| Author |
Topic: Cleaning strings? |
Eddie Freeman
From:
Natchez Mississippi
|
Posted 9 Jul 2014 4:07 am |
|
I over oiled my changer and long story to short,ended up eith oil on my strings.
I know that is the best way to kill a new (or old either) set of strings, so now I have to clean the excess oil on the changer, and get the strings clean also.
I think I read on the Forum once about using Armour all to clean strings, good idea or not? If not AA,then what. Thanks for any ideas.. |
|
|
|
Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
|
Posted 9 Jul 2014 4:35 am
|
|
NOT Armor all, for that leaves a shiny waxy yuck.
I usually use alcohol, as it seems to carry oil away.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
|
|
|
Per Berner
From:
Skövde, Sweden
|
Posted 9 Jul 2014 4:49 am
|
|
| Boiling the strings in water with some baking soda gets them clean, but why bother considering the price of a new set... |
|
|
|
Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
|
Posted 9 Jul 2014 4:57 am
|
|
Per, Lester Flatt famously had three guitar sets: one soaking in lacquer thinner to dissolve oil and dirt, one drying, and one on the guitar. Strings got replaced if they broke.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
|
|
|
Per Berner
From:
Skövde, Sweden
|
Posted 9 Jul 2014 5:04 am
|
|
| For a regular guitar I can understand that – in a historical perspective – but re-installing a set of used strings on a pedal steel? It's fiddly enough with a brand new set... Assuming the strings are half worn out to begin with, it would save maybe 5 dollars. |
|
|
|
Godfrey Arthur
From:
3rd Rock
|
Posted 7 Aug 2014 9:53 pm
|
|
Denatured alcohol on a clean flannel cloth.
_________________
ShoBud The Pro 1
YES it's my REAL NAME!
Ezekiel 33:7 |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 3:50 am Re: Cleaning strings?
|
|
| Eddie Freeman wrote: |
I over oiled my changer and long story to short,ended up eith oil on my strings.
I know that is the best way to kill a new (or old either) set of strings, so now I have to clean the excess oil on the changer, and get the strings clean also.
I think I read on the Forum once about using Armour all to clean strings, good idea or not? If not AA,then what. Thanks for any ideas.. |
Eddie, I don't know where you heard that, but that's simply not the case. Just wipe everything off with a rag, and go on playing. Beleive me, many times I've seen steelers' "cleaning efforts" end up doing more harm than good.  |
|
|
|
David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 4:20 am
|
|
| Dunlop makes a product named, 'Dunlop Ultraglide 65' which is meant specifically for cleaning strings. However, there may be common household products which would perform the task just as well. |
|
|
|
Dan Behringer
From:
Jerseyville, Illinois
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 4:35 am
|
|
I clean my strings all the time and have done it for years with WD40. It’s not worth a hoot for a lubricant but it’s one of the greatest solvents ever made that won’t hurt anything. I even use it on my Martin.
I take a ½ inch strip of old cotton T-shirt, saturate it with WD40 then put it around the string and twist it snug, then slide it up and down the string. I then go back over them with a dry piece of T-shirt a couple times the same way. You’ll be amazed at how much better the strings sound and feel. |
|
|
|
Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
|
|
|
|
Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 6:45 am
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Glenn Uhler
From:
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 7:05 am Bottom of the Strings
|
|
Normal use cleans the tops of all guitar strings, but you would be surprised how much gunk gets caught under the strings. A good cleaning of the underside of the strings with a cleaner like WD-40 (which is _not_ a lubricant) will make a big difference in the life of your strings. Don't use too much of the cleaner, because it will get into the windings of wound strings and cause them to lose tension, deadening the string. No problem with plain strings.
_________________
1974 Marlen S-12 1968 Tele 1969 Martin D-35H |
|
|
|
Sid Hudson
From:
Virginia, USA
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 7:54 am
|
|
| Larry Bell wrote: |
Two words:
Blitz Cloth
Been using them for 40 yrs
TRIPLE the life of ANY strings |
Never use a Blitz Cloth on Live steel Strings!
Will kill them dead overnight.
That black stuff you see on your Blitz cloth is not dirt...its metal. Seems like a bad idea to me.
Last edited by Sid Hudson on 8 Aug 2014 3:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Robert Parent
From:
Gillette, WY
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 12:33 pm
|
|
I used a gun cleaning patch and alcohol for years with great results. I would clean at the end of each gig and the strings stayed bright much longer than without cleaning.
Robert |
|
|
|
Godfrey Arthur
From:
3rd Rock
|
Posted 8 Aug 2014 2:40 pm
|
|
I would caution the group that some cleaners, lubes have ingredients that are inherently toxic. And while they may do a bang-up job on your strings, it's also doing a number on you.
Being aware that many of these companies issue OSHA material safety data sheets that describe their products, wherein lies or doesn't, the tale of the tape, is key.
Taking care of your beloved instrument, should also include taking care of your earthly vessel as well. Wearing gloves when handling certain chemicals is an extra precaution or at least wash your hands immediately.
Yet know that the largest organ of the human body is the skin and it absorbs everything that touches it which then finds its way into the rest of you.
And inhalation of vapors has its effects as well.
Any of those "ene" chemicals, benzene, toluene that were used freely for decades are now coming under scrutiny.
The pharmacokinetics of such chemicals will be listed with their corresponding side effects.
Be safe.
_________________
ShoBud The Pro 1
YES it's my REAL NAME!
Ezekiel 33:7 |
|
|
|
Ron Pruter
From:
Arizona, USA
|
Posted 13 Aug 2014 1:02 pm
|
|
This works for us cheap skates. Cut a piece of corrugated cardboard(1/4 " plywood is better)the size of your fretboard and slip it in under strings. Loosen the string a few turns. Pull the string up in the center and let go, snapping the string against the board. Do this a few times. Retune string. It will sound noticeably brighter.
My late friend Catfish John, out of Chicago, taught me this. I think he got it From Buddy Emmons.
It works great on bass guitars also. I'd just snap them right against the frets. 
_________________
Emmons SKH Le Grande, '73 Fender P/J bass, Tick tack bass, Regal high strung, USA Nashville 112. |
|
|
|
Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
|
Posted 19 Aug 2014 9:35 pm Blitz cloth
|
|
Sid wrote:
| Quote: |
Never use a Blitz Cloth on Live steel Strings!
Will kill them dead overnight.
That black stuff you see on your Blitz cloth is not dirt...its metal. Seems like a bad idea to me. |
Whoa!! Wish I had known that. I've been using one on both my steels. 
terry |
|
|
|
Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
|
Posted 20 Aug 2014 7:25 pm
|
|
| Dan Behringer wrote: |
I clean my strings all the time and have done it for years with WD40. It’s not worth a hoot for a lubricant but it’s one of the greatest solvents ever made that won’t hurt anything. I even use it on my Martin.
I take a ½ inch strip of old cotton T-shirt, saturate it with WD40 then put it around the string and twist it snug, then slide it up and down the string. I then go back over them with a dry piece of T-shirt a couple times the same way. You’ll be amazed at how much better the strings sound and feel. |
yep.. same here.. been doing it that way for 38 years... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
|
|
|
David Stilley
From:
Santa Cruz, California, USA
|
Posted 21 Aug 2014 3:24 am Never Boil
|
|
| Per Berner wrote: |
| Boiling the strings in water with some baking soda gets them clean, but why bother considering the price of a new set... |
Sorry Per but that's just a bad idea that some people get into a habit of doing
This is something that some bass players do to clean expensive bass strings for reuse. You can get a piece of 3/4" PVC pipe and cut it about an 1"longer than your strings. Glue a cap on one end and glue a small block of wood inside another cap. Screw a small hook into the wood block that's thin enough to hook through the ball end of your wound strings and fill the tube with denatured alcohol. You can soak the strings in the tube for a couple of days and they wipe clean after taking them out. You can cap the tube and store it upright, to be used again and again. This works great for wound bass strings. By the way, you should never boil strings in water. It fixes them for a short time but the water is really bad for strings in the long run and they will shortly be dead again after the water boiling treatment.
_________________
GFI Ultra U-12 7+5 E9/B6, Roland Cube 80XL, Telonics FP-100 Volume pedal with TMRS remote sensor (courtesy of Dave Beaty and Telonics) |
|
|
|
