I don't know about that but I know the smell will be stuck in the case for a while. Just to let you know bro it says right on your hang/care tag not to put a neck thru Jackson in a car trunk. It says it voids the warranty. I put mine in the back seat after I warm the car up in the winter and the opposite in the summer. Especially if you keep the guitars in a climate controlled situation when not being transported.

Wasn't in the cases. Wasn't in the trunk of the car.

I should also mention


its still too cold to be leaving windows open

You need to better clarify the situation. If it wasn't in a car trunk or in the case in a car trunk how did it get exposed to gasoline fumes?

Perhaps he was busking near a gas pump?

There's a hole in the boat. It may be sinking, it may not be.
Do you have a discussion about how you got the hole or do you check to see if you're taking on water and if it can be fixed or if you need to evacuate.


Right now, what i want is to make sure is my units are safe. And if they aren't, how to fix them.



Gasoline fumes filled a space for 48-72 hours.
Guitars were in this space.

What, if anything, do i need to do, whether it be now or down the road.

I think the odour will leave the wood with time and an airing out/cleaning, but if your pups are wrapped with cloth coil tape the odor may stick to that longer. Same thing with any foam or whatnot in the cavities.

Wood is porous, so I have no idea what my stupidity may have done. Stupid stupid stupid.
I walked into that room and started to get nauseous.
I don't know if I should dry out the air, or moisten the air, or... There isn't hundreds of webpages for this type of situation, so I can't really google it.


Currently, they are now in a separate room airing out. And I have the other room sealed up so that I can open the windows and not freeze out the rest of the place.
I haven't touched them other then to move them.



I am still taking suggestions, for both short term and long term.

As to what I did...
Basically, I got called away in the middle of a project, forgot about it, and I didn't go back to it for a few days.
But the problem was, I let a door open which let the smell/fumes drift. It was pretty bad. I will take a wild guess and say, I am lucky the shit didn't blow up.

It's a tough one. I worked in forestry for 20+ years handling gas daily and I've spilt gallons over the years on everything except guitars. Even gas spilt on my sheds wooden floor will evaporate along with the smell after a few days or so. I'm almost certain it didn't damage anything. Dish detergent is a great oil/grease cutter and since gas is basically oil a light cleaning with a touch of detergent and warm water may help. The clear coat should protect from the fumes penetrating everything except the fret board. Some time and fresh air will probably yield good results.

Odors are more than "scented air", there are tiny lighter-than-air solids that are carried by the air molecules. This can result from evaporation of inherent moisture or the disintegration of the solid (whether by natural-occurrence or outside influence). These solid particles attach themselves to any surface in the environment they can. The more porous the surface, the easier it is to attach, and in greater numbers.

The bodies should be fine, but fretboards will be the problem.

The cases involved (if any) will take way longer.

Petroleum products typically have 3 inherent properties:
1. They lubricate.
2. They are combustible.
3. They are corrosive or otherwise reactive with other elements, particularly those that are also petroleum-based.

Think of paint-thinner vs paint, and you realize the finishes on the bodies could soften from the exposure (if they haven't already).

72-hours of exposure to the fumes shouldn't soften the finish, but you need something that can displace the gasoline particles in the air, which are now evaporating from your gear, taking moisture with them (actually they're being ejected as the moisture evaporates).
Unfortunately, there are only two things wood doesn't react negatively to - conditioning oil (largely petroleum-based) and tree sap (impossible to find in large quantities and very difficult to work with).

You could try a fine powder, but then I'm unsure of what that may do to the wood. I'm thinking flour, baking soda, or even the contents of a home fire extinguisher (however this is corrosive to electronics, so pickups and pots will most likely be toast, but there's no guarantee they're not already.) Before dousing it with anything, I'd remove the tuners, pickups, and pots. Everything else can stay (plates and screws, trem claw), though exposing the cavities to the powder would be a good idea since they were exposed to the fumes.
Moveable items like tuners (though sealed) and pots can run the risk of being affected by the powder and should be cleaned separately with Dawn or other degreaser (Gojo, 409 Degreaser, citrus oil/juice).

Pickups can be repotted, as it's unlikely the particulates adhered to the copper coils, and the wax should displace any that got on the bobbins or tape (or at least should encase it in wax to prevent reactivity with the air, which is a catalyst for its degrading properties).

The powder is an excellent suggestion, Newc. If all else fails, here's a link that includes some info on a biodegradable product designed to absorb fuel and the odor particles. http://biogreeners.com/biodegradable...t_powders.html Any gas station should keep these products on hand for on-site spills, but theirs may or may not contain harmful additives.

Oil Dry found at gas stations is diatomaceous earth-ground clay. Cat Litter. The least-expensive cat litter you can buy has basically no additives to help with clumping and odor control and flavor crystals, but it still retains the absorbent properties, and is easy to pulverize into a fine powder for this application, and since it's clay, it's bio-friendly.