Beware bug spray?

=^-..-^= · Post by **=^-..-^=** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:23 pm

I now have a spot on the top of my fairly new mando worn down to the bare wood where my right wrist usually rests. The best I can figure out is that I was wearing bug spray with 40% DEET on my arm. (It is really oily.) The stuff must cut through guitar / mando finishes in no time. Wow! Watch out!

dofus hipster · Post by **dofus hipster** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:37 pm

I think I have read this somewhere as well. All my guitars are nitro finished, and would be susceptible!!

=^-..-^= · Post by **=^-..-^=** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:23 pm

Here it is from Martin Guitar's web site:

"Any type of solvent, especially those found in plastic, vinyl and leather straps, will mar the finish, as will alcohol, citric acid, aftershave lotion, insect repellent, and a number of related substances. Perspiration can also damage your guitar, so keep it dry."

Well, the insect repellent was like putting furniture stripper on my mando. It was that quick! Live and learn . . .

dofus hipster · Post by **dofus hipster** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:46 pm

Call it "mojo"......

=^-..-^= · Post by **=^-..-^=** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:14 am

dofus hipster wrote:Call it "mojo"......

Huh?

Steel String Bender · Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:21 am

=^-..-^= wrote:
dofus hipster wrote:Call it "mojo"......
Huh?

It's a guitar player "thang". Some believe your instrument "acquires mojo" as it ages and wears through lots of playing, including bumps and scrapes it receives along the way.

=^-..-^= · Post by **=^-..-^=** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:31 am

Oh, okay!

Thanks for the explanation. So, my mando and Willie Nelson's acoustic are now competing for 'mojo-ness.' My mando does sound better, the more I play it. My former instructor said a mando has to be "woken up" by playing it; it gets louder the more it's played.

My 1984 Tama Superstar drums should just have a giant capital M stenciled on them!

Steel String Bender · Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:57 am

=^-..-^= wrote:Oh, okay!

Thanks for the explanation. So, my mando and Willie Nelson's acoustic are now competing for 'mojo-ness.' My mando does sound better, the more I play it. My former instructor said a mando has to be "woken up" by playing it; it gets louder the more it's played.

My 1984 Tama Superstar drums should just have a giant capital M stenciled on them!

Willie's acoustic has that extra-level of "mojo-ness", known as "Through-Hole-Mojo". If the hole in the top of his guitar gets any larger, he'll be able to climb into it to hide from the IRS.

The mando instructor is correct. The sound of almost any acoustic instrument that is properly constructed from solid woods will improve over time. The more it's played, the better it will sound.

AcousticPimp · Post by **AcousticPimp** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:41 am

Anything with DEET in it should never come near humans or any other life form for that matter, which includes guitars of course.

=^-..-^= · Post by **=^-..-^=** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:00 am

A friend of mine said he learned the same lesson about DEET, on the stock on his rifle, when he was hunting.