Long-Term Storage/Care for Jems & UVs

[GMCUV7]

Need the collective wisdom of anyone that has been able to store their Jem or Universe and successfully kept them in Mint condition.

Is is possible to store them long-term (5-10 yrs) without corrosion/pimpling on the metal hardware?

If so, did you use oils, temperature controlled room, or clean them on a recurring basis?

[mike570]

Find a way to seal the case airtight and fill it with Argon.
Not sure how well this works with guitars, but it preserves other stuff pretty well. Don't use it in a confined space, though, or you might drown in it.
This, of course, is a bit extreme....

[GMCUV7]

Hi Mike570,

That's a very interesting idea - i never considered airtight sealing. This could possibly work perfectly well for the hardware.

Now i'm curious if some type of protective oil is useful over such long periods of time; especially when vacuum sealing metal hardware such as trem and the locking nut.

[Lefty Robb]

Originally Posted by GMCUV7

Now i'm curious if some type of protective oil is useful over such long periods of time; especially when vacuum sealing metal hardware such as trem and the locking nut.

You don't need to oil everything, throw a bunch of those silica gel packs in the case and it will pull the moisture out of the air, the argon idea is a cool idea but pointless. Remember the best way to keep a guitar is with strings on it under tension so the neck doesn't warp.

[Rich]

Guitars need humidity, which silica packs rob, but they need regulated humidity, and in HI you may have more than they need. You're also on an island so salt air corrosion is always a concern. The closer you live to the water the more you should be concerned.

For the hardware, clean it. If any sweat and oils have gotten under the plating to the pot metal it's going to pimple over time no matter what you do, so just make sure it's as clean as possible.

As for the necks, the under tension / without tension debate will forever continue. If you keep the strings at pitch you have to make sure to check the neck relief occasionally.

[Lefty Robb]

Well if he's in a humid place (didn't see he was in HI, yikes) a few silica packs shouldn't take all the moisture out. Obviously a humidor would be ideal but probably not practical.

[mike570]

Ooooh, yeah. I too missed the fact that you live in Hawaii. We have somewhat similar problems with humidity and sea air in South Florida.
I saw a couple of folks keep their instruments wrapped in that foam blanket stuff they sometimes ship guitars in. I've also seen a few that put their guitars inside plastic bags, then put them in the case. I'm not sure how well either of these things work.
I was half-kidding about the Argon thing. It's not really practical and kind of dangerous.
I'm not sure if you could hermetically seal a case either. Maybe you can take out the foam insides of the case and seal the inside of the shell, then put the foam back in. I'm not sure how well that would work either. Wood is a funny material. You don't want it too dry but you definitely don't want it in a humid environment.
Funny.... I sometimes keep a silica gel pack in my cases, but I usually open the cases a lot and play the instruments.
Metal is a bit of a bigger pain in the ass. I don't keep instruments as a collector would but I imagine that pitting and corrosion are the inevitable end-result. Regular cleaning, especially after playing, isn't a matter of preventing corrosion as much as its part of prolonging life. I think overcleaning can be bad too.
And the worst is sunlight, which we both get in spades. I'm sure this is a no-brainer since you'll likely keep your instrument in its case. This will also affect a white Jem too. Don't keep it out in the light. UV can also haze clearcoat too. I have a silver 570 that looks slightly champagne in certain light from what looks like hazing in the clear coat; and I don't keep this instrument out in direct sunlight or out much at all.
Hope this helped. Good luck!

[jb4674]

Originally Posted by GMCUV7

Need the collective wisdom of anyone that has been able to store their Jem or Universe and successfully kept them in Mint condition.

Is is possible to store them long-term (5-10 yrs) without corrosion/pimpling on the metal hardware?

If so, did you use oils, temperature controlled room, or clean them on a recurring basis?

If you don't mind me asking, why are you trying to store a guitar for that long a time? Sounds to me like the guitar might live better in someone else's care and getting played as well.

On a personal note, I kept one of my Strats (an '89) in its case for a few years unstringed and nothing happened to it even when I stringed it back. I did clean it thoroughly prior to storing it and the neck stayed the same.

Jimmy

[Bluestreak]

There's no reason you can't just tune it, clean it, and put it away in its case. My wife's 1992 RG550 was bought new when we first started dating in March '92. Her guitar sat in the case, clean, with strings properly tuned - until about 2002. It saw the light of day only a handful of times in those years, but it was in pristine condition when I started playing again in '02. It just needed a few adjustments - the usual. A little work with the truss rod, intonation, and some new strings. Voila. It was like a time capsule it was so perfect. It plays wonderfully today. It hasn't been back in its case except to travel. One of the best guitars I own.

-R

[robare99]

Nice I love RG 550's! My main guitar has been a pink or redish one. Man that thing takes the abuse and always comes back smiling for more!



Me I just store them in my guitar room, I prefer the "A-Frame" style stands, as it doesn't put any pressure on the neck of the guitar.

[GMCUV7]

Hi Jimmy,

To answer your question, I am in the military, move every 2-3 years and have a good size collection that I hate shipping (possibility of loss/damage).

My showpiece (Jem 77 BFP) is dead mint and I really want to keep it for the foreseeable 5-10 years. I don't play it much and value it highly. My intent is to put it and some Universes into deep storage over the next 5 years back in the mainland........and play my newer Jem 7 VWH for daily use.

Since I read that Steve Vai stores many of his guitars in the vault, I hoped to learn some techniques here at Jemsite for storing them.
Especially considering the many Jem and Universe collectors here that have successfully stored Jems and Universe MCs from the early 1990s