Wd-40

[Ivan Kelsall]

Using WD-40 in the minute quantities required to clean off gunk from strings hasn't harmed me or my fingers one bit. However,i usually use 3-In-One-Oil. Drip a few drops onto a clean cotton cloth,wipe the strings over & wipe it off thoroughly.There's only a film a few molecules thick (if that),left on the strings. Another substance i've used inthe past,is 'Servisol' electric switch cleaner. It has a contact cleaning agent in it as well as an anti-oxidant.The anti-oxidant helps prevent further string corrosion. Again,in tiny quantities,it's perfectly safe. As in most things,if you use just enough & not too much,it's fine. I used to use Skunk oil to lube my Scruggs tuners one time,but the other band members quit for some reason !,
Ivan

[kevbuch]

My dad and grandpa always used wd 40 on to wash their hands after working on cars

[AlanN]

Seems a lot of pickers use 'stuff' - wd-40, oil, fingerease, fast fret, etc. Not me. If the strings feel gunky, wipe down with a cloth. If the mandolin is caked with crud, dampen the cloth with water, wipe down.

ymmv.

[Tobin]

I've got a spray-pump bottle of RemOil in my case cover for string lube. Seldom needed, but I carry it. WD40 is an exellent lube in the right application but there are many applications that aren't right, firearms being one. Fairly sure that some folks have been using it on their guns for ages and cannot imagine that it's a problem. Go disassemble that gun right now. If you actually fire it once in a while, you'll find glue-like gunk. WD40+heat+gunpowder residue=Gunk. Gunsmiths love WD40 and many of the less scrupulous ones won't tell you about the downside.

I agree with you on WD40 and firearms (I have over 50 collectible firearms that require a lot of cleaning and oiling). But I hate to tell you, RemOil is essentially the same thing. It's not just an oil; it also has a water displacing component and some small amount of solvents and penetrating components in it. It does perform better than WD40 on firearms, but still has properties that I wouldn't want near my mandolin. The sad fact of the matter, though, is that ANY kind of oil will gunk up a firearm when it is exposed to heat, powder residue, etc. I don't mind using RemOil on the exterior, but I got hooked a few years ago on using Militec-1 for internal parts, especially by baking it in. Heat makes it better at its job.

At any rate, the solvents in gun lubes probably aren't friendly to mandolin finishes or glue joints, so I don't take any chances. Mineral oil is about as harmless as it gets, and does the job just fine.

[Bertram Henze]

Fairly sure that some folks have been using it on their guns for ages and cannot imagine that it's a problem. Go disassemble that gun right now.

What happened to regular cleaning after every usage? - that's what I learned in the army once, and it also applies for mandolins.

[John Radcliffe]

You apparently don't have the issue of sweaty hands that make strings rough. Wish I could say the same. Some of us have genetic predisposition to sweaty hands. If strings aren't kept oiled, they will not last more than an hour before they are virtually unplayable. And moist fingertips just won't slide well on dry strings. They sort of stutter and skip on the strings. Like trying to slide on a wood floor with sweaty feet. Oil helps tremendously for those of us so afflicted.

As a teenager playing the banjo I found that the sweat on my hands could rust a set of strings within 24 hours. I would clean them with a drop of rubbing alcohol on the corner of a cloth, being careful to not get rubbing alcohol on the fretboard. This helped, but did not solve the problem.

I'm not sure whether my body chemistry has changed or whether coated strings (d'Addario EXP's or Elixir Nanowebs) stop that corrosion dead. Strings now last months.

[mtk]

Urban legend that Jaco Pastorius would eat fried chicken with his hands and then play his bass....

[Timmando]

Bela Fleck says that he uses nose grease to slick up his fretboard. No joke.

He got that from Earl. Scruggs used to rub the tip of his picks on the side of his nose for lubrication so the picks would pull smoothly over the strings. I guess Bela figured if it works for the picks, it ought to work for the fretboard too!

[Dobe]

Bela Fleck says that he uses nose grease to slick up his fretboard. No joke.

Ray Benson says the same on his Homespun vid. Just wipe the fingers of your fretting hand along either side of your nose if you're wondering how to harvest .

If it's good enough for Bela and Ray and Earl, I guess we have a winner !

[shortymack]

Ah so thats what they mean by nose oil. I still think all these practices are silly. Musicians sure are a strange bunch, myself included.

[William Smith]

Didn't Gibson also publish in their catalog that you should clean your F-5 "Loar" with Gasoline? I wonder if anyone ever tried that, hope they were a non smoker if they did.
as far as WD I've seen people use it and I've used it when my strings were toasted and I wanted to get some more practice out of em "too lazy to change em" the cloth sure was dirty afterward and the strings did sound better?

[G7MOF]

I assume you already know but, WD40 got its name from the words Water Displacement and it took 40 attempts to get the formula right.

[Mandoviol]

I've got a spray-pump bottle of RemOil in my case cover for string lube. Seldom needed, but I carry it. WD40 is an exellent lube in the right application but there are many applications that aren't right, firearms being one. Fairly sure that some folks have been using it on their guns for ages and cannot imagine that it's a problem. Go disassemble that gun right now. If you actually fire it once in a while, you'll find glue-like gunk. WD40+heat+gunpowder residue=Gunk. Gunsmiths love WD40 and many of the less scrupulous ones won't tell you about the downside.

I wonder how Hoppe's #9 would fair on an instrument? Probably not well, but might make the gears really smooth.

I made the mistake (?) of putting Hoppe's on my bike gears. They're smooth shifting now, to be sure, but now my pant legs all have grease streaks on them!