Cleaning Strings

[nrcafootball68]

These are the 2 methods I have heard of for cleaning strings.

Soaking in Denatured Alcohol

Get a plastic pvc pipe tube, about 40" long and 1/4" diameter. Cap one end permantently, fill it with denatured alcohol, then cap the other end. When you want to soak your strings, its ready to go, just pull the top cap off and slip in your strings to soak in it overnight. When done, pull the strings out, put the top cap back on and the alcohol stays in, no mess, no fuss, and you can lay the pipe down under a bed, it takes up NO room whatsoever, and there is NO mess at all.

The denatured alcohol stays effective for a long, long time. I'm over a year on the same batch in my pipe.

Denatured alcohol is available at any hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) and is cheaper than isopropyl/rubbing alcohol. It is purer, undiluted, and doesn't have water and sometimes SKIN SOFTENERS in it like rubbing alcohol does.

Boiling

Coil the strings up and place them into a pot. Fill the pot with water and boil the strings for a few minutes. After you boil them, take them out of the pot and hang them somewhere to dry. You need to make sure the strings get dry, otherwise they will rust. DO NOT REUSE THIS POT FOR COOKING FOOD AS CHEMICALS FROM THE STRINGS CAN BOND WITH THE POT also DO NOT BOIL GUITAR STRINGS, YOU CAN SOAK THEM IN ALCOHOL, HOWEVER



Both of these methods can be used with stainless steel strings aswell. Do not use either of these methods with coated strings (elixers, etc.), as this will remove the coating from the strings. While the strings are off, it is a good time to clean your fretboard with lemon oil.


feel free to post any other methods you know of for cleaning strings. :thumb:

[rh15951]

DO NOT REUSE THIS POT FOR COOKING FOOD



...Too late :lol:

I used the boiling method yesterday - I put all the strings in boiling water for 10 minutes then dried them with a towel and then with a hairdryer. They sound good - almost like new. We'll see how long that lasts...

[jontonsoup@aol.com]

lol i use this cleaning crap i bought i dono how good or bad it is...but it smells like crap

[><((*>.oO(AnDy)]

boil them :)

[nicolaB]

Why can't you reuse the pot for cooking food?

[Stoic]

Why can't you reuse the pot for cooking food?

you like the taste of steel? eeew :p

my input: wash your hands before playing and wipe them down with some sort of cloth afterwards it will usually help your strings last longer

[nicolaB]

Wow, I would of thought you could just wash the pot afterwards and there would be no problem. hmm.


you like the taste of steel? eeew :p

Maybe I do........ o_0

[Aukai]

It won't...kill you or anything will it?

[Arise II]

Yes, it will, actually. You see, hte pot really hates the taste of metal, so the next time you come near it, the li'l bastard may just jump at ya, and go straight for your juggular (sp?) vain :p

[AussieTom72]

jee, im sure that if u just cleaned the pot it would be fine, although what do i know, im 15 ahahah

[kev_trb1006]

how many times can you repeat the de-natured alcohol method?

[basshole]

I got a question about the pickups. I just bought a Fender on ebay and when I opened the box I noticed that there was some rust on one of the pickups. How can I remove this.

[nrcafootball68]

how many times can you repeat the de-natured alcohol method?


im pretty sure you can as many times as you want to, because it does not weaken the strings like boiling

[kev_trb1006]

^^ ****in boshank, thanks man

[PainKiller8191]

oh ****......yea i definitely didn't clean the pot too well after boiling my strings.......thats not god at all........

[ickle_faerie_princess]

Ok, well I tried the string boiling thing, dried them off nicely and tried to put them back on. Got 3 on fine but due to the stupid way that my strings are attatched to the wee posty things (it goes inside and its just very confusin for a n00b like me ;)) a bend in the string had weakened and snapped! Unfortunately cos of this daft way of winding the strings it wasn't long enough to put on after that... wont be boiling my strings again!

[DarkGothComy]

Do you have to let the string dry or anything when you take them out of the alcohol?

[nrcafootball68]

^^they should dry pretty fast, probably within 5 min. of taking them out of the alcohol

[nrcafootball68]

bump

[Mild_child]

I got a question about the pickups. I just bought a Fender on ebay and when I opened the box I noticed that there was some rust on one of the pickups. How can I remove this.
boil the pickups

[nrcafootball68]

^^DO NOT BOIL THE PICKUPS

[Whatsisface]

Can you boil guitar strings? Or will it weaken them too much?

[nrcafootball68]

i think you can boil guitar strings

[Crudd-Bucket™]

i think you can boil guitar strings

DON'T boil them, put them in meth's for about 30 mins. Boiling will destroy the spring they have left in them.

[nrcafootball68]

ok, thanks, i wasnt sure, ill edit my first post to say that

[leppy_the bass boy]

i know its totally irrelevant but guys....never remove all your strings from the bridge all at once.....on my very first bass i did that just to see what it was like and then i realised my whole bridge was ****ed........i had to get a friggin job at burger king to save enough money to buy a new bridge....i learnt the hard way NEVER DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anarchy for the UK]

i know its totally irrelevant but guys....never remove all your strings from the bridge all at once.....on my very first bass i did that just to see what it was like and then i realised my whole bridge was ****ed........i had to get a friggin job at burger king to save enough money to buy a new bridge....i learnt the hard way NEVER DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh ****! my dad's taken all the strings off his sting bass to get the nut fixed!!!

[nrcafootball68]

i know its totally irrelevant but guys....never remove all your strings from the bridge all at once.....on my very first bass i did that just to see what it was like and then i realised my whole bridge was ****ed........i had to get a friggin job at burger king to save enough money to buy a new bridge....i learnt the hard way NEVER DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


that shouldnt matter, it shouldnt mess up the bridge

[AcerbicCunnt77]

it could give the neck a bow with out all the tension though. but I've never heard it mess up the bridge before

[Kayetan]

^^^
Nope, that's just a myth. Today's basses' necks are pretty well built. It doesn't actually mess up the neck. Hell, I had my strings off my bass for at least 5 or 6 days when I was defrettings it and it's fine.

[i like arab girls]

I just take a bath with my strings. :lol:

[nrcafootball68]

:lol:

[AcerbicCunnt77]

I just take a bath with my strings. :lol:
sounds kinky :lol:

[Arrakakaka]

I just take a bath with my strings. :lol:
:naughty:

You give your strings head too?

I'm just 200 posts away from 1337!

[tebbo]

I just take a bath with my strings. :lol:

who are we to judge :lol:

what you get up to in your own time is your own buisness

[AcerbicCunnt77]

can you boil flats too?

[Crudd-Bucket™]

can you boil flats too?

No, let them sit in a bucket of Methylated Spirits for 20 mins. Boiling them will make their coiling expand and they won't retract entirely so they will be poo.

[metal_bassist88]

i spent all yesterday going around town trying to get that denatured alcohol and no one has heard of it. What is it simalar to or can i use something else? Does it have a different name or something too?

[AussieTom72]

my E string broke while trying to put it back on :'(, it was only broken on the tip of it though so i could still get it in tune, but how long do i have before it fully breaks? im guessing its extremely weak now

[Crudd-Bucket™]

i spent all yesterday going around town trying to get that denatured alcohol and no one has heard of it. What is it simalar to or can i use something else? Does it have a different name or something too?

Mineral Turpentine. The only difference is it has a little bit of water in it, which evaporates anyway in a few seconds.

my E string broke while trying to put it back on :'(, it was only broken on the tip of it though so i could still get it in tune, but how long do i have before it fully breaks? im guessing its extremely weak now

What did you do to it? Boil it...? Maybe you just need to buy new strings man.

[AussieTom72]

yeah i boiled it,

i dont really wanna get new strings because its a piece of **** and i should be getting a jazz soon

[Crudd-Bucket™]

From my experience, very old strings (Like 1 year plus) and dead strings break when they are restrung after being boiled. It's best to attempt using turpentine to clean them or just to buy new strings :thumb:

[spaz21387]

i heard of using some kind of soap i also heard of wrapping them around the spinny thing in the washer and the soap from the clothes cleans them

[jynXXX]

Alcohol Method is the best. Boiling not only weakens them but also increases rust risk.

Also, alot of answers to some of the peoples problems were "Buy new strings". New and old strings sound very different. Strings have their prime for only their first 10 hours, after that they begin to detune and break in to the frets and playing. So if you really want to have that crisp new sound, desanitize your hands, clean your strings regularly, and buy new ones every week, or day.

Very helpful though. Thank you, this is first place I've read the PCP piping idea. Nice idea.

[enim]

Alcohol Method is the best. Boiling not only weakens them but also increases rust risk.

Also, alot of answers to some of the peoples problems were "Buy new strings". New and old strings sound very different. Strings have their prime for only their first 10 hours, after that they begin to detune and break in to the frets and playing. So if you really want to have that crisp new sound, sanitize your hands, clean your strings regularly, and buy new ones every week, or day.

Very helpful though. Thank you, this is first place I've read the PVC piping idea. Nice idea.

Corrected.

I am pretty sure they dont make pipes out of drugs.

[Rowan S]

i boil them.

[three_sic]

I have a bit of a problem, we don't have pvc pipes. What would happen if i somewhat folded my strings? i mean not folding as in folding.. it goes in circles.. cause i dont have materials here.. would my strings break?

[Pluperfect_Arson]

I have a bit of a problem, we don't have pvc pipes. What would happen if i somewhat folded my strings? i mean not folding as in folding.. it goes in circles.. cause i dont have materials here.. would my strings break?

Unless you have your strings bent so they kink, you shouldn't have a problem with them breaking if they are just looped around.

[Syntax]

Ok, well I tried the string boiling thing, dried them off nicely and tried to put them back on. Got 3 on fine but due to the stupid way that my strings are attatched to the wee posty things (it goes inside and its just very confusin for a n00b like me ;)) a bend in the string had weakened and snapped! Unfortunately cos of this daft way of winding the strings it wasn't long enough to put on after that... wont be boiling my strings again!

lmao yeah i broke a bass string once i felt like such a dumbass everyone i knew was like how the hell do you break a bass string.

[Rawb]

Forget boiling. Soak them in a solution of 80% alcohol and 10% water for 30 minutes and your string will sound brand new, or at least have the same effect of boiling them. And I guess soaking in alcohol won't do any damage to the strings like weakening them, preventing any breakage.

[tomtom]

i'm totally of boiling strings for a long-term solution. it corrodes the cores out.

i s'pose it'd be fine to boil while your old set if you getting a new set in like 2 weeks or something like that. but, when you need new strings, get new strings ...

never tried the alcohol method. might try that next time i need new strings, but am broke.

[rh15951]

Hmm how about a compromise and use some boiling alcohol... :)

[edgebass5]

Forget boiling. Soak them in a solution of 80% alcohol and 10% water

I realize this is an old quote, but since this thread has been bumped recently I'm forced to ask... If you go 80% alcohol and 10% water... What do you do with the remaining 10% :p

[edgebass5]

Hmm how about a compromise and use some boiling alcohol... :)

Now this is the kind of logic I can get behind! :chug:

[okay]

Both of these methods can be used with stainless steel strings aswell. Do not use either of these methods with coated strings (elixers, etc.), as this will remove the coating from the strings. While the strings are off, it is a good time to clean your fretboard with lemon oil.


feel free to post any other methods you know of for cleaning strings. :thumb:

on my strings it looks like they have a small plastic coating, its coming off in places. does this mean i cant use the soaking in alcohol method to clean them?

[Son of Magni]

I used to boil strings. I always took them out of the boiling water with some kind of tonges (sp?) so that the water would mostly just steam it's way out of the strings thus not risking rust problems. It did seem to make them more likely to break though. Some strings have the silk running the length of the strings between the windings so I'm sure boiling them can screw that up too...

[rh15951]

Alcohol Method is the best. Boiling not only weakens them but also increases rust risk.

I hate to tell you this, but stainless steel and nickel don't rust...