Gummed up hair

[bejoyous]

I played outdoors at a multi-cultural festival. We were playing middle eastern music to accompany some belly dancers.

I put my bow on my stand to play a number pizzicato and the sun hit the black bowhair and the Kolsiten rosin that is on the hair melted and stuck the hairs together.

I've tried using methyl hydrate with a terrycloth to remove the glazed rosin. I've pulled the hairs apart one by one but after playing again they have formed a solid ribbon again.

The hair doesn't grab very well anymore.

Any suggestions on stripping the rosin from the hairs? I've been thinking of removing the hair and soaking it in a dish of methyl hydrate for a while to disolve the rosin.

Thanks

[bribass]

Originally Posted by bejoyous

I played outdoors at a multi-cultural festival. We were playing middle eastern music to accompany some belly dancers.

I put my bow on my stand to play a number pizzicato and the sun hit the black bowhair and the Kolsiten rosin that is on the hair melted and stuck the hairs together.

I've tried using methyl hydrate with a terrycloth to remove the glazed rosin. I've pulled the hairs apart one by one but after playing again they have formed a solid ribbon again.

The hair doesn't grab very well anymore.

Any suggestions on stripping the rosin from the hairs? I've been thinking of removing the hair and soaking it in a dish of methyl hydrate for a while to disolve the rosin.

Thanks

I have had Kolstein Soft ruin some salt & pepper hair. Gummed it all up as you describe. The hair was not new so I got a rehair and went back to Carlsson.

I have not had much experience w/ stripping agents. I remember a luthier friend saying soap and water can work.

BG

[EJ_Dad]

At another TB members suggestion I use a pet flee/tick comb on my bow hair after every playing session to remove excess rosin. She recommended at metal comb, but I was only able to find a plastic comb. The pet flee/tick comb is much finer than a regular comb.

Also, I've done the denatured alcohol treatment on my bow hair. Search the bow/rosin forum for the details.

[Silversorcerer]

The solvent of choice, recommended by Bob Branstetter in a previous post is denatured alcohol (ethanol). This is the stuff you get at the hardware store that is used to thin or strip shellac. Rubbing alcohol will not do it. And you must be very cautious not to get any on the bow itself or it will ruin the finish.

Something else you might try that helped me clean up a melted rosin mess was freezing. If you freeze the bow, the rosin will probably come off pretty easy. But this is not guaranteed. The rosin that this worked for in my case was Carlsson and it was not on the hair;- it had melted in my bow case. I put the case in the freezer for 10 min. and the stuff brushed off like talcum powder.

[Bass]

My hair tends to get gummed up, since I use alot of Dax and Murray's, but I find olive oil tends to take it out.

[Silversorcerer]

Originally Posted by Bass

My hair tends to get gummed up, since I use alot of Dax and Murray's, but I find olive oil tends to take it out.

Coiffe, coiffe;- excuse me, my throats scratchy. You know, swallowed some Pops, accidentally thinking it was maple syrup.

Skippy peanut butter, I hear, does wonders as well.

[MartinT]

Originally Posted by bejoyous

I played outdoors at a multi-cultural festival. We were playing middle eastern music to accompany some belly dancers.

I put my bow on my stand to play a number pizzicato and the sun hit the black bowhair and the Kolsiten rosin that is on the hair melted and stuck the hairs together.

I've tried using methyl hydrate with a terrycloth to remove the glazed rosin. I've pulled the hairs apart one by one but after playing again they have formed a solid ribbon again.

The hair doesn't grab very well anymore.

Any suggestions on stripping the rosin from the hairs? I've been thinking of removing the hair and soaking it in a dish of methyl hydrate for a while to disolve the rosin.

Thanks

CitruSolve. Safe and very effective. I learned this from my esteemed teacher the other day. I had the same problem with Pops: There was so much rosin on the hair that I couldn't play for 5 minutes without having to scrape the build-up from the strings with a piece of 0000 steel wool.

Here's how it works:

- Get a bottle of CitruSolve from your local hardware or health food store
- Poor about 150 ml or so in a small glass or metal bowl.
- Completely loosen the screw to take the frog off.
- Soak the hair in the CitruSolve, working with you fingers to dissolve the rosin from the hairs
- Wash the hair under tepid running water. Runoff will look turbid initially, wash until runoff is clear, while rubbing the hair with your fingers to make sure you get everything out.
- Use a clean towel to press water from the hair
- Air dry for about an hour

This results in very clean bow hair, similar to a rehair, so you need to rosin up as you would after a rehair.

The nice thing is that the CitruSolve does not damage any finish as ethanol would. I was at first a bit apprehensive when my teacher cleaned my bow this way, but BOY what a difference it made. He has cleaned his Sartori bow many times using this method.

Good luck,

Martin

[bejoyous]

Thanks for the citrus advice. I've found Citra Solve here in Canada http://www.citra-solv.com/products/allpurpose.html do you think it's the same ingredients?

[MartinT]

Originally Posted by bejoyous

Thanks for the citrus advice. I've found Citra Solve here in Canada http://www.citra-solv.com/products/allpurpose.html do you think it's the same ingredients?

That's it! Good luck,

Martin

[MartinT]

Just found the detailed instructions I got a few weeks ago:



To Clean BOW HAIR March 2000

You need:

1) "Citra-Solv" (available at health food store)
2) A small stainless steel mixing bowl
3) Rubber gloves (medium-heavy duty)
4) A clean soft towel.

1) Pour a few ounces of Citra-solv into the bowl.
2) Remove the screw from the bow, and hold the frog and the tip of the bow in your left hand, making a loop of the hair.
3) Dip the hair into the solution, working the Citra-solve into the hair with the fingers of your right hand, separating the hairs. Make sure all the hair is wet from the frog to the tip. (its OK if a bit of the solution gets on the stick. It won't damage the finish, but try to minimize contact as a precaution.)
4) Rinse the hair with water, under the tap. The water will look milky until the Citra-solve is all rinsed out. When the water runs clear, its done. Try to avoid getting water on the finish of the bow. If you do, just wipe it with a towel.
5) Set the bow down on something clean, and remove your gloves. Dry the hair with a clean towel. Rub the threads of the screw in some Ivory soap if desired. Re-install the screw, and leave the hair to dry. If you're in a hurry ,you can use a hair dryer on "low" setting.

This process will leave your hair completely rosin-free, just like a re-hair. Therefore, it will take the usual time for the hair to get a good grip on the string. But when it does.........Holy Cow!

[bejoyous]

Hey MartinT;

The Citrasolve worked like a charm. It might extend the life of the hair as well. I'll try it again in November when my present hair reaches its 1st birthday.

I think I'll use Carlson rosin during the summer and keep the Kolsien's Soft in the fridge until the orchestral season.

I tried using the Citrasolve on the fingerboard to take off the rosin build up and it sucked the oils right out of the ebony. So, I wouldn't recommend it for that purpose.

Thanks again

Brian

[Jeff Moote]

Same problem here: Kolstein soft + black hair + warm humid weather, and now I've got a sticky mess.

Time to find some of the Citra-Solv product. What store did you find yours in Brian? I'm glad this forum is here as a resource for sure!


edit: It turns out I have an equivalent product, and it worked just great to clean up my hair. I've been using an old cake of Carlson since, but it's pretty dry. I'm hesitant to go back to the Kolstein soft, at least until the weather gets cooler again.

[toman]

Why in the world would you not just get a re-hair? Bow hair is an expendable item that need regular replacement anyway, and it costs little... I tried "cleaning" bow hair with solvent once, and believe me, just go see your luthier!

[Jeff Moote]

Originally Posted by toman

Why in the world would you not just get a re-hair? Bow hair is an expendable item that need regular replacement anyway, and it costs little... I tried "cleaning" bow hair with solvent once, and believe me, just go see your luthier!

Your use of the word solvent suggests something to me about the way you went about this and possible negative outcomes. It's important to use a safe (to the hair, stick, etc.) product in doing this.

Also, while bow hair is pretty cheap a luthier's time is not. I don't know how much you pay for a rehair...

The point is that this was an easy process, safe to the stick and it leaves the hair "good as new"

[toman]

It was years ago that I tried it, on some nasty old hair on a bow I had bought. I had read about various methods of making old bow hair "like new" again and since I fancy myself rather handy, figured I'd give it a try. Obviously I kept whatever product I used (I forget what I did) off the stick, so there was no damage, but the hair was certainly not "like new" and the hassle and time wasted was not worth it to me. The main bow I use simply goes to the luthier every eight months or so (probably more like a year ) and gets a nice, fresh ribbon of tight white hair. Cost varies, probably due to how busys he is or how much he payed for hair this month, but anywhere from $50 to $75. To me, it's well worth it because my bow is what makes my bass speak, and with substandard hair, well, it just doesn't work.

[Jeff Moote]

Fair enough! I too get a good rehair done about once a year, but this happened after only a few months - a combination of the rosin I was using and the weather.

We've got a product that works really well (I swear - it is "like new" or at least newer than the hair would have played otherwise) - I did even get some on the stick and there was no damage. Of course I wasn't being that careful knowing what the ingredients of the product are... sometimes it's nice to be a chemical engineering student! Anyway, the time/effort was really minimal (30 minutes + drying overnight).

I don't see this as a hassle at all, and I think it's definitely worth doing in the interim between rehairs if there is an excessive build up of rosin.