Beware insect repellent coming in contact with your guitar!

bohemewarbler

I was at the MIdwest Gypsy Swing Fest in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend. The mosquitoes were terrible and everywhere, and people were dousing themselves with Deet. Oh the horror! I saw two guitars instantly damaged because the repellent on their arms came into contact with the guitar's finish. One particular fellow ended up with a ugly dark spot the size of a CD disk on the face of his guitar. Depending on the type of finish on your guitar, from what I saw, the effect could range from a dull discoloration to a complete discoloration. I'm hoping there weren't too many others who suffered the same fate. I wasn't aware of this issue with guitar's finish and insect repellent, and it was obvious that I wasn't the only one unaware.

BTW, A great lineup of artists: Paquito and Sandro Lorier, Robin Nolan Trio, Ultra Faux (a.k.a. Hot Club of Baltimore), Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan, and the Fest's hosts Harmonious Wail. With bonfire jams after each evening's performances.

ChrisMartin

Thanks for the warning, the Mozzies are a big problem here in Australia.
I was not aware of this risk and have a couple of guitars I would certainly not want to get marked.
So, for an experiment in the shed, I will check the small print on the can and do some tests on some scraps of plywood sprayed with nitro, acrylic and shellac.
Give me a few days......

geese_com

The mosquitos were absolutely terrible this past weekend! Luckily my guitar did not have any insect repellent damage that I notice.

The Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest was just awesome. Great lineup of performances and totally worth jamming until 1:30am both nights. It was awesome that both Paquito and Sandro Lorier hung out at the campfire and jammed with everyone. I even got Paquito to play my guitar for a couple songs.

wim

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET
deet-based ones are the stuff responsible. it's an industrial solvent. melts plastics. indeed, will eat the varnish on your guitar.

the $!@#% mosquitoes up at wisconsin were unstoppable! hope I had enough pinot noir in my system to give those bloodsuckers their fair share of Sunday morning's hangover.

bohemewarbler

"DEET is an effective solvent,[7] and may dissolve some watch crystals,[4] plastics, rayon, spandex, other synthetic fabrics, and painted or varnished surfaces" per Wikipeda @Wim Glenn

It appears my guitar lost a very tiny layer the French polish about 1/8" x 2'' near the binding. Luckily, it is barely noticeable and only when the guitar is tilted in the light in a certain way. But on careful examination, you can see where a thin layer has been removed. I cleaned it with a damp cloth as soon as I noticed it. I talked to one player at the festival who said his Dupont suffered serious damage from insect repellent. And there doesn't appear to be any remedy other than refinishing the guitar.

When you think of the ways this can happen to a guitar, it wouldn't take much for this nasty occurrence during mosquito season: the sharing of guitars at a jam, testing out a luthier's guitar at festivals, letting your nephew have a try playing it at the family barbeque. It doesn't take but an instant of contact, and the longer the contact probably the worst effect.

I think a luthier's tent should bare the warning: Do not pick up a guitar if you have applied insect repellent on your body or clothing. Even a festival could bare such warnings to jam players. I don't think I'm over-reacting after what I witnessed and then heard from those who suffered because of its effect on their prized possession.