Help! I just got
home from a
gig, where a table collapsed, spilling coffee with sugar/cream and red
wine all over the neck of my steel-string acoustic guitar! I
wiped it down quickly with a damp towel to sop up the droplets and the
sugar and such, then used dry paper towels to dry it out as best I
could, but I'm worried and don't know what to do next. I know
I need to replace my strings, the lower ones in particular sound muted
and water-logged, but I'm afraid for my neck! All the web
sites I have found say "Don't let your guitar get wet!" but don't say
what to do IF it does! I'm letting it sit out of its case in
my humidity-controlled house tonight to dry out (also letting the case
dry out!) Other than wiping it with cleaner and a good cloth,
what should I do? Thanks, and I love your site,
Richard E. Moore
I assume this guitar is Nitrocellulose lacquer like Older
Martins, Gibson, or Guild
instruments? If this is the case and the coffee was extremely
hot , you may have scalded the fragile finish and
would need to refinish the neck. IF your guitar has
a finish that is Polyurethane then what we use pretty
effectively is a product called "Trick" polish! This is not
my favorite cleaner/polish but with our Mardi Gras, and different
parades down here with folks spilling all kinds of syrup type
drinks and beer on instruments, I have not found anything better to
use. This stuff will clean off the alcohol in liquor, fruit
punchy mixed drinks, beer, and light mold very well.
The trick here (no pun) is to get the gunk
off quickly , because after a few weeks it can react with the
finishes pretty badly. I have not seen how red wine affects
some lacquers but I assume it will dye nitro lacquer badly!
Also be sure to not Bleed on nitro lacquer if you cut your finger
because this left on the finish can make a permanent stain!!
Donated by: Tim Lawson http://www.timsguitar.com