BOILING STRINGS IN CIDER VINEGAR??

[boglej2]

I was taling to a music store owner, and he said to boil ur strings in cider vinegar and it'll give them their brightness again, has anybody heard bout this?? I know theres threads about boiling them in water and denatured alcohol etc. but any1 heard about this particular method?

[nemo]

It's 2008 mate, go to alcohol soaking.
No mess, no smell, no string heat deterioration, easy, comfortable.

I've heard about the vinegar method, but that brings no advantage over the alcohol soaking, only negatives.

[Jools4001]

Yes but make sure that you use a dry cider, it gives a crisper tone.

[boglej2]

okay, maybe i should have said i've a gig tnite, all my strings are in woeful condittion, i have about 3 hrs max to do whatever i can with my strings, whats my best bet??

[Nurb]

The dish washer works very well too

[taliesin]

I've boiled strings over the years just using regular vinegar and it seems to give them a bit more life - they'll probably sound better for the gig but it doesn't last too long.

[nastyn8c]

Cider and alcohol have a water base. What causes rust? Water. They will clean your strings, but they will quickly deteriorate thereafter.

Soak, do not boil, in mineral spirits (found at a hardware store). You have to keep it in a well-ventilated area, as the fumes are toxic. Mineral spirits will remove the gunk without leaving water and water residue in your strings.

[GlennW]

You have three hours and what should you do? I'd suggest learning how to plan ahead.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by nastyn8c

Cider and alcohol have a water base. What causes rust? Water.

You have to use over 90% denatured alcohol.

OP - quick plan - boil strings for few minutes in water with couple drops of dishwashing liquid in some old disposable pot not to be used for foods.

Tomorrow - make your own soaking system.

[Basso Gruvitas]

Originally Posted by nastyn8c

Cider and alcohol have a water base. What causes rust? Water.

Yes, but what are strings made of generally? Nickel or stainless steel, neither of which rust. The only thing to look out for would be if the core is made of regular ol' steel, or if your sweat is especially acidic which will cause the strings to deteriorate.

I'm a water boiler myself. It doesn't last quite as long as a new set of strings but it does me just fine.

[alexei]

Originally Posted by Basso Gruvitas

Yes, but what are strings made of generally? Nickel or stainless steel, neither of which rust.

both nickel and stainless steel they get rust. Maybe in a "normal" atmosphere it will take decades, or even hundreds of years. But when you place the metal in a more corrosive atmosphere, they will surely rust. Not fast maybe, but they will.

Test it yourself: place a string anywhere in your house, and whatch it get rusty in some years. They are made from stainless steel. Place it outdoors and it will rust faster. Place the string in acid rain and say goodbye to it.

Originally Posted by nastyn8c

Cider and alcohol have a water base. What causes rust? Water. .

We could clarify here. Water oxidize faster than air. Because Hydrogen makes the process of oxidization much faster (iron + oxygen --> rust) But ACID rust much more faster than water. Why? because it has much more concentrated hydrogen. That's what acids are based: hydrogen.

Vinegar has Acetic acid in it. Also has water. So, it rust more because of acid, than because of water.

[FLWing]

Geez - By the time I go thru removing my strings, then clean the fretboard/fingerboard & clean and polish the body, I'd just as soon put on a NEW set. That's why you always should keep at least one spare set for each of your instruments. (I really like to get them on a few days in advance.)

Listen to GlennW - plan ahead. Better still, have several basses and take the one with good strings.

[pstyle]

I have a small bucket w. a lid filled halfway w denatured alcohol. Works perfect every time.
I've found that steel strings only need a few hours in there while nickels need about 24 hours. Boiling vinegar will stink up your neighborhood.

[SS_korn89]

http://www.tunemybass.com/strings/ho...s_strings.html

I would recommend doing this. I've done it a bunch of times and the strings sound like new. Its really easy to do. I suggest making the tube that is on the site....it makes it so you don't have to fish the strings out

[jgroh]

Ive been boiling for 21 years and not one set have rusted. As a matter of fact, for reasons unknown to even me , I used to pull the strings out of the boiling water and throw them in the freezer for a half hour. Dunno if that helped but they sounded like new when I put them back on.

[scottbass]

I know everyone else was talking about just soaking in alcohol, but the wording of the OP seemed to imply boiling in alcohol as one alternative.

DON'T BOIL ALCOHOL! You will start a fire. And then you might die.

I've always considered string reconditioning of any type to be a marginal return on the effort compared with just putting on some new strings. Of course that requires planning ahead...

[Baker69]

Go buy some strings!

I've tried the vinegar route, the result was no different to boiling them in water in my experience, but it did stink the house out for hours!

Basically all you're doing when you boil them (in whatever substance), is to get rid of the dirt, sweat and dead skin that has accumulated on the strings and in particular between the coils on roundwounds, so boiling in water should do as a temporary "quick fix".

The metal gets fatigued through playing and by just being open to the atmosphere, so you're never ever going to get them back to anywere near new condition. (Strings on new basses in shops very quickly go dull sounding, even without usage). This is another good reason why you should always pack your bass away in its case when not in use!

If you do boil them, try and keep the ends out the water (or vinegar) so that the material used for binding doesn't get waterlogged.

[Solarmist]

I boil them on MED for 20 minutes with some dish soap - rinse out, and let dry, and I've never seen rust on nickel or stainless strings afterwards even after boiling 3 times (max) - months later.

[nemo]

I would recommend alcohol soaking instead of boiling also due to less thermal stress for strings.
I boiled for many years and get used to that strings occasionaly break, like every two-three of months or so..
Since I started soaking about three years ago, I had NO string break yet.
Also it is more comfortable and no mess at all.

[CrashClint]

I boil mine in denatured Alcohol over a very hot open flame.