, but wrong, answers.

You don't need anything to mask the smell. You need something to remove the particles that create the smell. Charcoal or baking soda will absorb scent particles that are in the air but will not remove them from their source.

The only "real" way to effectively remove them is to "burn" them off.

UV light can do this on the surface but will go no deeper than the light penetrates.

The best way is to use an ozone generator (aka "ozonator").

This is what every professional cleaning company, car shop, hotel all use.

They are machines that use a plasma arc to energize oxygen and make the O2 molecules rearrange into O3 molecules which are less stable.

These O3 molecules have an "extra" oxygen molecule. The molecules can penetrate into (literally) molecular size holes and go fully into a material where all particles are.

The extra oxygen molecule is very reactive and attaches to anything around it, oxygenating it (or "burning" it).

To do this properly you need a small closed space with a supply of fresh air (from which to grab oxygen). You need to run this process for a few hours. Then you need to air the area out until the O3 all dissipates.

O3 is not toxic but it is HIGHLY irritant and will irritate your lungs and throat.

I place my ozonater in my car. I leave the window open about 2" and run the extension cord through there. I place my stinky item in the car and set the time for 4-6 hours. Then I let everything air out - usually overnight.

My items and car always are perfectly clean by the next day.

I got my ozonator for $99
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  #29  
Old 10-03-2022, 05:08 PM
SoCalSurf SoCalSurf is offline
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I purchased a used SJ-200 that was only a few years old but came in a case that was at least 10 years old. It must have toured a million bars (the case, that is, not the guitar). I put the case outside in the dry Southern California winter and it didn't take more than a couple days for the intense cigarette smoke to clear. I was shocked such a simple approach worked so effectively.

The guitar still has all kinds of mojo.
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  #30  
Old 10-03-2022, 05:12 PM
leew3 leew3 is offline
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Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
Do you think this would do? https://www.amazon.com/100-Natural-B...%3D%3D&sr=8-10

Other choices include way more bags than I need and are more than double the price.
These should do the trick. I wish I'd known about them before I bought way too much activated charcoal at the pet store after a particularly fragrant gig at a cigar lounge. It worked, but it wasn't cheap!
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