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  • Cleaning up a guitar after a fire, question.

    A friend of mine's house caught fire today and ruined the house but, his guitars are fine, well sort of. They have some soot on them and was wondering if anybody has had good luck removing it. It's just a little bit up on the headstock of an RR3 and an Ibby. Nothing burnt just want to clean it up. I have to clean up an AVT50 and matching cab and some pedals also. Any ideas would be great. Thanks guys.
    I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

  • #2
    Anybody?
    I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

    Comment


    • #3
      Microfibre cloth and naptha?
      It's all about the blues-rock chatter.

      Originally posted by RD
      ...so now I have this massive empty house with my Harley, Guns, Guitar and nothing else...

      Comment


      • #4
        I would try virtuoso polish on the headstock, and maybe contact cleaner for the tolex... good luck!
        Enjoying a rum and coke, just didn't have any coke...

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        • #5
          If he has homeowners insurance, they should pay to have them cleaned by a restoration company. Those companies can do amazing things.
          "You have a pud..your wife has a face. Next time she bitches..I'd play cock bongos on her cheeks..all four of them!" - Bill Z.
          I just just had a sudden urge to sugga dick..! If I wore that guitar and didn't suck male genitalia..somethin' is very wrong! - Bill Z.

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          • #6
            Hey guys thanks, he doesn't have home owners just property insurance. So I took all of his equipment to try and clean it up for him.
            I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by tomanyjacksons View Post
              A friend of mine's house caught fire today and ruined the house but, his guitars are fine, well sort of. They have some soot on them and was wondering if anybody has had good luck removing it. It's just a little bit up on the headstock of an RR3 and an Ibby. Nothing burnt just want to clean it up. I have to clean up an AVT50 and matching cab and some pedals also. Any ideas would be great. Thanks guys.
              Heat damage? Check neck for straightness and check body for cracks and any other damage because even if they weren't directly in the fire, the heat from the fire can still mess them up. Plus plastic parts of course. Check wiring and pups for heat damage.

              Soap and water first for cleaning soot. A lot of people are surprised at how effective this can be. Should be easier to clean finished neck than a raw one. If the finish was removed from the neck for a smooth raw neck, then that shit's in the wood and you're not getting it out without light sanding.


              If they're too damaged because of soot and shit, just tell your friend to sell them for twice their normal value as "relic condition" guitars that have been "carbonized."

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks Sephiroth. I didn't put much thought into that.
                I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Back when I had a band, my drummer's house suffered a small fire in his bedroom where he kept his $25K drum kit. While the drums didn't get any fire, a couple of the heads melted from the heat, and the shells had water in them from the Fire Department.

                  After it was over and he replaced the heads, he found the drums had a slightly different tone, which he liked. Seems that heat-treating them was a good idea. However, with no idea of the amount of heat they actually received, and for how long, and how quickly they were cooled, etc etc, it's not something you could just run out and develop a process for.

                  At any rate, soot can usually be blown off with canned air, especially for the amp guts. Definitely want to pass a soft brush over the board/components to loosen up the particles and get any out from under the resistors and such. ICs may have to be removed if they're in sockets, otherwise just try your best to get under them.

                  If anyone set off a fire extinguisher (dry powder), that stuff is corrosive to electronic equipment, so the sooner and more thoroughly it's cleaned, the better.
                  Might want to look at hosing down the guts with some contact cleaner and chasing it with canned air.
                  I want to depart this world the same way I arrived; screaming and covered in someone else's blood

                  The most human thing we can do is comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

                  My Blog: http://newcenstein.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    $25K for a drum kit? And who says guitars are expensive LOL! Shit, $25K would buy you a 1950's Les Paul.

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                    • #11
                      Cool, thanks Newc.
                      I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by DonP View Post
                        $25K for a drum kit? And who says guitars are expensive LOL! Shit, $25K would buy you a 1950's Les Paul.
                        This thing was huge - 13 drums and 12 cymbals, and a rack to mount everything on. He modeled it after Eric Carr's kit. Had 4 kicks bolted end-to-end in pairs, so it was 2 36" long floor cannons
                        He really studied various shell constructions and spec'd each piece. The higher toms used different wood than the lower and floor toms for tonal consistency (think he said the lower ones were maple for tighter tone and the higher were birch? can't recall now)
                        IIRC he said the snare was 9" deep, but I forget what it was made of. Definitely not your off-the-shelf kit.
                        I want to depart this world the same way I arrived; screaming and covered in someone else's blood

                        The most human thing we can do is comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

                        My Blog: http://newcenstein.com

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Jayster View Post
                          I would try virtuoso polish on the headstock, and maybe contact cleaner for the tolex... good luck!
                          Tell me, howd that work for you? Too soon? Sorry.
                          HTTP 404 - Signature Not Found

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by tomanyjacksons View Post
                            A friend of mine's house caught fire today and ruined the house but, his guitars are fine, well sort of. They have some soot on them and was wondering if anybody has had good luck removing it. It's just a little bit up on the headstock of an RR3 and an Ibby. Nothing burnt just want to clean it up. I have to clean up an AVT50 and matching cab and some pedals also. Any ideas would be great. Thanks guys.
                            I know I'm really late in replying...

                            There is this stuff in a can you can get at an automotive store, or at Walmart. Tuff-Stuff. It eats through grime and tobacco and can clean some horrid carpet stains. It works wonders on just about everything.

                            That stuff and a microfiber. I use it to clean expensive sunglasses. I use it on my monitor and TVs. I clean cabinets, walls, linoleum... It's decently powerful but I've never had a bad reaction with any surface. I've used it on all of my guitar bodies for years now without any ill effects.

                            It's much better than commercial glass cleaner, but it can leave streaks on glass and shiny surfaces if you don't wipe them down properly.

                            I usually buy 3-4 cans at a time. Wonderful stuff.
                            The 2nd Amendment: America's Original Homeland Defense.

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                            • #15
                              Cool, thanks xeno.
                              I want to go out nice and peaceful in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming and hollering like the passengers in his car.

                              Comment

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