Cleaning guitars for COVID-19

SunDevil

Appreciate this should really be a sanctuary from all that jazz (..jazz generally, come to think of it) but I’ve got a guitar arriving mail order tomorrow and I’m trying to figure out how to sanitise a nitro lacquered guitar without softening the finish?

Best I can think would be windolene wipes (slightly acidic, bonds to grease)

Any genius-level luthier/virologist/domestic scientists out there who can suggest a good way of doing this? - suspect there’s a few people out there who might be interested in nailing this

Baz

Kittyfrisk

I'd suggest gloves (duh!) & a diluted solution of household bleach which will not affect nitro (or any other finishes) dry off afterward, should be fine (usual sample areas first rules still apply though).
https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(20)30046-3/fulltext

octatonic

Wait three days before opening it.

GuyR

Don't open it for two days.

oldfoxy

If you are worried then surely the answer is to unpackage it and examine it wearing gloves and leave it for 3 days before playing 

roberty

Yeah I left mine in the case for three days in the end. Sod it

paulnb57

As said diluted bleach

SunDevil

Bleach on Nitro? ..is that theory or based on hands-on experience?

skunkwerx

Another one here for just leaving it for a few days. 

I got my car back from the stealers saturday.. its been sat on the drive since. They had it for 3 weeks so God knows whos fucked with it. 

That and I'm actually fully not up for disinfecting it. Would take ages and no doubt the chemicals would fuck with the plastics and leather. 

Figured I'll leave it a few days then just give it a good clean as usual with normal car cleaning gear.  

Kittyfrisk

Sodium Hypochlorite (diluted or concentrated) will not affect nitrocellulose, as it is not a solvent.
Not saying this is categorical, but I just swabbed my favourite guitar in the world (nitro finish) with undiluted Morrisons thick bleach (left for 5 minutes) & bugger all happened.

Kittyfrisk

P.S. Sodium Hypochlorite / Bleach will do all metallic & other materials no good whatsoever... just saying.

skunkwerx

I mean couldnt you just use soapy water if that kills it on the old hands?

thing is unless you can do the strings, fretboard, frets and in their nooks and in all the crevices, scratch plates/backing plates in the pickup mountings, couldnt that shit just be hiding in there anyway lol? 

mikeyrob73

I have one delivered on Saturday unboxed in the garage, antbacterial wipes over guitar and hands, into the house, dried it off and washed hands. I’m not dead yet. 

It had been in transit for 3 days so figured any nasties may be gone anyway. 

RaymondLin

Don't touch it for a few days, you could put it on a guitar stand and have it stand outside in the day and let UV its its job too.

SunDevil

@Kittyfrisk - that’s dedication to the cause - really appreciate that, Sir!

Gents, I get the ‘patience is a virtue’ approach, but I can’t see that being compatible with GAS

Kittyfrisk

RaymondLin said:

Don't touch it for a few days, you could put it on a guitar stand and have it stand outside in the day and let UV its its job too.

Raymond bonny lad, if you did that in the UK someone would steal it or it would suffer terribly in the weather.
Today I had warm sunshine, light rain & sleet.
Sunlight is a great disinfectant as my old agriculture lecturers said,  but not in the average UK garden 

Kittyfrisk

SunDevil said:

@Kittyfrisk - that’s dedication to the cause - really appreciate that, Sir!

Gents, I get the ‘patience is a virtue’ approach, but I can’t see that being compatible with GAS

Believe me, I was shitting a brick when I first tried Naptha as it IS a solvent (liquid Zippo type lighter fuel) but when it comes to other stuff I'll test it (as with the bleach, in a controlled manner).
Having worked in biological, chemical & archaeological labs means I actually have some real world experience too  

rossi

I use my car boot as a goods inward quarantine locker.Its had model train stuff left in it ,dog food ,bird food ,tinned food etc.

RaymondLin

Kittyfrisk said:

RaymondLin said:

Don't touch it for a few days, you could put it on a guitar stand and have it stand outside in the day and let UV its its job too.

Raymond bonny lad, if you did that in the UK someone would steal it or it would suffer terribly in the weather.
Today I had warm sunshine, light rain & sleet.
Sunlight is a great disinfectant as my old agriculture lecturers said,  but not in the average UK garden 

How about a flame-thrower then? nothing like a bit of relic-ing.

Schnozz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2umZAmgcRvg&t=3s

terada

Schnozz said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2umZAmgcRvg&t=3s

Was seconds from posting this