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getting the smoky smell off my bass? smokey! ugh!

WarriorJoe7

WarriorJoe7

Inactive
Mar 12, 2004
6,316
95
Syracuse, NY
www.myspace.com
#1
OK I just got a used Warwick FNA off the bay and I really like the sound and feel, but the damn thing smells like bar. SMOKY!

I searched and someone said to use fabreze but I don't really want to use that liquid directly on the bass. I can use it for it's stanky case though.

The reason is that the bass finish is like a satin, and well the bass neck is all wenge, an unfinished wood.

So what are my options?

Thanks, Joe
 
#4
Take a box of baking soda and fill a clean white sock with it. Now pounch the sock all over the bass. put the bass in the case with the sock. leave it there for a few hours. You may have to repeat this a few days in a row. Once you get the smell out, rub the bass down with some real lemom oil and polish the beegeebees out of it.

Gm
 
#5
There is a mineral called zeolite which absorbs odors. It is sold in pouches which you can place inside the bass case. Works pretty well, all natural/non toxic, and you don't have to apply it directly on your bass.

Also, since your Warwick prob. has a wax finish, that's what's holding in the smell. You can use a gentle dish soap to wash the bass, air dry it, and once it's aired out for a couple days, apply a fresh treatment of whatever wax/oil Warwick recommends.
 
#6
GM60466 said:
Take a box of baking soda and fill a clean white sock with it. Now pounch the sock all over the bass. put the bass in the case with the sock. leave it there for a few hours. You may have to repeat this a few days in a row. Once you get the smell out, rub the bass down with some real lemom oil and polish the beegeebees out of it.

Gm
Click to expand...

bongomania said:
There is a mineral called zeolite which absorbs odors. It is sold in pouches which you can place inside the bass case. Works pretty well, all natural/non toxic, and you don't have to apply it directly on your bass.

Also, since your Warwick prob. has a wax finish, that's what's holding in the smell. You can use a gentle dish soap to wash the bass, air dry it, and once it's aired out for a couple days, apply a fresh treatment of whatever wax/oil Warwick recommends.
Click to expand...

Thanks alot both of you i will be trying a combination of both of these and buy some fabreze for the case. I will try to remember to post the results here.

oh yeah actually the neck (and my left hand after playing it) smells worse than the body, which indeed does have the wax finish.

I think I can get a can of warwick wax for $20 after i get the smell out...

Thanks yall,
Joe
 
#8
I had one like that. It was disgusting. Not only did it stink like an ashtray, the fretboard and just about every corner and crevis on the thing was packed with..........God knows what. No one in my family smokes so when I opened the case it just about knocked us out :eyebrow: Dont wanna rag on the seller but I would never send anyone, ANYTHING like that. I took the entire bass apart, even desoldering the pups to remove electronics. Then I cleaned the entire thing useing lemon cleaner and lemon oil. I used 0000 steelwool on the freatboard and Q-tips down in the cavities. I even took the tuners off to clean all the CRUD off and around them. I filled up wastebasket with dirty paper towls and cotton rags. What a friggin mess :spit: I had to wait about a week for my new strings to arrive. During that time, I kept sniffing it and wiping it down with lemon oil. After that, the cigarette smell only faintly returned. The smell is about 95% gone now and it looks AND plays a hell of a lot better. The case wasn't worth the same effort and was set by curb for pickup.

To someone that smokes this probably sounds rediculous but no kidding, you could smell the bass and the case throughout our entire house.
 
#9
order the pocket version of the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze..

turn it on, hang it on the back of a guitar stand with your bass.. cover them with a large thick trash bag.. let it sit for a day, or so..

no smoke smell..

it does work, i've bought a few of the ionic breezes and use them in my rack and with my basses and guitars.. they do have a particular smell, due to the ionic breeze, but it's not a nasty smoke smell..

you can find them on eBay for about 20 bucks each..
 
#10
I once bought a cd player from target, It smelled like cigarettes (rather peculiar for a new cd player in a big store) but anyway, I could never get rid of the smell.

Have you ever noticed how in some ebay auctions (less so for instruments) it says, "kept in a pet and smoke free environment"? Its sales like this that make that necessary.
 
#12
WarriorJoe7 said:
OK where can I get zeolite?
Click to expand...
Health food stores usually have it, as well as hippie hardware stores like Real Goods, and natural pet supply stores. I bet Seventh Generation carries it. I tried Googling for it, but it turns out it's also a new "miracle supplement", so Google is cluttered with supplement hucksters. I did find a couple of online retailers, but their shipping seemed high, so I'll leave it to you to sift for a good online source. :)
 
#13
If it's a satin finish on Wenge- that smoke smell is gonna be DUG in.

I've used wood soap on an old T-40 I got that smelled like an ashtray. It takes a few applications, then I gave the bass a good lemon oil rub and it worked very well.

The other thing you might consider doing is replacing the case or at least tearing out the lining, washing the case and then relining it yourself. I tore out the lining on the T-40 case, washed the plastic case and then repadded and lined the case. It came out very nice and the added benefit was that the "new fabric" smell from the case helped kill any of the residual smoke smell left after I cleaned the bass.
 
#15
tbrannon said:
If it's a satin finish on Wenge- that smoke smell is gonna be DUG in.

I've used wood soap on an old T-40 I got that smelled like an ashtray. It takes a few applications, then I gave the bass a good lemon oil rub and it worked very well.

The other thing you might consider doing is replacing the case or at least tearing out the lining, washing the case and then relining it yourself. I tore out the lining on the T-40 case, washed the plastic case and then repadded and lined the case. It came out very nice and the added benefit was that the "new fabric" smell from the case helped kill any of the residual smoke smell left after I cleaned the bass.
Click to expand...

where do you get wood soap? what brand is it called too?
 

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