Don't do this!!!

[JEStanek]

I've used a very soft make up brush to dust around tuner pegs (while strings are on). I'll also use that (similar to Rolfe's shaving brush but even finer and softer) to get neat the bridge and tailpiece. I have a microfiber cloth that I can even thread mostly between the strings and the top to tidy up that space. I've only used a damp washcloth, well wrung out, to get away schmutz.

In other threads, if the stuff is very gunky and warm water (or Hans' Ivory liquid method) don't work, naptha has been proposed.

Jamie

[wildpikr]

[QUOTE=Mandoist;730852]In the last 30+ years, I never go anywhere without my old-fashioned cotton baby diaper. Never leave home without it.

I agree with you Mandoist. I also use one to wipe the strings after playing.

[Tom C]

I believe you'll find that the temperature gradient is only 40 to 50 degrees (F). Enough to affect varnish maybe, but not enough to kill living tissue.

Only 40-50 degrees?
Try spaying your arm. You will probably get a nice freeze burn.

[Tim2723]

Actually I learned the hard way that's not true! An office gag we had was to super-cool a plant/flower/leaf and flick with the finger and it woudl shatter after being frozen. Holding the can upside down and doing a little "poof" surprise on my leg by a cube neighbor earned me a little patch of frotsbite that turned grey and required minor medical attention!

OK, that's not the same as spraying compressed air out of an aerosol can though. That's the same principle used for cryogenic wart removers where supercooling is involved. That's very dangerous and nothing to be horsed around with. Nobody should do that.

Spraying simple compressed air won't hurt you any more than blowing dust off yourself with a shop air hose. Not the wisest thing, but generally harmless.

Electronics cleaner (Joe's most likely case) could wreck a finish because there's a solvent involved. Spraying it on your skin from a couple of inches away is uncomfortable, but has no lasting effect.

Purposely discharging the propellant at point-blank range is irresponsible and dangerous to the point of stupidity. Keep it out of reach of children and dumb co-workers.

[AlanN]

I have a nice rag with Carmel Music on it, soft. I like the baby diaper, too. And it brings back memories...

[tree]

Second the cloth diapers (for the memories, also to embarass a 15-yr-old if I get the chance). All in favor?

I have a remnant of a special old t-shirt from '78 or '79, when DGQ came to Memorial Hall at UNC. All that's left is most of the logo - a cartoon dog playing an F-5. I don't really use it to clean my mando (see cloth diaper reference, above). It just lives in the case for mojo. Like a rattlesnake rattle, I reckon.

[AlanN]

Second the cloth diapers (for the memories, also to embarass a 15-yr-old if I get the chance). All in favor?

I have a remnant of a special old t-shirt from '78 or '79, when DGQ came to Memorial Hall at UNC. All that's left is most of the logo - a cartoon dog playing an F-5.

Likely the artist was Tom Rozum for that. And that Chapel Hill show must have been the original DGQ, with Rice...how cool.

[Capt. E]

I believe it was the cold that killed the finish more than anything else. Those cans of compressed air really cool things off fast. Your Chemistry will remind you that PV = nRT (the ideal gas law) which relates pressure, volume and temperature. As high pressure gas escapes to a larger volume the temperature drops (cracking finish and killing hair follicles).

Jamie

That is the first thing I thought of, it wasn't chemicals but sudden cold. I have used canned air on photo equipment for decades and know well how cold the air blast can be.

[Andy Alexander]

Don't use the same cloth that you use to clean your fiddle. The rosin residue that is inevitably left on it won't make your mandolin look good.

[Ronnie L]

My banjo player paints in watercolours. I swiped one of his wash brushes exactly the right width for dusting the strings. See...they are good for something!

[Charley wild]

I've used Murphy's soap and water with a cotton cloth for forty years on every kind of stringed instrument you can think of (I wish I had them all back ) and have never had any problems with it.

[John Kasley]

I use Scott Shop Towels on my varnish finish F-5 MM. They are felted (non-woven), so won't scratch like a regular paper towel. Keep a couple folded up into a little square in my case pocket. Replace them every so often, otherwise you're just redistributing the gunk. Got the tip from Frank Ford's website:
http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician...leaning01.html

I've used microfiber cloths also, but as someone mentioned it's important to make sure no debris gets on it that could cling and then scratch the finish.

[Mandoviol]

I third/fourth the use of a cloth diaper (yes, it too brings back memories) and second the use of Murphy's Oil Soap. I use that stuff for everything, even cleaned my bike with it.

[CES]

I can't believe you people clean at all...

And, Tim, fyi, those cans of propellant will shoot small twisted wads of paper fairly accurately up to 15 feet or so...stupid or not (no, we never shot them from pbr), that was some good fun!!

[Big Joe]

I used to use cotton diaper. However, it has been 30 years since any of my kids have needed them. I had enough of them in those days....I don't even want to think about that again

[Mandoist]

I third/fourth the use of a cloth diaper (yes, it too brings back memories) and second the use of Murphy's Oil Soap. I use that stuff for everything, even cleaned my bike with it.

For those who think Murphy's Oil Soap is good for their instruments..."David Harvey's Jubilee Cleaner/Polish" (and any truly nonbuild-up product) will show you just how many layers of that stuff you've rubbed onto your finishes!'

Nix on Murphy's...and most products claiming they are a "polish" or "cleaner".

[hank]

I agree with Rolfe's and Jamie on using a soft brush something like a 1" Anderson 409. I use mine on tiny delicate wooden carvings as well.

[John McGann]

Thanks to Big Joe, Rolfe, Hans and the many expert luthiers who share their vast knowledge so freely here on the Café. Posts like this can save many people lots of heartache and hassle!

[Mandophyte]

I actually use a pseudo chamois on my mandolin.

Be careful with pseudo chamois!

I used some to replace the bit of felt under the tailpiece of my Tonewood AM20-S (Yes a cheapy!) and few weeks later I came home to broken A and E strings.

The stuff's hygroscopic and the strings had rusted through!