Flood damage advice

[hankster]

Hi all, some of you may have heard about flooding in British Columbia. Unfortunately that’s affected our home. I seek advice about two instruments that got wet. They were standing on end and we’re in about 6 inches of water before we woke up and started pulling gear out of the water. One is a 69 Gibson Les Paul bass, passive,  and one is an NS Designs electric upright, active circuitry. Both got some water in their electronics. The wood is fine and the cavities are now dry, but the Gib is putting out no signal and the upright is working but noisy. I’d appreciate any advice about whether the electronics are salvageable and what to do in the short term to help. Fortunately my best and most used instruments were unharmed. My 50-year old classical from Spain is a writeoff.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Hmm.....I don't know why they wouldn't work if they're dry.

We had a flood in '96 (well, not according our homeowner's policy, not actually a flood, as it didn't come in over the foundation walls, but rather backed up from an overloaded sewer system; yeah, pretty nasty - and a $5K payment on a $75K loss); I got all the guitars out before it changed from water to sewage, but my Epiphone Sheraton did get a bit wet.  When I dried it out, it worked fine - until the harness rusted beyond repair and it quit 10-15 years later. 

If nothing else, I learned 2 things from it:  1) Don't keep your instruments in the basement, no matter how finished it is, and 2) Never rewire a semi-hollow that lacks a back door..........

Peter (who wishes he could be more help)

[lbpesq]

You might try opening up the control cavities and filling them with rice.  Let it sit for a couple of days, maybe, then remove the rice and test.    The rice will absorb all the moisture and give you the best chance of getting everything up and running again.

Bill, tgo

[gtrguy]

The pots may be shot and the pickup selector may eventually corrode. I would start by ASAP getting good quality pot spray and squirting it into the pot open slot above the wires (I assume they are CTS pots) with the wiper moved to each side (2 quick shots) and then work it in by turning it 25 to 30 times. This may not work if there is water already doing to much damage but it's worth a try. It does need need to dry out in there.

I once dated a professional harp player who had the overhead sprinklers go off in the room where her harp (Dusty Strings) was stored and after getting it carefully dried it worked fine. She also ended up with a brand new harp out of the deal!

[KR]

Hi all, some of you may have heard about flooding in British Columbia. Unfortunately that’s affected our home. I seek advice about two instruments that got wet. They were standing on end and we’re in about 6 inches of water before we woke up and started pulling gear out of the water. One is a 69 Gibson Les Paul bass, passive,  and one is an NS Designs electric upright, active circuitry. Both got some water in their electronics. The wood is fine and the cavities are now dry, but the Gib is putting out no signal and the upright is working but noisy. I’d appreciate any advice about whether the electronics are salvageable and what to do in the short term to help. Fortunately my best and most used instruments were unharmed. My 50-year old classical from Spain is a writeoff.

If you do clean the pots, a pot cleaner with lube would be safer as a raw contact cleaner can ruin the internal lube inside the pot.

[cozmik_cowboy]

] If you do clean the pots, a pot cleaner with lube would be safer as a raw contact cleaner can ruin the internal lube inside the pot.

Zero-residue cleaner will clean and stay clean; cleaner with lube will leave.....well, lube - which will collect dust & debris and wear out the pot.

At least, that's what my electronics guru taught me, and it has seemed to hold true over the intervening decades.

Peter