Guitar salvage question

[SwampMusic]

I originally posted this in Cool Jam and was advised to cross post here to see if Freeman or someone else here could provide some input. To be clear about what I'm dealing with, I'll add the following:

*These guitars were all in cases (one gig bag)

*They were leaning against the wall

*They were in @ 8-10 inches of water before I picked them up to drain the cases and stacked them out of the water

* They were exposed to the water for a few hours, to the wet cases probably about 36 hours.

* One acoustic OM-21, solid body set necks, solid body bolt-ons and semi-hollow set necks. (I'd really love to save the semis)

Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks:wave:

 

Original post

 

As you may have noticed on the weather channel recently,SC got a major hosing with last week's rainfall. I suppose I should have taken the "500 year weather event" thing a little more seriously. Anyway, I woke up about 0530 Sunday to about six inches of water in the house. We had to be rescued by the fire department. The house and both vehicles are pretty much toast. Out of ten guitars, I managed to keep two from getting wet. I had left the Alvarez Yairi lying across a chair and the traveler was on loan to a friend. Everything else was leaning up against the wall and wound up in about a foot of water. I drained the cases before abandoning the house and stacked them up across a couple of bar stools. I waded in Monday and got them out and sent them with a friend to be taken out of the cases to start the drying process. He took the drum shells to work on them as well. He's a long time drummer, so I think he'll do OK with those. I haven't had the opportunity to look at the guitars yet to assess the damage. Does anyone know of a resource that describes what to do to try to save them? We had no flood insurance, so I can't spend much to repair or replace them. Any info that would help me save at least one or two of the electrics would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Wow, first, let me say that we've been following the flooding in SC and our thoughts are with everyone affected. I'm glad you are OK and very sorry that you and so many others are being impacted by the floods.

 

I really can't offer a lot of concrete advice. I would try to dry them slowly - put rags inside the acoustics and semi hollows. If you can get some sort of desiccant packs large enough to do some good I would put them inside the sound or f-holes. Do force the drying process with a lot of heat. Take the strings off of everything to remove the tension on the necks, bridges, etc.

 

Things to look out for include glue softening - most modern guitars use AR glue and it is not totally water resistant. If it looks like something is coming apart (neck joint, bridge, braces) I think I would take it apart now, dry it out and reglue it afterwards. As they dry keep a real close eye on neck angle, the dome of the top and back on the acoustics as well as the top and back to side joints and the bridge. You may see some cracks - the wood will expand as it absorbs water, it may crack as it dries.

 

On the electrics I would open every cavity, remove the pups, take the truss rod cover off and spray a little WD40 inside. Metal parts may rust or corrode - you'll probably want to replace electronics or at least spray them with a water absorbing contact cleaner (Radio Shack).

 

Modern finishes should hold up to this pretty well - you may get stains. What I've seen of the flooding the water didn't look very clean - you may want to actually use some clean water to try to get mud and dirt out, then dry them. Open the cases and dry them in the sun - they'll get moldy and stinky. Plywood cases may warp.

 

Rather than trying to diagnose and advise on an internet forum I would suggest taking them to a good luthier (someone who actually builds and repairs) and get their advice on structural issues. But do keep us posted and good luck with everything.

[SwampMusic]

Thanks, Freeman. I will be taking them to someone for repairs, but it will be at least another week before the roads are open (I think) to get there. I was looking for information to minimize the damage as well as what NOT to do until I can get them to someone more knowledgeable. Just to be sure I'm clear on this; I do, or do NOT want to use heat during the drying process? I think my WD40 and contact cleaner was trapped in a closet. Hopefully, it didn't float off to parts unknown. It's amazing how knee high water in a structure can rearrange everything in it. After its all over, I'll try to post some pictures of the survivors. Thanks for the help!

[Freeman Keller]

Warm, probably less that 100 F should be safe, hot probably not. Remember that the way we take necks and bridges off is heat and moisture. As low a humidity as possible - 20 or 30 percent, which we usually think of as way to low for a guitar. If the weather is nice I would consider leaving them outside in the sun. Get the strings off as soon as possible.

 

I remember a thread a while back when there was a big flood in Nashville. Apparently there are a lot of historic instruments stored in the basement of either the Ryman or the Country Music museum and many were damaged much like yours. There was a discussion about how they dealt with that. If I can find it I'll post a link.

 

edit to add - here is a starting point

 

http://www.rsguitarworks.net/cms2/saving-rich-robinsons-335/

 

I remember several articles about these guitars - you might be able to google Nashville flood and guitars to find more information

[SwampMusic]

The strings have been removed. I haven't had any luck gettign my hands on a dessicant, so I'll probably just have to use paper and rags. We're trying to lower the humidity via AC, but keeping it in the 70s. Hopefully, some of them will be playable. Thanks again.