tarheel - Posted - 06/28/2007:  09:29:18

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How many times have you heard that? Anyway, I was surprised at how using alcohol to clean strings, hair, is mentioned here. I would think it would deterioate hair, and damage some finishes. I just keep a rag handy to wipe the strings when they get caked, and usually wipe off my better fiddles when I'm finished playing. But hey, it's your fiddle, play it anyway you want!
tarheel

uncledelphi - Posted - 06/28/2007:  09:39:23

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Alcohol will certainly damage some finishes, but I have never noticed any appreciable hair damage. When soaking bow hair in alcohol, one should be very, very careful not to get any on the frog or stick.

I generally use a cork to clean the rosin off my strings, but every now and then a little alcohol on the strings works wonders. Again, one must be extremely careful not to get it on the finish.

As long as you're careful, alcohol is a very useful tool.

loy - Posted - 06/28/2007:  12:04:12

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Have not had the courage to try alcohol yet, just rub the strings with a cork (from a fine wine pref. from the 30's vintage.... maybe a good merlot :)and wipe down with a soft cloth. Seems to work fine. Loy

fiddle and clawhammer banjo:priceless

BanjoBrad - Posted - 06/28/2007:  16:41:06

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Loy-

You must be a Violinist , if you use fine wine corks!

Us Fiddlers tend to use the one from the jug a-settin' by the rocker on the porch, where we play!


Banjo Brad
www.PricklyPearMusic.net
ezFolk Page

krugwaffle - Posted - 06/29/2007:  00:52:23

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First let me say, alcohol and just about any fiddle finish is a no-no. Alcohol and wooden bows - very tricky and can be a no-no if careless.

That said, cleaning bow hair with alcohol is one of the safest ways to clean and restore it to like new condition. I'm no expert but I did have this recommended to me by a large supplier of horse hair to the bow industry. His recommendation is to never wash horse hair in water due to certain elemental changes that occur. Evidently, there's some kind of treatment - a sizing or something - they do at the hair factory that sets the hair for use. Washing in water or soapy water will remove or distort this treatment.

Of all the options available for cleaning horse hair, the alcohol leaves the hair more in it's 'original state' than other cleaners. Water alone won't remove rosin or oil. Adding detergent to the water can have many detrimental effects to the hair including shrinkage, curling and kinking, and the removal of certain protiens that keep the hair strong and flexible. Not to mention all the residues that could be left from the detergent if it contains any emolients, softeners, lotions, fragrances, and so on. Alcohol will quickly and easily remove the oils and rosin without modifying the protein structure of the hair and evaporates before any more damage is done.

Alcohol isn't for casual cleaning. It's a major evolution that should only be used as a last resort before giving up and sending the bow in for rehairing. My attempts have been as a result of some kind of contamination that was preventing the bow from working properly. First attempt was due to a failed experiment involving synthetic rosin and another from contaminated compressed air containing silicon lubricants. In both cases, the hair was brought back to full functionality and is still in use today.

I use a cork on my strings too! Here's a question, though. How do you clean the backside of the strings up near the nut? I don't do it every time I play but after a marathon 3-5 hour weekend jam out in the Florida heat and humidity, my strings are pretty grotty in the first position. My only solution is a small piece of paper towel dampened only to the fume level with some rubbing alcohol. It's amazing how much black gook comes off whenever I use this process. I don't know if the exposure to alcohol is bad for string life, but I can't help thinking how bad that grime is for them if left hiding on the backside.

I guess I'm a little more strident than most when it comes to fiddle maintenance. From the start, I decided that learning to set my own soundposts, carve my own bridges, and install my own pegs was as important as learning how to play. I see all the above as one and the same. How can you play well if your fiddle isn't set up well? Living in my area, there's never any luthiers available on the weekends when you need them and my fiddles never act up on the weekdays. I've just always taken it upon myself to keep the fiddles I own in tip top shape and sometimes I have to resort to non-conventional practices to do this. By non-conventional, I mean not something the average fiddle player would attempt on their own. Also keep in mind - my stuff isn't world class gear. Both of my fiddles together cost less than a thousand dollars so no great loss if one of my experiments fail.

BanjoBrad - Posted - 06/29/2007:  15:31:18

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I use the cork mainly where the bow deposits the rosin. I do wipe down the strings before putting the fiddle away (usually) with soft handkerchief I keep in the case. This gets rid of the finger grime good enough for me.


Banjo Brad
www.PricklyPearMusic.net
ezFolk Page

Bill Rogers - Posted - 07/01/2007:  00:51:12

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The best thing to clean rosin off (and it doesn't damage finishes) is trichloroethylene. But it causes liver cancer. I worked for a short while in a shop where they used it. When I ran across the carcinogin notice (after I'd left the shop because the dust kicked off my allergies too much) I send a copy to the shop owner. Don't know if he quit using it then, but he's still around more than 30 years later.

Bill

krugwaffle - Posted - 07/01/2007:  02:19:54

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Wow, trich won't kill a finish?!?! I need to check that out, Bill. If trich will get the rosin but leave the finish untouched, that would be great.

loy - Posted - 07/01/2007:  08:57:06

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[quote]Originally posted by BanjoBrad

Loy-

You must be a Violinist , if you use fine wine corks!

Us Fiddlers tend to use the one from the jug a-settin' by the rocker on the porch, where we play!
Hi Brad! Ha! Every good past on "VIOLINIST" just rolled over in their grave after that comment ! No,I just like good wine to lessen the affect's of my poor playing ! Take care- Loy

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Edited by - loy on 07/01/2007 08:58:48

Bill Rogers - Posted - 07/02/2007:  01:22:19

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quote:

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Originally posted by krugwaffle

Wow, trich won't kill a finish?!?! I need to check that out, Bill. If trich will get the rosin but leave the finish untouched, that would be great.

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I leaves a little haze that comes right off with violin polish. No finish damage. And it really gets rid of the rosin buildup. But I'd sure use it only with an organic vapor-rated respirator. This was not 1-1-1 tricholoroethane. Sometimes the two get confused.

Bill

hardykefes - Posted - 07/02/2007:  12:07:26

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@ krugwaffle
Sorry , but I disagree with water and bowhairs and I don't care what the supplier says. Please read my article 'How often to rehair'.
Hot water does remove some of the rosin, but foremost the grease and dirt.
The discribed method is being used for 300 years. Hair is natural and so is rosin. And water will not change this.:-)

Violin/Fiddle Instructor and Repair Service

krugwaffle - Posted - 07/04/2007:  09:05:05

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quote:

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Originally posted by hardykefes

@ krugwaffle
Sorry , but I disagree with water and bowhairs and I don't care what the supplier says. Please read my article 'How often to rehair'.
Hot water does remove some of the rosin, but foremost the grease and dirt.

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You've never had the hot water to cause the hair to shrink or curl? From what I've heard, that's the biggest problem with washing in water. I can't speak from experience because I've never tried washing in anythng other than alcohol. The speed with which it cuts both rosin and the grime just seems more ideal. I guess it's my electronics technician upbringing. We tend to wash everything in alcohol.

In most cases, when I've washed a bow, it's not because it was dirty or had too much rosin on it. It's more because of some sort of accidental contamination. First it was the air compressor I was using to blow excess rosin dust out of the hair. I found it was misting oil. Not just oil but silicon based compressor oil. That was a real pain to clean out of the hair. Next was the problem of synthetic rosin which was only partially resolved with alcohol. If anyone knows what dissolves Clairity Rosin, let me know. I think I've tried everything.

Alcohol cleaning is not for every bow, or every occasion. You want the rosin to build up on its own and make a nice sticky stable coating. You should always be careful to never touch or allow the bowhair to come in contact with anything that would contaminate this sticky surface. If those rules are followed, you should never need to clean your bow other than to wipe the stick from time to time.

But, if you're like me, it's nice to know there's an emergency recovery procedure that might just save your a** when your trusty bow suddenly refuses to play the night before a performance.

Now I gotta go find hardykefes article....