Denatured Alcohol questions

[Slowgypsy]

Originally Posted by totallyfrozen

According to this guy there is. Not sure how he expects STAINLESS steel or nickel to rust.
Stainless steel doesn't agree with salt but otherwise, it shouldn't rust in pure water.

Actually, not entirely true. The term "Stainless Steel" is really more of a marketing term than a scientific one. There are many, many different alloys of a type of steel that is called "Stainless", and some will in fact be quite prone to oxidize and exhibit what we know as rust. Here's a quick test you can do yourself. Take a magnet to different items termed Stainless Steel. Some things will have virtually no magnetic attraction, some will have quite a bit. Reason... depending on the alloy, there may be more or less iron in the mix. Iron.... that's the part that mixes with moisture, oxidizes and causes rust.

And over the years, after doing both the boiling method and denatured alcohol method, in my totally unscientific way, I think the denatured alcohol method makes my strings sound more new than the boiling method. Just my $.02....

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by FletcherML

Isopropyl contains water.

No. Isopropyl alcohol is just another alcohol. I understand that some formulations you can buy can contain significant amount of water, but what I can quite easily get is 99% pure. Whether or not the water which may be in whatever concentrations you can buy has any impact on the soaking process is another debate entirely, and I'm not going there again, but just because the label says "isopropyl" does not mean that it contains any significant amount of water. There is nothing magic about denatured alcohol, either; all denaturing ethanol means is that it has toxic stuff added to it so that you can't drink it.

[FletcherML]

I used to be a boiler. It would give the most hit or miss results. If I don't boil them.for the right time or dry them perfectly my strings woyld sound lime butt. Started the denatured alc soak and it kicks ass. Sooo nice. As for the logic stated in the threqd about how boiling water isn't hot enough to cause problems, I'm pretty sure the problem lies in the fact that water comrades the core of most strings. I know from experience that boiling is an extremely temporary fix.

[FletcherML]

I used to be a boiler. It would give the most hit or miss results. If I don't boil them.for the right time or dry them perfectly my strings woyud sound like butt. Started the denatured alc soak and it kicks ass. Sooo nice. As for the logic stated in the thread about how boiling water isn't hot enough to cause problems, I'm pretty sure the problem lies in the fact that water comrades the core of most strings. I know from experience that boiling is an extremely temporary fix.

[bunkaroo]

Bumping for a related question.

I forgot I left a string in a container of denatured alcohol I had in my garage for string cleaning. It could have been in there for 6 months easily. So I went to take it out to clean some new strings, and it was quite rusted. I didn't think that was possible with denatured alcohol. I guess I need to be careful to take the strings out after a day or so.

[GoneFission]

I use to be a boiler but i also got mixed results, but i think i would like to try Denatured Alcohol. Ok.. so maybe this is a stupid question, but i'll shoot......Would there be any positive or adverse reactions in soaking coated strings in denatured alcohol? I have a few basses with DR Black Beauties and was wondering if the alcohol would have any ill effect on the wrapping?

[Pimpernel Smith]

Has anyone tried denatured alcohol cleaning of T-I Jazz flats or Jazz roundwounds, which contain silk ? Any ill affects to these?