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I've just picked up a '68 Tele case that's going to need a bit of work. I've found a seller on eBay that can pretty much match the crushed orange velvet interior nicely, which I've purchased a couple of metres of, off the roll.

My bass case that I use for my XII has some custom padding that I made - I'll recover this with the new material. Will post photos if anyones interested.

You are not the only 'silly' one

I am restoring a vintage Yamaha SA30/50 case. So far I have:
'unbend' two latches
put a new one on for the missing third
removed all stickers
Scrubben and cleaned the vinyl
Reglued vinyl where required
Ripped out the compartment and all soft covers from the base
Replaced all the original soft covers with fake fur of a close colour
Rebuild the compartment

Now I need to do the inside of the lid.

Lots of hours put into something that will never increase in value but getting some satisfaction out of it.

FEXII wrote:

Industries wrote:Though I cannot offer advice on restoring a case, I have plenty of experience cleaning and making various repairs to banged up, neglected cases, especially ones that stink of mold and mildew from being relegated to basement storage.

Please tell us more . . .

Most repair work involves gluing down ripped pieces of Tolex, tightening hardware and general scrubbing. I use RTV silicone to glue down those pesky tears in Tolex. It's tacky and conforms to all manner of uneven and porous surfaces including inner linings. Simple Green and a soft bristle brush works well on the outside for an overall cleaning without resorting to harsh chemical cleaners.

Loose hardware is a little tricky and is often a little different from case to case (no pun intended).

The most useful experience is making the interior of neglected cases smell fresh. I prefer old cases with "character" and they're often forgotten in a basement which leaves them smelling rather awful and moldy. I found that a deep vacuuming followed by a day of sunlight and then a dose of clove oil works wonders. The clove oil contains eugenol which is an antiseptic that kills mold and mildew which causes the odors. I enjoy the smell of cloves, so as a trademark of sorts, my cases have a mild clove smell to them. I've gotten a number of free vintage cases solely based on their rancid interiors.

If cloves are not your thing, eugenol is also found in the oils of nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf. I haven't any experience with the other oils though.

I had some unexpected luck - I bought a Mustang that was described as including its original case - it turned out that the case was a little bit too big:



Both of the spring latches were broken. ...I found some on ebay that looked like good matches, but they were the wrong size, so I broke the hooks off of the new latches, filed the bottoms of the hooks flat and scraped away the rust on the mating surfaces of the old latches. I used super glue to stick the new hooks onto the old latches, and the repair is surprisingly strong!

hornz wrote:I've just picked up a '68 Tele case that's going to need a bit of work. I've found a seller on eBay that can pretty much match the crushed orange velvet interior nicely, which I've purchased a couple of metres of, off the roll.

My bass case that I use for my XII has some custom padding that I made - I'll recover this with the new material. Will post photos if anyones interested.

I would be interested to find the seller of the orange interior lining material, but one thing to be slightly cautious about:

Some materials have dyes that can seep into the finish of your guitar, so there is always a risk using some material that is not 'tried and tested'

Industries wrote:
Most repair work involves gluing down ripped pieces of Tolex, tightening hardware and general scrubbing. I use RTV silicone to glue down those pesky tears in Tolex. It's tacky and conforms to all manner of uneven and porous surfaces including inner linings. Simple Green and a soft bristle brush works well on the outside for an overall cleaning without resorting to harsh chemical cleaners.

Loose hardware is a little tricky and is often a little different from case to case (no pun intended).

The most useful experience is making the interior of neglected cases smell fresh. I prefer old cases with "character" and they're often forgotten in a basement which leaves them smelling rather awful and moldy. I found that a deep vacuuming followed by a day of sunlight and then a dose of clove oil works wonders. The clove oil contains eugenol which is an antiseptic that kills mold and mildew which causes the odors. I enjoy the smell of cloves, so as a trademark of sorts, my cases have a mild clove smell to them. I've gotten a number of free vintage cases solely based on their rancid interiors.

If cloves are not your thing, eugenol is also found in the oils of nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf. I haven't any experience with the other oils though.

I once read that putting baking soda in an old stinky case will get rid of the smell as it absorbs the smells, but I have never done it and don't know if it really works.

FEXII wrote:
I once read that putting baking soda in an old stinky case will get rid of the smell as it absorbs the smells, but I have never done it and don't know if it really works.

Baking soda works to a certain extent absorbing odors like smoke. It is also a chore to vacuum out completely from the more "furry" case linings.

I suppose one could try products like Love My Carpet or Carpet Fresh, but I've not done so since my homes have always had wood floors.

FEXII wrote:

hornz wrote:I've just picked up a '68 Tele case that's going to need a bit of work. I've found a seller on eBay that can pretty much match the crushed orange velvet interior nicely, which I've purchased a couple of metres of, off the roll.

My bass case that I use for my XII has some custom padding that I made - I'll recover this with the new material. Will post photos if anyones interested.

I would be interested to find the seller of the orange interior lining material, but one thing to be slightly cautious about:

Some materials have dyes that can seep into the finish of your guitar, so there is always a risk using some material that is not 'tried and tested'

Sorry, only just seen this. I think the seller was "suzie-may-crafts-ltd". The material seems pretty good, but I'm hoping there's no dye seep now you've mentioned it.

Industries wrote:

FEXII wrote:
I once read that putting baking soda in an old stinky case will get rid of the smell as it absorbs the smells, but I have never done it and don't know if it really works.

Baking soda works to a certain extent absorbing odors like smoke. It is also a chore to vacuum out completely from the more "furry" case linings.

I suppose one could try products like Love My Carpet or Carpet Fresh, but I've not done so since my homes have always had wood floors.

I've done this (not with guitar cases, but other things that the smell bothered me in) with unused (dry) tea bags. I only drink Chai, but I had a flavor that I didn't like as tea, so I threw them in and it worked ok. I've also done this with work boots and the smells seem to be absorbed by the tea bags pretty quickly.

I had success with auto air freheners

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
I've done this (not with guitar cases, but other things that the smell bothered me in) with unused (dry) tea bags. I only drink Chai, but I had a flavor that I didn't like as tea, so I threw them in and it worked ok. I've also done this with work boots and the smells seem to be absorbed by the tea bags pretty quickly.

Hmmm...I keep plenty of tea in the house and may give it a try next time I get a hold of an old hard case.

Industries wrote:

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
I've done this (not with guitar cases, but other things that the smell bothered me in) with unused (dry) tea bags. I only drink Chai, but I had a flavor that I didn't like as tea, so I threw them in and it worked ok. I've also done this with work boots and the smells seem to be absorbed by the tea bags pretty quickly.

Hmmm...I keep plenty of tea in the house and may give it a try next time I get a hold of an old hard case.

I figure the worst that can happen is your guitar smells like tea, and that's ok too! Haha

will wrote:I had some unexpected luck - I bought a Mustang that was described as including its original case - it turned out that the case was a little bit too big:



Both of the spring latches were broken. ...I found some on ebay that looked like good matches, but they were the wrong size, so I broke the hooks off of the new latches, filed the bottoms of the hooks flat and scraped away the rust on the mating surfaces of the old latches. I used super glue to stick the new hooks onto the old latches, and the repair is surprisingly strong!

GREAT FIND CONGRATS

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:

Industries wrote:

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
I've done this (not with guitar cases, but other things that the smell bothered me in) with unused (dry) tea bags. I only drink Chai, but I had a flavor that I didn't like as tea, so I threw them in and it worked ok. I've also done this with work boots and the smells seem to be absorbed by the tea bags pretty quickly.

Hmmm...I keep plenty of tea in the house and may give it a try next time I get a hold of an old hard case.

I figure the worst that can happen is your guitar smells like tea, and that's ok too! Haha

Absolutely! The two guitars I currently have smell of cloves, so a future tea scented guitar would be welcome.

I'm signing up for this one. I have a blonde 63-64 case that needs a deep clean. It's missing some leather (is it even leather at all?)....