Emergency question on water damage Need quick answer

[irocdave12]

Won't bother with whole story but buddy had a mishap with his SG tonight in which the entire headstock up to the nut was momentarily under water. I'm thinking it immediately needs to have the tuners taking off as I'm concerned about the bare wood inside the holes and what's going to happen in next hours. He thinks the clamping force they provide my keep the vernier from lifting or warping. What you guys think has to happen right now? All I could think was strip tuners, careful hairdryer action and sit and cover headstock in bowl of dry rice to hopefully pull moisture back out of wood.

 

[DarrellV]

Hey Dave, the big guns can correct me later, but I'm thinking this isn't as big a deal as it seems.

Is the head stock lacquer coated? That will keep the water out of the veneer and wood.

The tuners would be the worst off.. removing them and baking in low heat oven to dry and then maybe some WD-40 to lube around the shafts. Are they open back? Even easier.

The clamping of the spindle nut and washer on the tuner shaft likely kept most if not all of the water out of the holes anyway, so they can air dry while you're cooking the tuners.

 

[Oldskoolrob]

How long is 'momentary'? I wouldn't even bother - just rock out until it's dry!!!

 

[irocdave12]

How long is 'momentary'? I wouldn't even bother - just rock out until it's dry!!!

Like supposedly a dunk in and right out. Like I said my concern is the water that got into the tuner holes drilled into the headstock. It's rough unfinished wood inside the holes that will soak in water like a sponge and expand I imagine? The tuners we don't care about. He'll replace if they get weird. Either way some water had to get in the tuner post holes no matter how brief the water contact was

 

[cooljuk]

It's possible that water didn't get in. You'd need two holes, one for air to get out to allow water to get in another. A quick dunk may not have allowed for it. I don't suppose there's any harm in taking the tuning machines off, though. If it did get enough water in there to cause trouble, the tuning machines washers/bushings aren't to going to prevent that trouble. It would just swell up around them, still being a problem.

 

[irocdave12]

It's possible that water didn't get in. You'd need two holes, one for air to get out to allow water to get in another. A quick dunk may not have allowed for it. I don't suppose there's any harm in taking the tuning machines off, though. If it did get enough water in there to cause trouble, the tuning machines washers/bushings aren't to going to prevent that trouble. It would just swell up around them, still being a problem.

Yeah you're probably right that there was a air dam without a vent to make a easy path for water to get past cracks. Either way this is still a case of "can't see it from my house" lol and it's not my guitar. He hit with hair dryer and leaving tuners in place for tonight. We'll see what next hours bring

 

[moreles]

You won't know if the tuner holes did or did not let water in until you remove the machines. Of course you should do that, as there's no downside. Lazily hoping for the best is a terrible idea, as any trapped water will cause cracking of the wood, finish separation, and any number of other bad results. It is extremely probable that you will have no problem if things are dried off promptly, but water can be incredibly destructive if allowed to remain present. I'd check the truss rod channel to ensure there was no water entry there. Blow drying with minimal heat is a good idea, and the dry rice idea is good as it is benign and helpful. Good luck -- you should be OK.

 

[Blue Blood]

I'd definitely pull the tuners off ASAP.

Or dunk the rest of the guitar under water to finish the job.
that's a terrible idea do not listen to me

 

[kiko]

Wipe off excess water and let it air dry.

I would love to get the whole story of the dunking.

 

[CaptainT]

I´d simply keep playing. But that´s just me.

I sweat like a polar bear in the desert, so my guitar is permanently under water and she still lives

 

[Freddy G]

Your guitar...ahem....I mean your 'buddies' guitar will be fine. If water got in and expanded any fibres you would see it in about 10 minutes.

 

[Dilver]

Relax. If it was literally a quick dunk just for a second (did it fall into a toilet or something?), it should be fine, just wipe it off really well.

 

[fleahead]

Taking the tops of the tuners off, i.e. the retaining nut and washer, and let it air dry for 12 hours. Same with TRC

Been there (not exactly that way), no problem.

 

[emoney]

Not much worse than it getting a bath. Rock on.....even if you are using your imaginary friend to take
the blame.

 

[kakerlak]

Taking the tops of the tuners off, i.e. the retaining nut and washer, and let it air dry for 12 hours. Same with TRC

Been there (not exactly that way), no problem.

Yeah, I'd be almost more concerned about what's going on under the truss rod cover. I really don't think the event itself is too worrisome, but I'd sure as hell pull the tuners and TRC and make sure everything's dry. If the wood was going to soak up water from this, it probably happened quickly anyway, but I'd want to be sure there wasn't trapped water inside the tuners or pooled in the truss rod cavity where it might find little micropores/fissures in the lacquer and start to lift it up. I mean, might as well -- it's easy enough to disassemble, right? Just seems worth the effort to verify/remedy.

[EDIT] If it got wet, it might be worthwhile to remove the truss rod nut, dry off the threads, etc. and put a light coating of grease on before putting it back together. If it got moist and nobody adjusts the neck for a long while, it might rust together a bit. Again, probably not such significant rust that it'd be frozen, but this sort of simple preventative stuff seems well within the "might as well" territory to me.

 

[Rotorhead]

Remove the pots cover on the back and then submerge the ass end of the guitar in water for a few minutes. This will counteract the neck dive issue it will have with the water logged headstock.




Just kidding. Don't do that.

 

[TheHarleyMan2]

That guitar is totally ruined! Better have your buddy ship it to me so I can dispose of it properly!

 

[cooljuk]

remove the truss rod nut, dry off the threads, etc. and put a light coating of grease on before putting it back together.

I like to do this even on new guitars, just 'cause. I use vasoline, but there's a thousand products that would work. That brass on steel contact creates a little something of a "battery" and loves to oxidize over time. Same reason Fender pickups like to die where the coper wire rests on the iron magnets.

 

[Rotorhead]

I like to do this even on new guitars, just 'cause. I use vasoline, but there's a thousand products that would work. That brass on steel contact creates a little something of a "battery" and loves to oxidize over time. Same reason Fender pickups like to die where the coper wire rests on the iron magnets.

Aviation 101. Two dissimilar metals in contact with each other will corrode at some point.

 

[TheHarleyMan2]

I use just a tad teeny bit of never-seize on my truss rod and nuts!