Musty Case

Hi guys,

Over 20 years ago I bought a gig bag for my Precision. (This was back in the days when you could walk onto an airplane with a guitar on your shoulder and they would let you put it in the overhead locker or hang it with the coats.)

All this time the empty hard case has been parked in the loft/garage and now when I would like to start using it again I find the damp has left it smelling really musty. Any thoughts on how I can restore that nice guitar case (new car?) smell?

Cheers

First of all, on sunny days lay it out open someplace to "dry" out and get fresh air.

At nights when you bring it in, put a couple of those dryer sheets in it and close it up.

Repeat a few days. Should take care of it.

what Teletim911 said + a hefty sprinkle of baking soda will absorb smell. Just shake or vacuum it out after a day or so.

what Teletim911 said + a hefty sprinkle of baking soda will absorb smell. Just shake or vacuum it out after a day or so.

+1000. Had to do this with an old Fender Coronado several times.

If you like the smell of fresh coffee ...
Some plates with fresh "roast and ground coffee" put into the case might help as well!
The only thing I don't know if you have "roast and ground coffee" in Tasmania like we have in Germany. The "coffee culture" in English speaking countries is very different to our German coffee culture. Instant coffee won't do ...

If you like the smell of new cars ...
The smell can be bought in sray cans! They are used by people who want to sell used cars. Maybe you get such a spray in a car accessory shop???

Thinking about coffee flavoured guitars (and yes, there is a lively cafe culture in Tasmania and I have some beans in the fridge) why not vanilla? Cloves and cinnamon for a Christmassy effect? The possibilities. We might be onto something! Thanks guys for your advice. I think you can get a sprayon product for removing the doggy smell from furniture which might be worth a try, and the automotive supply places here probably have the "new car in a jar", but I am liking the suggestions involving stuff that is already in the pantry or free. It is supposed to be high summer, and the sun is shining (though the forecast is for snow - on the mountains at least!) so said case is out on the deck trying to get a tan. I'm grinding coffee.

:oops: Was reading fast and I thought this thread was about a Soundgarden song...

Hi simond,

the smell of the coffee is the minor thing about it!
It won't with coffee beans!

The roast and ground coffee has a very fine and large surface area!
The same effect as with baking soda I think??? ...

That's the key to get the bad smell out. The coffee smell would just be an add-on ...

To remove the smell, skip the beans, go straight to the baking soda. Ask yourself this, "is baking soda or coffee beans used in cat litter?"
There's your answer.

Speaking of cat litter, I have heard it is good for absorbing smells. Buy a bag, fill your case, shut it up for a week or so, but it is hard to get rid of that musty smell.

Speaking of cat litter, I have heard it is good for absorbing smells. Buy a bag, fill your case, shut it up for a week or so, but it is hard to get rid of that musty smell.

It will absolutely work, but as a cat owner, I'm afraid the smell is permanently subconsciously tied to a specific act that must be performed several times a week that I'm not particularly fond of doing. It might make the reptillian portion of my brain want to stop playing guitar.

--that is if you buy scented cat litter, of course.

Drier sheets work alright but then your case smells like your socks and shorts.

I had this problem with an old musty hard shell 70s Fender case I picked up for $10.00.
I tied the sunshine bit for several days, dryer sheets, and spray on fresher. Nothing worked.:cry:
If the case got wet and the foam and fabric liner got damp like my case, you have a mold problem, believe me, that goes right thru the foam, the cardboard liner and finally into the wood of the hard shell.
You have to remove everything and strip her down to the bare wood. Bleach out the mold and let the wood dry. Then primer coat the wood to seal in any smell you may have missed. Let the primer air out for a couple of weeks. Then replace the cardboard, fabric liner and foam backing with new. It's a big job but not too challenging.
In my case (sorry for the pun) I wanted to keep the old case so it was worth all the work. Velvet fabric (sometimes called costume fabric) was cheap and I found a hot glue gun works best to gluing everything back in.

Thanks Bobbybigmac, I don't know that I want to strip out the guts of my old case as I would like to keep it as original as possible. It is an Australian Fender case - back in the day (1970) they only imported the instruments and sourced the cases locally (and stuck a Fender logo on). Might just store it somewhere dry and get a new case for day to day use.

Bass is back in its case. Still smells a tiny bit musty but not too bad. I dressed the neck with some Huon Pine oil (Unique Tasmanian product!) which adds a distinct "smart furniture" overtone.

Bass is back in its case. Still smells a tiny bit musty but not too bad. I dressed the neck with some Huon Pine oil (Unique Tasmanian product!) which adds a distinct "smart furniture" overtone.

Wow. I see what you mean by an Aussie case. Definitely not a case as per North American Fenders. Your case has those round corners and fat padding around the neck at the pocket.

Cool bass man. Love it.