New Martin 000-16GT doesn't smell that great

[sab]

Just a stab at the science... Small molecules are responsible for the odor. Those that had adsorbed onto guitar or case surfaces, must desorb, then diffuse to your nose. If you place a solid (activated carbon or wood chips or whatever), the odor molecule must desorb from the guitar and diffuse (through the air) to the carbon and be adsorbed. This is mostly true even if the solid is in contact with the guitar. This can be a slow process. Since you have to wait on the desorption, you may as well speed up the diffusion process with good ventilation (a fan for instance). So I see little use for filling your guitar or case with messy powders.

Adsorption on solids (both onto the guitar/case or activated carbon) is usually an exothermic process, which means that the solid holds the most at lower temperatures. Conversely, heat helps release the odor molecules. For cases, I left a smelly one open in my hot attic for a year - took care of the problem. Guitars - warm (not too warm) should help along with good ventilation. Place a small fan to stir up the air inside the guitar. Be patient and wait.

[Kyle215]

I know that naphtha is good for gloss finishes… 000-16 has satin back and sides though. I’d confirm that it’s ok to use before you do. (I don’t know if it is or isn’t, just pointing this out)

[WebertRLZ]

Originally Posted by Raj the Smiler

Potpourri was mentioned. Be very careful with it. Some types have some sort of (unknown to me) oils in the wood that will WRECK your finish. Personal experience

Good to know, thank you for pointing this out.

[WebertRLZ]

Originally Posted by sab

Just a stab at the science...

Nice, very nice. This makes it a lot clear to me on how to proceed and what to expect.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by Kyle215

I know that naphtha is good for gloss finishes… 000-16 has satin back and sides though. I’d confirm that it’s ok to use before you do. (I don’t know if it is or isn’t, just pointing this out)

Exactly....thats why I recommended contacting Martin before using naphtha.

[WebertRLZ]

I have contacted Martin, they will not officially recommend anything to remove smell.

They can only recommend cleaning the whole guitar with a lightly damp cloth, using their polish & finish and detailer products on the glossy top and only damp cloth on the Satin finsih.

I removed the strings, cleaned it all with a damp cloth. I am now ventilating the guitar and the case. The case sits outside on my balcony, open, where the weather is cool-ish, no direct sunlight and no rain, only wind. The guitar I put on a stand, facing the open window to get some fresh air.

I will do this everyday for a couple of weeks.

[WebertRLZ]

Thank you all for the great responses,

I let the guitar breathe a lot, left it on a stand out of the case for all these weeks,

I left the case open in the sun for a few days too.

All bad smells are gone now. Cheers!

Webert