case maintenance?

Hi guys,

do you guys maintain your hard cases? Every once in a while I get out the gel super glue and a black sharpie and seal up tears in the tolex. I also take some naphtha on a rag and buff off any paint marks from encounters with walls, etc. I also sometimes give them a good vacuuming out. Kind of a case spa day. They look nice and new when I'm done. No Armor All though!

How about you?

[Bluemonk]

I consider it a good day when I go over the cases with a few swipes of the feather duster.

[Ed66]

You're putting in more work than me. I close the closet door in order to keep dust off of them. My cases see very little action and really don't require any maintenance.

Originally Posted by Ed66

Your're putting in more work than me.

When I say "every once in a while" were talking once every few years.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Hi guys,

Every once in a while I get out the gel super glue and a black sharpie and seal up tears in the tolex.

Gaffer's tape does wonders with torn tolex.

Originally Posted by bufflehead

Gaffer's tape does wonders with torn tolex.

Uuuuuugly!

Got the gel superglue and sharpie idea from Dan Erlewine, guitar repair master.

[Peepaw]

I have one case that I have had for close to 40 years.
I think I've wiped it with a damp rag a few times.

[Wade Hampton]

The cases for the instruments that I play in public get used hard, and sometimes need to be repaired. I have a good local shoe and luggage repair shop that I take them to when they need to be repaired or altered. I’ve had hinges, latches and handles replaced when necessary.

Or, with the handles, on a couple of occasions I’ve had an uncomfortable or flimsy handle replaced with a higher quality padded leather one that’s less fatiguing to carry. There was nothing technically “wrong” with the handles that I got rid of, but their replacements were just better and easier to carry.

I’ve also had case handles repositioned slightly so that the case balances better.

When I bought a Martin OM-21 almost twenty years ago, I bought a Geib-style for it from a local Martin Telemarketing dealer. The case fit the guitar perfectly, but the case pocket was so long that I didn’t have room under the headstock of the guitar to fit in the Levy’s padded leather strap that I had bought for the instrument. But there wasn’t enough room inside the case pocket for it, either: it was a fairly bulky strap.

So I took the case to my shoe repairman, showed him the problem, and he shortened the case pocket enough that I could fit the strap where I needed to keep it.

As for the sort of maintenance and cleaning that you were talking about, J-Doug, I do that, as well. It’s been necessary to tape along the edges of most of the oldest and most heavily used guitar cases I own. I don’t try to keep them looking new and pristine, but I do need to keep them completely functional.

Over the years I’ve seen hardshell cases that were originally high quality but have obviously received ZERO maintenance. I’m not just talking about cases missing their handles, though I find that baffling enough. But I’ve seen cases that had the Tolex hanging off the case in sheets. It had clearly abraded along the edges of those cases, but instead of taping along those edges the owners just didn’t bother doing anything.

What slobs!

So, anyway, I’m another person who tries to take care of my cases.


Wade Hampton Miller

[ChrisE]

I take a q-tip and some 3 in 1 oil to the hinges and latches every few years.

[Silly Moustache]

For many years I had a Guild dreadnought case that I kept with my Martin D35, which I sold in '96/7.

The case went into the attic, but a couple of years ago, I checked it out and it had developed mould on the outside.

I tried toclean it off but it kept returning.

Such a great Geib style that would be a great home for my Santa Cruz "RS" (5" deep body.

So I gave it to a friendly upholsterer / leather worker who had done some work on a car seat for me. I supplied some brown Tolex, and all cotton velvet for the interior.

Haven't seen it for over two years!

I'll be seeing him tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

The cases for the instruments that I play in public get used hard, and sometimes need to be repaired. I have a good local shoe and luggage repair shop that I take them to when they need to be repaired or altered. I’ve had hinges, latches and handles replaced when necessary.

Or, with the handles, on a couple of occasions I’ve had an uncomfortable or flimsy handle replaced with a higher quality padded leather one that’s less fatiguing to carry. There was nothing technically “wrong” with the handles that I got rid of, but their replacements were just better and easier to carry.

I’ve also had case handles repositioned slightly so that the case balances better.

When I bought a Martin OM-21 almost twenty years ago, I bought a Geib-style for it from a local Martin Telemarketing dealer. The case fit the guitar perfectly, but the case pocket was so long that I didn’t have room under the headstock of the guitar to fit in the Levy’s padded leather strap that I had bought for the instrument. But there wasn’t enough room inside the case pocket for it, either: it was a fairly bulky strap.

So I took the case to my shoe repairman, showed him the problem, and he shortened the case pocket enough that I could fit the strap where I needed to keep it.

As for the sort of maintenance and cleaning that you were talking about, J-Doug, I do that, as well. It’s been necessary to tape along the edges of most of the oldest and most heavily used guitar cases I own. I don’t try to keep them looking new and pristine, but I do need to keep them completely functional.

Over the years I’ve seen hardshell cases that were originally high quality but have obviously received ZERO maintenance. I’m not just talking about cases missing their handles, though I find that baffling enough. But I’ve seen cases that had the Tolex hanging off the case in sheets. It had clearly abraded along the edges of those cases, but instead of taping along those edges the owners just didn’t bother doing anything.

What slobs!

So, anyway, I’m another person who tries to take care of my cases.


Wade Hampton Miller

Nice to see I'm not the only one!

[foxo]

I like the natural wear and tear my TKL case picks up. It’s taken a bit of a beating over these last few years. There’s a few spots that would benefit from some super glue though, been meaning to fix them up for a while.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Nice to see I'm not the only one!

Oh, no, there are plenty of us.

There’s kind of a funny story related to that Geib-style case case modification. At the time I was active on the UseNet group rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic (RMMGA,) which had no moderators. Subsequently participants could write whatever they wanted, and frequently did.

Anyway, when I posted about modifying the case this one guy came absolutely unglued! I mean, he was really angry and told me that I should have worked around it rather than get the case pocket shortened.

You would have thought I’d painted the guitar candy apple red and mounted a Bigsby whammy bar on the top! Obviously I couldn’t see him through this medium, but it was if he was flecking spittle onto his computer screen he was so angry.

You never know what might set someone off, I guess, but that one really surprised me....


whm

[Wild Bill Jones]

I gotta try Monel’s next on my case.

[Blueser100]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Hi guys,

do you guys maintain your hard cases? Every once in a while I get out the gel super glue and a black sharpie and seal up tears in the tolex. I also take some naphtha on a rag and buff off any paint marks from encounters with walls, etc. I also sometimes give them a good vacuuming out. Kind of a case spa day. They look nice and new when I'm done. No Armor All though!

How about you?

I do this too. I like to keep my cases in excellent condition.