Making old strings usable?

[KayXero]

I popped my G two days ago, and I really dont wanna spend 20 to 30 bucks on new strings. Thats like a tank of gas almost and Im broke-ish right now

So I was thinking hmmm, screw it I need strings. But then I found in my closet a set of flats that I used on a fretless bass 3 years ago for only like a couple months. But I dont like flats tone on a fretted bass, esp considering Ive been practicing slap lately.

SO I go to my drawer casually looking for tools cus I was about to change my bridge too, and I find my first set of rounds that came on my FIRST bass. It was from a squier MB4 back in 2005 lolz. They darkened a lil bit on certain spots up and down the strings.

What i wanna ask is if boiling them or anything else can make them serviceable for a little bit. Even if its just the G string.

I know it sounds silly but I do know some guys who NEVER change their bass strings.

[stratovani]

Soak them in alcohol for 24 hours, let them dry for a few minutes, slap them on your bass, and you should be good to go. It should hold you until you can get a set of new strings.

[Siggy]

I clean my strings regularly. as soon as they sound a little dead I take them off and clean them In alcohol. I've heard that boiling them works but the idea of water and metal rubs me wrong, besides alcohol evaporates quickly.

Put the strings in container, I use a wide mouth quart mason jar, fill most of the way with wood alcohol. Don't use isopropyl because it's 30% water. Seal it with the lid and shake it. I leave a little air in the jar to help with the agitation. I let it soak at least 24hrs but longer is OK and shake it a couple of times.
When your done I keep the alcohol in the jar for the next time.

The strings seem to recover about 90% of their brightness. I only clean them once because they don't recover as much with subsequent cleanings.

Hint, after I clean them I put a small notch on the ball with a file so I know if they've been cleaned or not.

[KayXero]

Crap I already put it in Isopropyl lol. Oh wells. We will see how this turns out.

I had two bottles half full of both 70% iso and 91% iso. So I had to use both to fill up the jar I used. O wells

[tercesyrev]

I've tried both and found boiling with a small amount of dish soap is the only way to not only thoroughly clean strings but restore them as best possible to new condition. As the steel heats up in the water it expands allowing the the crud imbedded in the strings to be flushed out. The dish soap breaks down the oil residue. Make sure not to put too much soap in or you'll have a bubble bath.

Afterwards, rinsing them in cold water acts as a tempering process of sorts, restabilizing the steel and tension strength somewhat. Dry them off with a clean towel and wahlah. I've never had any rust issues. Obviously this can't be done with coated strings . . . ie; Elixir or DR

Try it, you won't be disappointed.

[Siggy]

I wouldn't worry about Iso alcohol...I'm just picker then I need to be.

[ilovenofrets]

The Iso alcohol is OK, but stick with 91%, way less water. And as above, you'll only wanna do this as a tide-over until you can get your hands on a new set.

[lotusland9663]

I've found soaking strings in hydrogen peroxide (available from your drugstore) works wonders and you can re-use the solution many times.

[PDGood]

Someone on here posted about using a pvc pipe to put the strings in to soak. That seems a lot easier than coiling them if you're just soaking and not boiling.

[bass_lord_mutha]

Originally Posted by tercesyrev

I've tried both and found boiling with a small amount of dish soap is the only way to not only thoroughly clean strings but restore them as best possible to new condition. As the steel heats up in the water it expands allowing the the crud imbedded in the strings to be flushed out. The dish soap breaks down the oil residue. Make sure not to put too much soap in or you'll have a bubble bath.

Afterwards, rinsing them in cold water acts as a tempering process of sorts, restabilizing the steel and tension strength somewhat. Dry them off with a clean towel and wahlah. I've never had any rust issues. Obviously this can't be done with coated strings . . . ie; Elixir or DR

Try it, you won't be disappointed.

+1

I've saved buttloads of cash by boiling strings. Quirky but effective!

[KayXero]

omfg! So i take the strings out of the alcohol today. I then boiled them in mildly soapy water. I go to string up and the D and G wont reach because my first bass was a 2 by 2 tuner format.

And my current bass has the tuner slots running 4 up vertically, Fender style.

All that! freaking boiling and scrubbing for nothing =(

Oh well, its off to the music store tomorrow.

I = fail lolz

[hyp.spec]

I boiled a set of Lo-Riders (steel) for 20 mins and then baked them in the oven at 400 for 30 mins.

Sound nearly brand new

[DougD]

Best method i have found for renewing strings is to buy a 5 foot piece of PVC pipe and end caps (cost about $6.00) a can of denatured alcohol ($3 or $4 bucks) Put the strings in over night, give it a good shake in the morning and let them dry, they'll be as good as new. I used the same set of DR Hi-beams for over a year doing this. Saves lots of money with little investment

[Jaco D]

Don't some manufacturers/dealers sell strings per piece rather than in sets? Just get the same gauge as the broken string (regardless of make but of the same kind - rounds, flats, etc.) and that might be the better stop-gap fix till you replace the strings as a set. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't mix flats with rounds.

[Shanty]

Originally Posted by hyp.spec

I boiled a set of Lo-Riders (steel) for 20 mins and then baked them in the oven at 400 for 30 mins.

Sound nearly brand new

For serious? I've never heard of baking strings. Seems like a bad idea, though, cause of massive burns and whatnot. Also seems like it'd mess with the cores, expanding and retracting and such.

Has anyone else ever done this?

[hyp.spec]

I did it on suggestion of another TBer who had a set of D'Addario's that sounded like crud. He said he had called D'Addario Customer Service and said that the way the strings are manufactured sometimes leaves oil on the strings, and by baking the strings gets rid of the oil. So I ran with this idea and first boiled my strings to boil away and dirt and grime, and then baked them to get rid of oil's and excess water to prevent the strings from rusting.

I just did this last night and things sounded great. I'll see how the fare up over the next couple of days.

[bThumper38]

Boiling strings works great. but ya know they do sell singles for that very purpose

[Mete]

Originally Posted by hyp.spec

I boiled a set of Lo-Riders (steel) for 20 mins and then baked them in the oven at 400 for 30 mins.

Sound nearly brand new

Sounds delicious !

[FunkMetalBass]

I've never had any problems using the 24-hour denatured alcohol soak method. IME, it's always worked much better than boiling.