Hiya everybody
I wonder how to clean strings on my loved Morgan Monroe after playing ,is that OK if I use Dunlop 65 for strings and 65 polish to the body ? Thanks
How do you clean strings after playing?
Hiya everybody
I wonder how to clean strings on my loved Morgan Monroe after playing ,is that OK if I use Dunlop 65 for strings and 65 polish to the body ? Thanks
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I use Fast Fret. It does a fine job of cleaning strings and moisturising the fretboard. Just don't use too much of it, or the mineral oil gets under the fret wire. Don't ask me how I know that
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I'm supposed to be cleaning my strings?
2012 Weber Bitterroot F5.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I use Ivory Snow (99 44/100ths% pure).
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I clean my strings by changing them for a new set, about every 3-4 weeks.
With a string change schedule that often, there isn't enough accumulated gunk to worry about. I don't often play in conditions where I'm sweating, or outside near saltwater, or other situations that could shorten string life in less than a month. If I did, I'd be wiping down the strings with a dry microfiber cloth. No additives like cleaners or polish. I don't like putting anything on the fingerboard that could get into the fret slots.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I just wipe the string off with a lint-free cloth, including between the strings and the fingerboard.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
They're harder and harder to find, but I've always used cloth baby diapers; no lint, soft, and reusable.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
OK but what about putting a bit of Dunlop 65 in a piece of cloth and pinching the strings in between the rag and swiping throughout the fretboard avoiding the fret slots? That is what I do from time to time on my martin 0)-18
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
If I'm not mistaken, Dunlop 65 contains a small amount of silicone (2% I think?). No product with silicone will ever get near any of my musical instruments. If you ever get a little bit inside a fret slot, or a small crack, or a separated binding, it will make refretting and repairs much more difficult.Originally Posted by Marco Mancini
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I change mine about every third year if I’m not playing, if I am I change when the D strings start getting clubby. I don’t quite understand the cleaning string concept unless you have super sweaty hands. I used to but that was when I was playing more than four nights a week. I keep an old well washed bandana in the case and wipe them down if it’s been a grimy night. No fast fret, no juice of any kind. Just dry.
Timothy F. Lewis
"If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I don't. I just replace them every year or two.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
On guitar, I change a lot of wound G strings. The rest hold up a lot longer.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
Good point. According to their MSDS, Dunlop 65 contains 0.5% to 1% polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in it, which is a water-repellent (hydrophobic) silanizing reagent that acts as a sealer. PDMS is one form of a class of compounds called "silicones." I cannot speak to the question of whether its use makes refretting or repairs any harder. I'm not sure why Dunlop would choose to market it for cleaning fingeboards if that were the case, though. But hey, you never know. All that said, I certainly wouldn't use anything with that in it myself, either -- read on.
These days, the best "lint-free cloths" you can possibly find are called microfiber cloths, of the type made to clean computer screens, eyeglasses, camera lenses, and so on. I highly recommend the use of a microfiber cloth to wipe down your mandolin strings, and also your instrument. You can get them at most hardware stores these days, or buy them online. These cloths are inert, absorbent, leave nothing behind, and never scratch a fine finish. They're washable, too. You can get big ones, the size of a sheet of paper. I keep one in every instrument case.(Regarding: lint-free cloths). They're harder and harder to find, but I've always used cloth baby diapers; no lint, soft, and reusable.
I recommend that you wipe down strings using a microfiber cloth. You can do this alone, if you like. Or, you can do it after applying some commercial product like FastFret, or just apply a drop or two of food-grade mineral oil to the cloth -- which is what I do. The mineral oil has hydrocarbon solvents in it that will remove all manner of dirt, skin cells, oxidation, etc., and leave the strings squeaky clean. It will remove things that a clean cloth will not. The microscopically thin layer of oil left behind will repel water (sweat) and diminish further oxidation, enhancing string lifetime, and give the strings a fresh feel. It is the active ingredient in FastFret. One bottle of mineral oil will cost about $5 and last nearly a lifetime.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
Seeing the risks of putting Dunlop 55 on strings I wonder if using 65 polish Dunlop can the body can bring damages on the bodies of both my Morgan Monroe and martin guitar
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
I keep one of these cloths in each case. I like them a lot. NFI
Phil
“Sharps/Flats” ≠ “Accidentals”
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
You must also be careful with that stuff and not inhale too many of the vapors.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
Is this a real thread of 2018? I mean I have seen every post in this thread before, even the puns. Summer rerun?
the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
Personally, I wouldn't risk it. There may be a problem developing that you don't notice right away, like a tiny seam or binding separation that will get larger later on. I have a very small binding separation on my mandolin that I've been keeping an eye on, and need to do something about, one of these days. That's the kind of thing where if you get a product with silicone (or anything similar) seeping into the crack, it can prevent glue adhering and cause a much harder, and likely more expensive repair.
I mostly just use a dry microfiber cloth and condensed breath moisture to clean my instruments. On the rare occasions when I want something to help remove built-up arm or finger gunk, I use Steward MacDonald Preservation Polish. Says "No Silicone" in big red letters, right there on the label.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
Clubby?
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
Micro fiber cloths...
2 for a dollar at Dollar General store.
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
The correct word is "clabby", I think.
the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
Adam Steffey wipes his down with WD40.
Being right is overrated. Doing right is what matters.
Northfield F5S Blacktop
Pono MND-20H
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
We're getting into deep dark personal secrets here...
So do I. And of course I wipe it off immediately. But...
With round wound strings, especially bronze ones which have a natural affinity to oils, any oil collects in at least small amounts between windings. And, over a little time, that oil and dust and dirt form grime that stays there, prematurely deadening the strings.
I prefer flattops or flatwounds on my mandolins anyway so this oil based collection isn't an issue for me, however I do not recommend any oil on round wound strings, especially for guitar strings which have much larger windings.
Regarding oils getting into the fret grooves, and I say this with deep respect for the luthiers who have publicly spoken out about this issue, I've sparingly used WD-40 for cleaning banjo and mandolin strings, fingerboards and necks for decades, have had frets replaced often, and have never had a complaint from a luthier about oil in the fret grooves. Regarding oils affecting finish work, naptha removes and/or neutralizes just about anything that might become a problem (including WD-40) before applying a finish.
Additionally I have researched WD-40 use with my contacts in a number of instrument factories who tell me they use it all the time as a final cleaner and polish before the instruments go out the door.
All that said, I would not recommend spraying WD-40 or any oil directly onto strings, fretboards necks or other surfaces because it's so hard to control the amount applied. Using a cloth -- I use an old clean piece of a sock, but a micro-fiber cloth sounds like a great idea -- to apply it is much safer. Wax on, wax off.
Back in the 70s there used to be a product called Professor Farley's String Sudzer available at music stores for cleaning strings. I never was able to do a chemical comparison, but judging from the material's odor, I strongly suspect that was simply re-packaged WD-40.
-- Don
"Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
"It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."
2002 Gibson F-9
2016 MK LFSTB
1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
[About how I tune my mandolins]
[Our recent arrival]
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
WD 40 is not a lubricant properly indicated for string musical instrument , is it?
Re: How do you clean strings after playing?
You may want to visit the WD-40 website. A number of common questions are answered there.
The aerosol version is about 18% oil, the non-aerosol version is about 20% oil. That's about normal for any oil based cleaner.
-- Don
"Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
"It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."
2002 Gibson F-9
2016 MK LFSTB
1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
[About how I tune my mandolins]
[Our recent arrival]
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