2015 (manufacture date) guitar still off-gassing?

[Steve_Karl]

Hi there,
I bought a used Godin classical guitar in 2018 that was built in 2015 and it still smells nasty.
It's a petro-chemical smell of sorts.

Godin said leave it out of the case on a stand for a while and it will stop but I did that for about a month and then put it back in the case
and now, 2 months later, it's still stinky.

The smell is almost all coming from the sound hole.
It's so bad that I can't really play it for more than a few minutes without getting grossed out.
It's now out on a stand for an other 1 month attempt.

Any ideas on how to cure this would be appreciated.

 

[stratamania]

I am just musing this but charcoal such as you might buy for barbecues can absorb some smells. How you would do it for a guitar though efficiently other than putting some close to the guitar may be a challenge.

 

[Rick]

Damn, the smell is coming out of the soundhole! Stop feeding it tacos.

But seriously, sounds to me like it's an issue with the glue.  I'd leave it out, put in odor eater stuff, maybe sachets filled with lavander, cloves or someting, and then aim a high powered fan right at the sound hole.  Just go to work in the morning, turn the fan on, and see what happens at the end of a month.  It needs airing. 

 

[BroccoliRob]

I say hit it with some frebreeze lol. that stuff works wonders. Especially after gettin' down deeper under the Goblin Bunker Thunder Dumpster (that's what my new EP is gonna be called and i get really sweaty when recording/performing it, hence the need for a freshening of air)

 

[garytlove]

Putting it in the oven should speed up the curing process. :headbanging:

If it hasn't stopped stinking in six years...  you may be SOL.

 

[Sadie-f]

I'd be surprised that the glue would be petroleum based, whatever it is, Steve can you narrow down at all what flavor of noxious? Gasoline? Kerosene? Epoxy? Those are relatively easy to recognize, urethane has a less distinct but still identifiable scent.

Then there are the xylene, hexane, and chlorinated solvents, all pretty recognizable, but those also flash off pretty quick too.

I'd leave both case open and guitar out for a couple months, whichever is the source will have been giving it to the other, the case at least doesn't mind if you leave it in a cold attic.

 

[Seamas]

I was manufactured in 1967 and am outgassing more than ever.

 

[DuckBaloo]

I am just musing this but charcoal such as you might buy for barbecues can absorb some smells. How you would do it for a guitar though efficiently other than putting some close to the guitar may be a challenge.

Activated charcoal is sold just for this purpose. They sell packets of the stuff for odor absorption. Throw them in the guitar or case, close case, change out as needed.

But the OP's issue really doesn't seem *normal*. 6 years? Something went wrong in making that guitar (or with its first owner).

 

[TBurst Std]

The OP didn’t mention when he left it out of the case for a month if the smell dissipated. 

A thought, maybe the case is the culprit

 

[stratamania]

I am just musing this but charcoal such as you might buy for barbecues can absorb some smells. How you would do it for a guitar though efficiently other than putting some close to the guitar may be a challenge.

Activated charcoal is sold just for this purpose. They sell packets of the stuff for odor absorption. Throw them in the guitar or case, close case, change out as needed.

But the OP's issue really doesn't seem *normal*. 6 years? Something went wrong in making that guitar (or with its first owner).

Even better if you can buy it like that.

 

[Steve_Karl]

I'd be surprised that the glue would be petroleum based, whatever it is, Steve can you narrow down at all what flavor of noxious? Gasoline? Kerosene? Epoxy? Those are relatively easy to recognize, urethane has a less distinct but still identifiable scent.

Then there are the xylene, hexane, and chlorinated solvents, all pretty recognizable, but those also flash off pretty quick too.

I'd leave both case open and guitar out for a couple months, whichever is the source will have been giving it to the other, the case at least doesn't mind if you leave it in a cold attic.

I'd say it's a more refined smell than gasoline or kerosene.
It's just barely bleach smelling but only a little. Not as harsh as bleach.
Slightly sweet at first, but after a short time I just want to not be near it.

I'm going to get some activated charcoal packets and see if that does anything,
but also leave it out as much as possible.

 

[Steve_Karl]

I am just musing this but charcoal such as you might buy for barbecues can absorb some smells. How you would do it for a guitar though efficiently other than putting some close to the guitar may be a challenge.

Activated charcoal is sold just for this purpose. They sell packets of the stuff for odor absorption. Throw them in the guitar or case, close case, change out as needed.

But the OP's issue really doesn't seem *normal*. 6 years? Something went wrong in making that guitar (or with its first owner).

Well, it's spent most of it's life in the case.
The first owner barely touched it and in the 3 yrs. I've owned it it's only been use a few times.

Great idea on the activated charcoal packets.

 

[Steve_Karl]

The OP didn’t mention when he left it out of the case for a month if the smell dissipated. 

A thought, maybe the case is the culprit

I kind of thought it was getting almost ok after the first month, but I don't thing it's the case.
The case only has a slight hint of the smell.
It's really obvious that it's coming from the inside of the body out through the sound hole.

Charcoal packets sone to be ordered.

 

[TBurst Std]

It was a thought.  I know a major Manufacturer had an issue decades ago with the glue in the case off gassing, even damaging nitro finishes

 

[DuckBaloo]

I'd be surprised that the glue would be petroleum based, whatever it is, Steve can you narrow down at all what flavor of noxious? Gasoline? Kerosene? Epoxy? Those are relatively easy to recognize, urethane has a less distinct but still identifiable scent.

Then there are the xylene, hexane, and chlorinated solvents, all pretty recognizable, but those also flash off pretty quick too.

I'd leave both case open and guitar out for a couple months, whichever is the source will have been giving it to the other, the case at least doesn't mind if you leave it in a cold attic.

I'd say it's a more refined smell than gasoline or kerosene.
It's just barely bleach smelling but only a little. Not as harsh as bleach.
Slightly sweet at first, but after a short time I just want to not be near it.

I'm going to get some activated charcoal packets and see if that does anything,
but also leave it out as much as possible.

Bleach-esque?

A couple of possibilities…

If it smells like strong ammonia, it’s probably cat pee, which will smell for decades on the unfinished wood inside an acoustic and or the fabric in a case.

Formaldehyde potentially used on the glue or carpeting inside case.

 

[electric__steve]

Yeah, I had the same thought about animal urine.  It makes no sense for the guitar to be creating the smell; something happened to it.  And putting activated charcoal inside isn't going to fix the issue.  Not that you want to fill the guitar with Nature's Miracle or another pet odor cleaner.

 

[Steve_Karl]

I'd be surprised that the glue would be petroleum based, whatever it is, Steve can you narrow down at all what flavor of noxious? Gasoline? Kerosene? Epoxy? Those are relatively easy to recognize, urethane has a less distinct but still identifiable scent.

Then there are the xylene, hexane, and chlorinated solvents, all pretty recognizable, but those also flash off pretty quick too.

I'd leave both case open and guitar out for a couple months, whichever is the source will have been giving it to the other, the case at least doesn't mind if you leave it in a cold attic.

I'd say it's a more refined smell than gasoline or kerosene.
It's just barely bleach smelling but only a little. Not as harsh as bleach.
Slightly sweet at first, but after a short time I just want to not be near it.

I'm going to get some activated charcoal packets and see if that does anything,
but also leave it out as much as possible.

Bleach-esque?

A couple of possibilities…

If it smells like strong ammonia, it’s probably cat pee, which will smell for decades on the unfinished wood inside an acoustic and or the fabric in a case.

Formaldehyde potentially used on the glue or carpeting inside case.

I know what both of those smell like and it's not one of them.

 

[stratamania]

Of course if it turns out to be the case that is the case (pun intended) a new case may be the order of the day 

 

[swarfrat]

It may be time to rest your case. I had one when I was a teenager my sister said smelled like "monkey fur". It reeked. It was definitely the case lining.

 

[TBurst Std]

Still waiting to find out, when the guitar was uncased for a month+, did the smell at least diminish? Upon re-entering the case, if the smell intensified, I’d suspect a case.

Fact is, as long as nothing died inside your guitar, any remaining off-gassing would also be evident as the lacquer, etc would not be hard and you would see evidence of that through your handling it most likely.

Glue in the case on the other hand you would not see evidence off.

The fact it comes from the sound hole is really immaterial.  If the guitar is picking up the odor from the case, that’s where it would be strongest, at the sound hole.  That’s the opening to the non-sealed wood (porous).  The outside of the guitar is largely sealed by finish.