Cleaning a head

[Wudwerkr]

Whats best way to clean a Banjo-lin head or a banjo head , not sure if its calfskin , it has a ring about 1/8" dia. glued or molded in it at bottom , if its orig calf id like to clean it ,

[allenhopkins]

Depends on what's staining it. I'd start with a damp cloth, see what you can get off. Don't soak it, but you can rub it fairly vigorously. The articles I've seen don't recommend using soap or detergent to clean natural skin heads. Glass cleaners like Windex work on plastic heads, though. Once you've removed what you can with a cloth, the recommendation for cleaning calfskin heads is to use a soft eraser, like the Pink Pearl you may have had in your elementary school pencil box. Don't use one with abrasives mixed in, like the ones on mechanical pencils or ballpoints.

Some discoloration of a natural-skin banjo head is inevitable if you rest your fingers on it while playing, or strike the surface with hand or pick when strumming. One perspective is that this "adds character." Removing grime, however, is another matter. And there are substances that can penetrate the skin and stain it permanently, which you won't be able to remove.

[Frank Ford]

I'm not so sure about water based cleaners on skin heads. The traditional head cleaner was a rubber eraser. Here's one:



My personal favorite is the "Pink Pearl" commonly found in stationery stores.

[Ivan Kelsall]

You REALLY need to know what the head's made from. If it's an old instrument that might have a hide (skin) head on it,then spongeing it lightly with milk was one of the methods i've used in the past. I do mean lightly,as you don't want the head to absorb too much moisture.
If it's a plastic head,then warm soapy water is the thing to use.You can use a soft nail brush if you need to get rid of any heavy grime.Then wipe it clean with a soft cloth soaked in warm,clean water. Plastic heads are tough cookies,so there's not much you can do to hurt them. Be careful not to be tempted to try any type of solvent on it though, as you might end up with more than a bit of damage,
Ivan

[Wudwerkr]

Thanks , I would have never guess a pink eraser. It is a head that doesnt look plastic . However it has a 3/32" dia steel ring "moulded " or "glued around the edge . the strech ring . would the skin type be "molded " in like that . The banjo is mid 1890's

[BPV]

I was given a banjo....nothin fancy, an older Hondo that needed some attention. A kid had scribbled all over the head with crayons, markers,etc......Mr. Clean Magic eraser saved the day, made it look kinda new again. It truly was amazing!

[allenhopkins]

It is a head that doesnt look plastic . However it has a 3/32" dia steel ring "moulded " or "glued around the edge . the strech ring . would the skin type be "molded " in like that?

What you're describing is called the "flesh hoop" and it's the "frame" around which the head membrane is stretched. Both skin and plastic heads have a metal flesh hoop. You can tell skin from plastic just by appearance. Any banjo of that vintage would have had a natural skin head, but of course the head could have been replaced more recently with a plastic one.

Is the banjo head smooth, like plastic, or does it have a more textured surface, like natural skin? Look inside the head, since many plastic heads have a coating over the outside to simulate the look of a skin head. Where the head's stretched over the flesh hoop, does it look totally uniform all the way around, as if a plastic head were molded to accept the hoop, or can you see where a larger sheet was wet, folded and glued around the hoop, as would be characteristic of natural skin?

I'd hazard a guess that a century-old banjo-mandolin would have a natural skin head, but without seeing it, couldn't be sure. Therefore, I'd suggest a conservative approach to cleansing it, without using a great deal of moisture or any soap or detergent.

[fishtownmike]

I like em dirty! I use real skin heads and i buy the goat skins that are non bleached that have a nice old look to them.