Bow wear and tear/ tarnish

[Eli_Upright12]

This may have already been gone over at some point, but I couldn't find anything on it so far, but I have had a bow for about a year and a half and I have noticed that near the from on the bottom of the stick and just behind the frog on the stick there is a little bit of wear from the oils of my skin (I assume) and I was wonder whether this is harmful? is it fixable if so with what? is this just a natural part of a bow? what measures should be take? and input would be highly appreciated.

[reedo35]

You need to clean your bow every now and then, or the acids, dead skin and other gunk will build up on the stick. I don't know how much experience you have with the bow, since you haven't filled out your profile yet (hint!) but what I do is unscrew it, separate the frog from the stick, and carefully wipe down the stick with some 0000 grade steel wool and some kolstein's cleaner. This usually gets the gunk off. Then carefully put it back together. Don't spill any cleaner on the hair or you will be sorry.

[Eli_Upright12]

Sorry about that I could have sworn I already filled out that stuff, my bow is a W. Dorfler from 2005-2006 permanbuoco ebony frog, about 500 new. bought from Henry Baumes at the Double Bass workshop in Madison, WI you wouldn't happen to know anything about this bow maker would you?

[littlekatie]

I use a Dorfler. They are nice bows. However I have an Egidius Dorfler (3 stars), so although its the same family the bows are probably pretty different. x

[JimGullen]

Greetings!

A good thorough cleaning of the stick should happen as a routine part of a rehairing. A 50/50 mix of water and alcohol does a nice job of getting accumulated rosin off of the stick. I supose you could do this with the hair still on if you were VERY careful. I wouldn't recommend it, though. A little french polish may also be applied to bring back the finish.

In terms of oils from your hand, if it's just a slight discoloration, I wouldn't worry about it, it identifies the bow as yours! :-) I wipe by (german) bow down all the time, and I have a dark spot from where my thumb rests.

Sometimes oils, or more often sweat, do have a damaging effect on the stick. In this case, your luthier can put a strip of leather across the top of the stick (other side of the frog). Essentially extending the grip all the way back to the button. This can be replaced as necessary and does not impact the condition/value of the bow.

Hope this helps and best regards!

Jim

[jfv]

If you play french bow and have a bow rubber this
tends to be right in the area that you are talking
about, so the rubber gets worn and discolored, when
you get a rehair you can have the rubber replaced
as well.

Just another reason to use protection

[Heifetzbass]

Originally Posted by JimGullen

Greetings!

A good thorough cleaning of the stick should happen as a routine part of a rehairing. A 50/50 mix of water and alcohol does a nice job of getting accumulated rosin off of the stick. I supose you could do this with the hair still on if you were VERY careful. I wouldn't recommend it, though. A little french polish may also be applied to bring back the finish.


Jim

Yikes! I wouldn't tell a newbie or anyone without significant wood working experience to get anywhere near a bow with alcohol... (cleaning or playing ) Seeing is how a lot of bows are French Polished to begin with, you could really make a mess of the finish if applied too heavy or left on too long.

I would suggest naptha, especially if you use pop's. Any solvent has the potential to take the finish off your bow, so use caution. Plus, the solvents can fry your brain.

I would suggest taking it to someone that can rehair and clean it up at the same time. Wipe it down often after that, and it should be good till the next rehair.

Brian

[Eli_Upright12]

Originally Posted by Heifetzbass

Yikes! I wouldn't tell a newbie or anyone without significant wood working experience to get anywhere near a bow with alcohol...
Brian

Yeah that definitely through me for a spin, one of the things my Luthier has told me is "when using denatured alcohol to clean your strings tilt the bass forward so that the alcohol doesnt get on the varnish, because it will melt it right off."
My biggest problem is that it'll be 4 months before I can get to a luthier I trust, because I'm stuck in Mexico. but any home/ do it yourself quick fixes would be great to know.

[JimGullen]

Originally Posted by Heifetzbass

Yikes! I wouldn't tell a newbie or anyone without significant wood working experience to get anywhere near a bow with alcohol... (cleaning or playing )

Thanks for clarifying what I was trying to say. I wasn't suggesting the OP actually do this themself. I completely see how what I wrote was interpreted that way however. I was just trying to let the OP know what would probably be done to clean up the stick.

Eli_Upright12, please take your bow to a qualified luthier for advice on the matter. :-)

Originally Posted by Heifetzbass

I would suggest taking it to someone that can rehair and clean it up at the same time. Wipe it down often after that, and it should be good till the next rehair.

Brian

Exactly! Brian typed it better than I could (or did!).

Thanks for the "save"! :-)

Best regards!

Jim