To refinish or not - '05 R9 Brockburst

[alane011]

Hi, I was hoping to get some help on a refinish decision. I just purchased an "05 Brockburst R9. It was a decent price - the guitar is pretty much mint. The problem is even after cleaning and polishing (and changing cases) with Virtuoso - it has a lingering pipe tobacco smell. Not horrible mind you - except for the fact I am allergic to smoke. I am considering an RS refinish and aging in order to get a true nitro finish as well as take care of the smell. I feel its a bit of a shame as the original finish is quite nice. How rare is the Brockburst finish? Would the RS refin increase the value of the guitar? I appreciate any help..

[Boleskinehouse]

I'd leave that alone even if it smelled like doo doo. Too pretty.

[singlecut]

put some charcoal in an open baggie in the case pocket. close it up[case] for a few , change and repeat.

[alane011]

On a separate note I would like to swap out the pickups - I am thinking RS/Fralin true 60's or the straight RS/Fralin PAFs

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by alane011

On a separate note I would like to swap out the pickups - I am thinking RS/Fralin true 60's or the straight RS/Fralin PAFs

i would suggest manlius "fat dianes" yummy

[alane011]

Originally Posted by singlecut

i would suggest manlius "fat dianes" yummy

Thanks alot for your help on both issues - i have a thing of baking soda in there right now.

[pinefd]

Boy, alane, that's a shame...it's such a beautiful guitar and finish. But I can sympathize with you, since I'm very sensitive to smoke odors myself. Are you sure that the smell is coming from the finished part of the guitar body itself? If you put your nose very close to the wood, are you smelling it right there? It's conceivable that the smoke odor is clinging to the non finished parts, like the fingerboard, the plastic and/or the pickup and control cavities, etc. And it would be a shame and a waste if you got the guitar refinished only to find out that it was the fingerboard or other non-finished part that was the offending part. Have you tried taking off all the parts, and wiping the whole guitar down with naptha? That might be worth a try.

Regarding having it refinished by RS, they do some nice work, but there are others I'd consider as well (although RS probably has the quickest turnaround time...if that's a concern of yours). Hard to say on the re-sale value question. It depends a lot on how nice the refin comes out. I've seen some guitars done by RS sit unsold for many months, versus Dave Johnson refins that usually sell a lot faster.

Good luck!


Frank

[alane011]

Frank - thanks alot - The humbuckers do smell - but the back and the top smell more than the fingerboard. I didnt try naptha - I guess i can do that as a last resort.

Andrew

[CzarIvan]

whether or not an rs refin ads to the value is questionable... Historic makeovers are probably some of the few guitars you'll see that sell for well over the stock price. Enough to cover a new guitar plus the cost of the refin and then some... while other refins sell @ stock price or just above it... sometimes not even covering the cost of the guitar+refin.

the color is beautiful... i would try out that charcoal suggestion first. while the guitar would benefit tonally from a refin in proper nitro, the total $$$ put in may be less that the selling price. of course, thats only if you plan on selling it later.

while i'm at it... may i suggest some Shed pups. I have a set of shed zepps that i would not take out of my guitar to save my life (unless i sold the guitar anyways)

p.s. now you're making me want to get another darkburst / tobacco / brock... whatever i can get my hands on.... d'oh!

[decoy205]

I think there are many ways to get odors from your guitar out. First try and leave the guitar out for a while and leave the case open to air out. You can also try these volcano rocks: Zeolite Odor Control Products - Zeolite, nature's odor absorber. i've heard of people using these in guitar cases to get rid of the smoke smell. I think leaving the guitar out in fresh air for a long time will help get rid of the smell on the guitar. the case i would do the charcoal thing or the volcano rocks.

[River]

Activated charcoal is highly effective. I personally don't think you need to save naphtha as a last resort. I've used it for decades with nothing but positive results.

[R9.]

Just stick it in a bucket of soapy water over night.

[Mike60]

I wouldn't refin an '05 Brockburst.The finish on an '05 will cure and harden very nicely.

If you are concerned about "smells", steam clean the case interior or sell it and get another one.Polish the guitar and parts a few times and Bob's your uncle.

[155]

yeah get it out of that case and dont put it back, give it 6 months it will go away

[specflec]

I have a brock R9 - '07. Don't touch the finish. It is beautiful.

[alane011]

thanks - i have it out on a stand -its giving me a wicked headache- i'll deal

i'll buy some naptha tomorrow -

thanks for everyone's ideas

[59bluze]

Good to read you are not going to refinish, Brockburst is a great color and not the common [IMO], I have a 2004 CR R8 in that color I really dig, You have got some great tips to get rid of the smoke smell from guys who know what they are talkin about, Nice Guitar you have,thanks for sharing.

[alane011]

thanks Bluze - i found a site that recommends spraying ozium into the guitar case (not wetting) - waiting a minute , then put guitar in case - repeat every few days.. i think i will do this

[alane011]

Originally Posted by Mike60

I wouldn't refin an '05 Brockburst.The finish on an '05 will cure and harden very nicely.

If you are concerned about "smells", steam clean the case interior or sell it and get another one.Polish the guitar and parts a few times and Bob's your uncle.

Thanks - Actually I sold the lifton case on ebay - polish helped a bit - i guess i need to do it more

[R8R6Ben]

I would think if you put your guitar out on a stand for a few days in a large room with good circulation that the smell should disappear pretty fast

[RyanC]

DUMB QUESTION ALERT!
What exactly are you guys referring to as a "true nitro finish" or "proper nitro"? Do the Historics not come with said finish? Just curious. Thanks.

[River]

Originally Posted by RyanC

DUMB QUESTION ALERT!
What exactly are you guys referring to as a "true nitro finish" or "proper nitro"? Do the Historics not come with said finish? Just curious. Thanks.

Touchy subject. As far as I'm concerned, they're close enough. Others will take issue.

[vortexx]

Put it in a spare room with a fan blowing on it and an open window

[goldenugly57]

Hey, alane011.
One question first: is this your first custom shop Gibson? Because if it is, it might be possible that you confuse the typical smell of Gibson's nitro finish with a pipe tobacco smell! They smell pretty similar and as far as I'm concerned the "pipe tobacco smell" is the most wonderful smell on my Paulas! I might be wrong, but before you refinish or try to remove the smell you should compare it to the smell of some other Gibson custom shop Paulas!

[NowGibson]

"While the odor-removal industry is fairly standardized, sometimes it is necessary to use specific anti-odor weapons for certain situations. Tobacco odor is one smell that won't simply go away by rolling down the windows and airing out a car overnight. Tobacco smoke clings to every ounce of fabric and smells worse over time, because a car's interior is pressurized, allowing tobacco smoke to permeate empty cavities.

"Tobacco odor can linger for a very long time in the closed environment of a vehicle," says Frank Walker, public relations manager for AirSept, Inc., Marietta, Ga. "The way to deal with tobacco odor is to use a chemical that will convert tobacco-odor molecules to a water-soluble state. The natural evaporative process then eliminates these molecules," he says."
from this site:
Get Rid of Foul Smells : Learn the science behind odor removal
they go on to talk about carwash co. using ozone generators to clean the car of cigarette smell....also cautions of what it will damage they do say pigment?...but you may think about taking off your parts and going down to the carwash for a quick trial.
goodluck, I can smell cigarette smoke in traffic or an open air parking lot, in clubs I put the table fan on high. Anyone tried "Vamoose" it claims to do as above stated allowing the chemical smell to evaporate realtors use this as well when a client smoked to rid the home of odor.
It'd be a shame to have to refin that...

[uburoibob]

Personally, I think you'd look dashing playing this guitar while smoking a pipe! Kills two birds with one stone... unfortunately, you will be one of the birds (eventually).

[Daeborn]

See if you can rent one of these. I use to work for a cleaning service that used similar machines to get smoke damage smell out of textiles.

OdorFree Ozone Generator and Commercial air Purifier - Professional Grade Cleaners That Eliminate Odors Naturally

[alane011]

Originally Posted by NowGibson

"url=http://www.moderncarcare.com/articles/detailing/678_111deta2.html]Get Rid of Foul Smells : Learn the science behind odor removal[/url]
they go on to talk about carwash co. using ozone generators to clean the car of cigarette smell....also cautions of what it will damage they do say pigment?...but you may think about taking off your parts and going down to the carwash for a quick trial.
goodluck, I can smell cigarette smoke in traffic or an open air parking lot, in clubs I put the table fan on high. Anyone tried "Vamoose" it claims to do as above stated allowing the chemical smell to evaporate realtors use this as well when a client smoked to rid the home of odor.
It'd be a shame to have to refin that...

I actually have an ozone machine (living air purifier) - I might try it near the guitar for an hour or two - i hope it doesnt melt the finish

thanks

[NowGibson]

"I actually have an ozone machine (living air purifier)" thought you might have stuff, wife and I use Hepa filter, ionizer ect..vog here can be pretty thick (volcano sulfur fog). The Vamoose product sounded interesting...

[dwagar]

if you can, sometimes a bit of UV will help, ie, get it out in the sunshine (and fresh air) for awhile.