are guitars ruined in the flood

From my very close friend Jay Kolanda at NTL Guitars in Nashville. Jay is a former Gibson Custom Shop master builder who was heavily involved in instrument restoration efforts for Gibson endorsers and pro players following the devastating 2010 floods in Nashville. I reached out to Jay when our floods hit.

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Much like in the case of a home or a vehicle, water damage is potentially devastating to a guitar or bass, acoustic or electric. Successful repair or restoration on flood-damaged guitars and basses comes with a "fingers crossed" disclaimer, so don't expect miracles. Your first step is the sterilization and hopefully the stabilization of the instrument and to get it to your repair tech or luthier as soon as possible.

HAVE A CAMERA ON HAND AND TAKE PLENTY OF PHOTOS FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES!!

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* Remove guitar from case. The case will more than likely be non-salvageable.

* Remove strings and remove all hardware.

* Soak hardware in denatured alcohol.

* Cut pickup leads/wires with wire cutters at the point where they attach to internal electronic components. Pickups can possibly be rewound. Electronic components and harness wiring, however, will very likely be non-salvageable so wires can be cut to remove the components.

* Take the guitar outside to a garden hose and remove all debris, dirt, residues, etc.

* Dry the instrument outside in a shaded, preferably cooler, area for the day. Move inside at night, with a fan and ventilation and not a lot of air conditioning. You want to dehydrate the guitar at a slow to medium pace.

* When the guitar has dried adequately, thoroughly clean the entire guitar, fingerboard, control cavities, etc. with naptha, sometimes called "VM&P" solvent in home improvement stores. Pour the naptha on absorbent cotton rags (old T-shirts) to apply and gently wipe clean. Repeat.

* Let the instrument sit indoors with a fan, ventilation and not a lot of A/C for a couple more days to continue drying out.

From a article I read about the restoration of the guitars from the Nashville flood, after they were done the only loss was a pickup on one guitar all the rest were saved, as stated in what up posted the guitars that they lest dry slowly responded better than the first few where they tried to speed up the drying process.

I restored some amplifiers that were submerged during Katrina, and have salvaged a lot a electronics equipment over the years. Basically fresh water does little harm to most electronics, it is the dirt suspended in the water that gets deposited into connecting pins and inside of controls that causes problems. Using clean water to flush them out followed by a water displacing spray like LPS will usually restore pots and switches to working condition.

My understanding is that an acoustic is fricked.

Is that not the case ?

I am not talking damp. I mean the thing was floating. Or you opened the case and a mud minnow came out. Glue joints, warping, interior unfinished wood grain, fret board, neck, truss rod? Can't imagine a scenario where a standard acoustic makes it out as more than parts. Unless you are talking some priceless vintage guitar. And even then?

Hope you guys got pictures and insurance. Try to enjoy shopping for a new one. (ETA that's not sarcasm. Try to enjoy it. Least it's something possibly fun).

quote:

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Can't imagine a scenario where a standard acoustic makes it out as more than parts.

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Pretty much.

The main areas where there is almost a zero chance of survival is:
1. The guitar sat in water for hours and/or
2. It went under water and you don't take it out of the case right way (leaving in the case will almost always guarantee a non restorable instrument).

If it's salt water, that's a whole other story.

If the guitar is worth more than $2.000.00 (odds are good it will lose half its value after the repair) or has sentimental value, restoration is an avenue to look at. I paid right at $500.00 each to get my guitars fixed.