is this myth or can it help........ and details would be appreciated

Keira-WitherKay

hi ya all, just some advice needed re humidifying solid wood acoustic instruments ............

right so i aquired a solid top and presumably solid back and sides vintage spanish classical/flamenco guitar .... when i got it it was in a state as most pawn shop instruments are...............and i'm sure looking at the condition at sale it was not well looked after ......... so i doubt it was suffficiently humidified thru the years especialy the last few........... and his is an old guitar i would guess at least 30 yrs old so could have been abused for many years .........

so the 1st question ....myth or truth???? to help rehydrate the wood ....... i should take the guitar into a steamy bathroom while i have a bath .....
to help restore the humidity balance to the wood....... does this work or is it just bollocks ???

question 2...... any other idea's on how to make sure an abused acoustic guitar can be treated/cared for to help return the wood to optimum condition? also the fretboard can i do anything to it like i heard an olive oil and ...... mix is often used to restore it ........so any pointers i'd like to restore this instrument best i can.

question 3 ......and yes i have a humidifyer in the case ....... just a standard planet waves one.any suggestions on anything more effective........???

thanks again for the expected input and words of wisdom

peace and light
keira

ps the guitar is now cleaned up , you won't believe the gunk on the fretboard was so thick that i thought the true colour of the fretboards was black but a grained lighter wood appeared once the gunk was removed , ? also she now has new machine heads the old ones were rusted up and the drums that the strings wrap around were cracked................ but now halfway restored she looks descent and above all sounds really good,

Bob-Dubery

Keira WitherKay wrote so the 1st question ....myth or truth???? to help rehydrate the wood ....... i should take the guitar into a steamy bathroom while i have a bath .....
to help restore the humidity balance to the wood....... does this work or is it just bollocks ???

I know people who do this, and they swear it makes a difference. But I think that is more of a prevention than a cure, and that to "rehydrate" wood that has been dried for years you are going to have to have a lot of loooooooong and very hot baths.

question 2...... any other idea's on how to make sure an abused acoustic guitar can be treated/cared for to help return the wood to optimum condition? also the fretboard can i do anything to it like i heard an olive oil and ...... mix is often used to restore it ........so any pointers i'd like to restore this instrument best i can.

Boiled linseed oil. That's what McGibbon's use - but they may not use it with all woods. A lot of things that people put on the fingerboard either don't achieve much or will cause problems in the long term. Some folks recommend lemon oil, but I've heard this is bad news for maple fingerboards.

As regards top, back and sides - these have a lacquer finish on so how is whatever you apply going to penetrate the wood? A few days in a humidity controlled environment may make a difference because there's no finish on the inside of the guitar and so the moisture can find it's way in. I remember seeing a Ramirez at Andy's that had been hung near the main humidifier (they humidify their showroom and their workshop) and additionally had two planet waves humidifiers in the soundhole.

question 3 ......and yes i have a humidifyer in the case ....... just a standard planet waves one.any suggestions on anything more effective........???

My Morgan is quite sensitive to a highveld winter. The first time I went through a dry winter with that guitar I got a bit of a spook because it dried out and started buzzing. Hugh Cumming of Hugh's Fine Guitars told me two things...

1) A single soundhole humidifier is for maintenance, not correction.
2) Take a bath sponge (the biggest you can get in the case with the guitar also in the case). Soak it. Wring out the excess. Put it in some kind of container (Hugh uses cheap plastic soap dishes) and punch some holes in that container. Put the sponge in the container and the container in the case. Refill every day and keep it in there for 3 days without opening the case other than to check the sponge.

Humidity is still quite high in Jo'burg after all the rain, so leave it out of the case as much as you can and until the air starts getting dry.

AlanRatcliffe

I generally say avoid extremes. A steamy bathroom is an extreme. Just keep it in a balanced environment from now and it should be OK.

Boiled linseed oil. That's what McGibbon's use

Are you sure? Boiled linseed oil is a drying oil used for finishes and should not be used on a fingerboard. You need a type of non-drying oil. The absolute best stuff I've ever found is Fret Doctor from www.beafifer.com.

AlanRatcliffe

Lots of good info here: http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm

Bob-Dubery

Alan Ratcliffe wrote
Boiled linseed oil. That's what McGibbon's use
Are you sure? Boiled linseed oil is a drying oil used for finishes and should not be used on a fingerboard. You need a type of non-drying oil. The absolute best stuff I've ever found is Fret Doctor from www.beafifer.com.

This sort of thing bothers me with the guitar industry. I still have the owner's manual for my Morgan and they say to not oil it yourself at all and that the oils from your fingertips will suffice (though in the C&W scene that would mean it only get oiled up to the 5th fret). Mervyn Davis told me not to bother with the fingerboard on his guitar (which might be a quick way of preventing DIY treatments that cause trouble in the long run). Andy uses linseed oil. Lemon oil is still sold as a fretboard treatment (and was all the rage in the 80s and is still recommended by some folks).

Everybody tells you something different - probably because so many good repair men are largely self taught.

Returning to Andy .... I know that when you take a guitar there for a setup it always comes back smelling of linseed oil. I also believe that he uses a linseed oil base and adds to that. He won't say what the various adjuncts are - trade secret. He's been talking about selling a branded fret board treatment that he has formulated himself.

AlanRatcliffe

I've looked into oils at some depth and yes, everyone has their own favourite formula. I've posted my thoughts before:
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/general-discussion/the-myth-of-tonewood/msg61512/#msg61512

Ray

I have used Kyser Dr Stringfellow Lem_oil a bit but then I read somewhere they reckon you dont need to oil the fretboard at all. Some people even reckon too much could loosen the frets. I dunno but I stopped anyway.