Guitar Odors - Sweat & Smoke

Like any piece of furniture, clothing, car etc. a guitar can be seriously affected by long term exposure to smoke from tobacco & from sweat. Now, we're not here trying to campaign guitar players to stop smoking, so much as highlighting a common problem for instrument resale amongst other issues. Here we want to talk about the effects of cigarette smoke, sweat, how to avoid the problem & how to remove the stale tobacco smell from your guitar.

The following is intended only as information. We accept no liability for the interpretation or use of any information provided herein.

How does cigarette smoke & Sweat affect guitars?

Guitar finishes can be ruined by smoke & sweat

This is one of the saddest aspects of smoke & sweat damage. In the long run, cigarette smoke along with sweat & other contaminants find their way deep into the surface of the finish and start to break it down. This is especially true on older nitrocellulose finishes commonly used up into the 1980's. Nitrocellulose finishes will become soft & even get sticky when the temperature gets warm. A good polish up just strips the finish, making it impossible to keep a good shine on the finish for long or at all. Sometimes a guitar finish affected by cigarette smoke is soft enough that it can be scraped off by your fingernail. Other contaminents do cause the same symptoms especially if you do not routinely clean your guitar, but with tabacco smoke especially, the problems don't end just there.

Cigarette smoke makes guitars smell!

The number one thing you might have noticed about guitars that have been exposed to long term tobacco smoke, is that they have a strong odor! We are often asked to work on or help sell vintage instruments that suffer with tobacco smells & resulting finish problems. Their resale value is severely affected by the cigarette smoke smell alone. The smell is very hard, if not impossible to get rid of. Over time, smoke filled bars & homes are less commonplace & the existence of guitars that become damaged this way will fall significantly. For some time to come however, collector, vintage guitars will still have great potential for having been kept in such an environment. The best policy for a guitars longevity is not to keep it in a smoke filled environment for extended periods of time.

How to remove smells from a guitar or other musical instrument

We have seen several ways that people have tried to remove tobacco & sweat odor from their instruments. Some of them can be more destructive to the finish. We've even seen people just have the finish removed and replaced. Some methods of removal are only temporary or maybe just masking the tobacco smell. There are one or two ways the smell can be reduced over time. One or two of the best we've found do include spray products, but not sprayed directly onto the instrument. Our favorite is Ozium - This is an air sanitizer product that neutralizers smells very effectively. Ozium is available at drug stores & other retailers across the US. Just try a web search for Ozium. Never try to directly apply products to your guitar in the hope that they will magically make the smell go away - There is no such thing & you are more likely to do damage this way. If your guitar has a case, it will also likely be smoke affected. Clean the guitar with your favorite polish and cloth. Clean out your guitar case, spray inside the case with Ozium - Do not make the inside of the case wet with chemical - Follow the directions for use & spray sparingly. Wait a minute, then place your guitar back in its case. Repeat this every few days or at least every week. Ozium is a neutralizer that does not simply mask the smoke smell. Over time you will find a difference.

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