Horrific smelling Indian laurel fretboard

You're not gonna like the answer cause it gets kinda messy.

Make a paste of baking soda and water. Have the paste the consistency of peanut butter. Strip the strings off your bass and smear the baking soda paste on the offending parts and rub it in a little. Let it sit for a few minutes then clean it up and restring.

 

Sounds like the previous owner didn't know that black cat oil is never to be used on fingerboards.

 

Had to look that up. Now I’m in a totally unexpected rabbit hole of knowledge.

 

Master wood finisher, George Frank, once gave some advice to a woodworker who was unable to get rid of a urine smell from wood canisters he was making. Here's Mr. Frank's solution:

"First, completely dry the area from which the odor comes. Hang a low-watt incandescent bulb in each canister, and leave it on for a couple of days. Then wash out the canisters with a strong solution of ammonia water or Lysol. Dry them with the electric bulb again. Wait for a snow-clad winter evening. Light a fire in the firelplace. Ask your wife to sit in your lap, and burn your canisters. There will be no odor left."

Drastic, but effective.

 

That smacks of the recipes I've seen for prepping a deer roast. After days of soaking, wrapping, etc., we usually pitch the project and order a pizza.

Riis

 

That would surely eliminate the odor and any future issues the bass might have!

 

I wonder how many cats had to be squeezed to get that bottle of oil?

 

You may want to consider renting an ozone generator...I've used them myself and ran across a few references touting their efficacy in these situations. You'll have to remove the neck and place it in something like a sealed cardboard carton.

Riis

 

That's unfortunate. I once bought a used bass with a satin finish swamp ash body.
It was beautiful and pretty good to play but the previous owner caused it to reek of cigarette. Not being a smoker I found it truly revolting and ended up just passing it along to a friend. Best of luck with yours.

 

Heh. I just researched it and found one young lady recommending a base of olive, grapeseed, or almond oils (but not vegetable or canola oils for some reason). Apparently no other cat ingredients are in "black cat oil" but some hair shed by a black cat. A cruelty-free preparation!

 

More’s the pity.

 

Hmm...

 

I take care of this guy when his human is out of town

 

How to Prepare a Carp for Eating

Clean it and plank it. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Throw the carp out and eat the plank.