Cleaning your strings

Jim Arnold · From: Texas USA

Do you clean your strings? And if so what is your procedure? What do you use to clean them with?
Thanks...

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I wipe them down with a Blitz Cloth
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Bob

Jim Arnold · From: Texas USA

Thank for the reply Bob. Do you use the regular blitz cloth or the stainless blitz cloth?

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

This is what I use:

Jim Arnold · From: Texas USA

Erv, where do purchase that product?

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Jim,
I bought it off the internet.
I think if you do a search you should be able to find it, maybe Musicians Friend.
I just checked, Amazon has it.
I really like it, you rub it on your strings and then you wipe them off with the cloth.
It really cleans the strings and then it kind of leaves a protective coating on them.
Your bar glides over the strings easier. Very Happy

Erv

Jim Arnold · From: Texas USA

Thank you Erv for your help.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Jim,
You're welcome Very Happy

Erv

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=2840586&sid=5e79a2f02e9f6ca529236432e4018eba

Jim Arnold · From: Texas USA

Very helpful Lee. I appreciate your input.

Garry Vanderlinde · From: CA

I got this from Paul Franklin's mother Cool

Jim Arnold · From: Texas USA

Thanks Gary. I wonder if the silver or copper formula would work equally as well?

Henry Matthews · From: Texarkana, Ark USA

If a person has excessive sweaty hands, that stuff is great but if you don’t, I think it’s unnecessary. Just wipe them down with clean cloth which I never do. Maybe my strings would last longer than 6 or 8 months if I did.
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Henry Matthews

D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes.

Steve Mueller · From: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

I also use Blitz cloth. Excellent. Used for 15 years.
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2016 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2015 Williams D12 8 x 8, 2023 Williams S12 4 x 5, Milkman Amps, 1974 Gibson Byrdland

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

When I used George L Stainless Steel wound strings on the S10 I played and gigged. The wound strings felt a little rough from the winding operation to me, When new.

Smoothness of parts means a lot on precision machines. I take a piece of 0000 steel wool 2 fingers wide, And pull each string 4 or 5 pulls end to end. Holding the wound strings by the bare core wire pulling toward the ball end. Plain strings hold by Ball End. This took that scratchy/funny feeling of bar sliding across the strings out. What a difference it made.

Smooth strings collect less dust and hand goo.

I use a piece of Sheep's Skin Wool pad with a little Rem. oil to clean and very light coat of oil on strings. When I quit playing my steel, I rub the strings from end to end, Before the cover goes on. The wool wraps around the strings and cleans the sides and bottom of the string too.

Frank Freniere · From: The First Coast

Sometimes I'll use some rubbing alcohol and and an old T-shirt to knock some of the sweat/crud off the strings.

Cartwright Thompson · Posted 29 Nov 2022 3:37 pm

Strings are cheap, just change them.

Henry Matthews · From: Texarkana, Ark USA

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Jim Arnold · From: Texas USA

Thanks Bob for the information. Much appreciated.

Raybob Bowman · From: S. Lake Tahoe, CA, USA

I've been using hydrogen peroxide on a clean cloth to wipe away the crud. Works good.
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Sierra U12 4+5 / 1933 Dobro / homemade Tele B-bender

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

+1 for Blitz Cloth.

Paul Franklin turned me on to them at a Jeff Newman seminar in Kansas City years ago.
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GFI Ultra Keyless S-10 with pad (Black of course) TB202 amp, Hilton VP, Steelers Choice sidekick seat, SIT Strings
Cakewalk by Bandlab and Studio One V4.6 pro DAWs, MOTU Ultralite MK5 recording interface unit

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I use naptha (Ronsonol specifically) with a clean, discarded (usually ripped) cotton sock to get macroscopic corrosion off strings. I did this last night to a couple of acoustic guitars that had been sitting for a while that I wanted to use for rehearsal, and didn't have time to change the strings. The strings had enough corrosion that it was creating extra friction to inhibit movement up and down the strings. The strings squeaked pretty badly. The naptha removed enough of the corrosion that I could reasonably play the guitars - for the rehearsal. I will change the strings before I use these guitars again. There is nothing like fresh strings for me, especially on an acoustic of any kind, Spanish or Steel.

As far as making the strings sound better, I have not found anything that really works for me. Dead strings are dead strings. I think naptha can help someone with caustic sweat if applied before it gets into the string windings. One of my guitar playing friends would find the finish on his brand new guitars, where his bare skin touched the guitar, coming off within within just a few months. He sometimes wiped the strings down with naptha between sets or right after a gig to avoid having to change strings every single gig.

My worry with stuff like isopropyl alcohol or, especially, H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide) would be interaction with wood or the guitar's finish. H₂O₂ is used to bleach things.

The various commercial treatments do make the strings more slippery, which can be useful for a one-off like I had last night. I keep a small bottle of naptha in my gig bag, along with a small bottle of Tri-Flow. I use empty bottles of Tri-Flow for the naptha. Simple and cheap.

Raybob Bowman · From: S. Lake Tahoe, CA, USA

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