Can perspiration damage your guitar?

FoulPhil

FoulPhil

Well-known member
Hi guys! It is I, Foul Phil, here again with anther awesome question!

I live in South Texas near the border and the heat is brutal during the summer. Well it's already hot as hell and I'm sweating like a fat pig in a Texas style BBQ. I have sweat running into my eyes, running down my arms, sweaty hands, etc. Can all this perspiration cause damage to a guitar? Do I have to worry about anything serious happening to my nice Martin HD28 because I'm sweating all over it? I do wipe it down and keep it clean, but I'm wondering if too much is too much?

Maybe I'll make a long sleeve for my right arm to absorb some of the moisture. I have to wear a bandana just to keep the sweat out of my eyes it's that bad. I do have A/C, but some parts of the house don't cool too well, like in the kitchen. I like to sit at the kitchen table with my note book to jot down lyrics and stuff that pops into my head while I'm playing my guitar.
 
Lol. Damn boy. I don't know about acoustics man, but sweat will rot away the metal bits on an electric. I used to play with a bassist that sweat so much that it literally froze his tone and vol knobs. They wouldn't turn. His bridge was crusty and rusty like it came off a sunk ship. His pickup pole-pieces were rusty. He never cleaned his shit obviously.
 
Greg_L said:
Lol. Damn boy. I don't know about acoustics man, but sweat will rot away the metal bits on an electric. I used to play with a bassist that sweat so much that it literally froze his tone and vol knobs. They wouldn't turn. His bridge was crusty and rusty like it came off a sunk ship. His pickup pole-pieces were rusty. He never cleaned his shit obviously.
Click to expand...

Well I clean it after I play it, but I'm scared it still might damage the guitar some how. I'm not sure if sweat has any effect on the finish or what ever. Someone said I should invent some kind of arm sweat band for guitar players lol.
 
FoulPhil said:
Well I clean it after I play it, but I'm scared it still might damage the guitar some how. I'm not sure if sweat has any effect on the finish or what ever. Someone said I should invent some kind of arm sweat band for guitar players lol.
Click to expand...

I think if you clean it after you play, you'll be fine. I don't know for sure, but I'd imagine there's something on the finish to protect the wood. But damn man, how sweaty do you get sitting down with an acoustic? Turn down the A/C, turn on a fan, and maybe drop a few lbs. :D
 
Greg_L said:
I think if you clean it after you play, you'll be fine. I don't know for sure, but I'd imagine there's something on the finish to protect the wood. But damn man, how sweaty do you get sitting down with an acoustic? Turn down the A/C, turn on a fan, and maybe drop a few lbs. :D
Click to expand...

It's real humid down here too, which doesn't help. There are times when I can be sitting on the porch not moving a muscle with a cold beer in my hand and still sweating like a pig lol.
 
FoulPhil said:
It's real humid down here too, which doesn't help. There are times when I can be sitting on the porch not moving a muscle with a cold beer in my hand and still sweating like a pig lol.
Click to expand...

Dude I live in the Houston area. My weather is exactly the same. It's brutally hot and humid round here for about 9 months out of the year. Supposed to get a mild coolfront tonight though. It's gonna drop into the 70s!
 
Greg_L said:
Dude I live in the Houston area. My weather is exactly the same. It's brutally hot and humid round here for about 9 months out of the year. Supposed to get a mild coolfront tonight though. It's gonna drop into the 70s!
Click to expand...

I don't mind the Texas weather I lived here my whole life born and raised in San Antone. Once you get into the Rio grande valley it gets much worse. So thick and humid it's even hard to breathe if you're not use to it. I've been here for over 5 years and have adapted to it, but man nothing like once you're right out of the valley. It's almost like things dramatically change lol.
 
Not sure if the armband idea is a good one because the finish can tend to soften a bit when subjected to heat and humidity, which can lead to impressions being left in the finish by the armband.

The finish on my D-35 is pretty hazed where I put my arm against it after 36 years.
 
c7sus said:
Not sure if the armband idea is a good one because the finish can tend to soften a bit when subjected to heat and humidity, which can lead to impressions being left in the finish by the armband.

The finish on my D-35 is pretty hazed where I put my arm against it after 36 years.
Click to expand...

I could come up with something where the top facing away from the guitar is made out of an elastic yet breathable material, but the bottom that actually touches the guitar is made our of a non-abrasive microfiber type material that is insulated with some type of plastic that would prevent the sweat from absorbing into the microfibers. The guitar would be nice and polished every time you play :D
 
The biggest enemy guitars have in terms of stability is moisture. I wouldn't worry too much about the perspiration you generate because that is mainly going to contact locally where the instrument has a finish barrier. I would be far more worried about humidity.

I have said it many times here but what guitars do NOT like is quick changes in humidity and they are aggravated by quick changes in heat. They can handle fairly wide ranges of either but not the switch. Keep an eye on the local range you typically experience on those fronts, especially humidity and plan to take measures where you do your best to limit the speed with which you move the guitar from one environment to the other. I don't know Texas that well but it was hot and humid when I was there. Questions I would ask are, how big a difference is there between seasons? Do you have local events that cause humidity to drop or rise quickly? If the answer is yes you should prepare to make plans to accommodate it..

If you want answers to specifics ona ny of this just ask
 
muttley600 said:
The biggest enemy guitars have in terms of stability is moisture. I wouldn't worry too much about the perspiration you generate because that is mainly going to contact locally where the instrument has a finish barrier. I would be far more worried about humidity.

I have said it many times here but what guitars do NOT like is quick changes in humidity and they are aggravated by quick changes in heat. They can handle fairly wide ranges of either but not the switch. Keep an eye on the local range you typically experience on those fronts, especially humidity and plan to take measures where you do your best to limit the speed with which you move the guitar from one environment to the other. I don't know Texas that well but it was hot and humid when I was there. Questions I would ask are, how big a difference is there between seasons? Do you have local events that cause humidity to drop or rise quickly? If the answer is yes you should prepare to make plans to accommodate it..

If you want answers to specifics ona ny of this just ask
Click to expand...

It only really gets cold here a few weeks out of the year and I don't believe it gets below 40 lol. Would it hurt to go from an air conditioned room at below 70 to 90? And I have a little humidifier in the case that keeps it around 30 or 40% humidity. The humidity right now outside the case is 72%. I'm not sure if I even need the humidifier in the case, but the Martin literature recommended I get one...
 
Sweat did some hella damage to all my hard wear. The chrome on my Epi is all pock marked, all my screws on the pick ups and holding the pickguard on are rusted out.

I think it is a safe bet that sodium sucks for your instruments. I think a hasty clean up however would prevent all that.
 
Something else that can suffer from sweaty paws is a gun. Same combination of metal and fine woods.

Gunstocks are generally oiled and need no further protection save a monthy wipe with liseed oil.

The metalwork is protected best with silicone oil. This can be had in the form of an impregnated cloth or you can buy the oil and use one of "her" jumpers.

Gunshops over here rip you off for a few CCs of oil (but it does last a long time). Seek out a friend who services photocopiers!

Dave.
 
It depends on your body chemistry.
Rory Gallagher had lots of problems - his perspiration ate away the paint job on his guitars.
Just plain body salts, skin oils and water can do lenty of damage - & germs really like the oily liquid too so bacteria can grow in it on surfaces and cause further corrosion.
 
Don't put silicon oil on a guitar finish. At least not if you ever want to repair the finish or need to re do a glue joint. It is the perfect barrier to adhesion. Many household cleaners have them added as a static dust barrier and silicates build up, leach through the finish and are next to impossible to remove.
 
FoulPhil said:
It only really gets cold here a few weeks out of the year and I don't believe it gets below 40 lol. Would it hurt to go from an air conditioned room at below 70 to 90? And I have a little humidifier in the case that keeps it around 30 or 40% humidity. The humidity right now outside the case is 72%. I'm not sure if I even need the humidifier in the case, but the Martin literature recommended I get one...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry too much about the heat for now. The moisture thing? I would only use the humidifier when going through seasons here. Once an ambient is set the instrument will level out at that. What happens when it drops or rises quickly is that the wood shrinks or expands to accommodate the moisture. If it does it too quick then stresses are put on the thing. Tell tale signs to look for are fret ends getting sharp, the action rising or lowering significantly or the neck relief changing... Keep an eye on it for now and if you think humidity is going to change significantly try to reduce the speed it happens on the guitar. For me that may mean keeping it in it's case with a humidifier or using a de-humidifier in the studio or workshop for those periods when things are shifting.

Martin will actually give you some good advice if you give them a call. They would be more aware of your local environment than I am..
 
I would suggest to not sweat while playing guitar. There is plenty of time to sweat when your through playing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top