little black spots on the bow hair

barend · #1 09-01-2009, 02:04 PM

There are hundreds of little (sticky) black spots on my bow hair that won't go away.
I think it is from the roisin. Before I was using Nyman roisin that was really hard. Now I use pops.
The bow is only a few months old.

Anyone has the same problem and know what to do? Do I need to rehair the bow?
Or is normal and doesn't it matter?

longfinger · #2 09-01-2009, 02:54 PM

Nymans is black rosin, so you're maybe seeing Nymans' colourations in the hair.

The sticky rosin can also be picking up and retaining dust in the air. That's no good. Do you put the bow in a case when your done or leave it out?

If the bow sounds good and plays well, and you have plenty of hair left, then the colour of the hair should not matter.

barend · #3 09-01-2009, 03:07 PM

I don't keep it in the case. But from now on I will. I had no idea that I could come from dust. But there is not a lot of dust in the room. And I didn't have the problem in the beginning.

The black spots are only located from near the frog halfway up the bow. Probably because the most playing action is at that part of the bow?

I still have the feeling it is from the roisin but I am not sure.

The sound is still good but lately I experience a soft whoosh like noise (hard to describe the sound).

Paul Warburton · #4 09-01-2009, 07:02 PM

http://ezinearticles.com/?Whats-Eati...ugs&id=2461787

Marcus Johnson · #5 09-01-2009, 07:26 PM

Another possibility is the bow bag. The one in my Mooradian bass bag fouled the hair on my bow, just from sloughing off little pieces of material from the inside. It was all stuck into the hairs, and after awhile, the bow was useless. It got to the point where there would be a collection of black lint on the inner surface of the tip, it would fall off every time I pulled the bow out of the bag. I deep sixed the bag, and got a rehair just last week.

Paul Warburton · #6 09-01-2009, 07:46 PM

One of two things, Marcus....If that hair is black, I betcha' it's from one o' them shrunken heads I heard about over there.
If not, could it be from Willie?

Marcus Johnson · #7 09-01-2009, 08:10 PM

Most of the heads over here aren't shrunken, they're actually kind of expanded. Willie's not the least of 'em. But his hair's still pretty red.

barend · #8 09-02-2009, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Another possibility is the bow bag. .

I don't have a bow bag, so in my case that is not what causes the black spots.

robobass · #9 09-02-2009, 10:58 AM

You can remove most any kind of grime, dirt, crappy rosin, etc. from the hair. First wipe it with alcohol to remove the rosin. Mind the stick! Then take off the frog and wash the hair in a bowl of warm water with a little dish soap. Rinse well, replace the frog, wipe dry, and let it dry thoroughly before reapplying rosin. These kind of household tips get forgotten during years of a strong economy!

D McCartney · #10 09-02-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robobass

Mind the stick!

Robo, you give good practical suggestions for cleaning. I hope you don't mind if I expand that a bit for those who may not know. By "mind the stick", I believe you mean do not get alchohol on any wood finish.

barend · #11 09-02-2009, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robobass

Then take off the frog and wash the hair in a bowl of warm water with a little dish soap. Rinse well, replace the frog,

How do i take off the frog? do you wash the hair seperate from the frog? is that for experts or is it simple?

D McCartney · #12 09-03-2009, 12:26 AM

I think he means remove the frog from the stick by removing the screw. I don't advise removing the hair from the frog.

barend · #13 09-03-2009, 02:43 AM

ok, I had no idea that you could take out the screw and. Just did it and the frog came loose. A miracle!

Can you also detach the other part at the tip of the bow? I mean the white part where the hairs go through. Or is that not advisable or necessary for washing the hair?

robobass · #14 09-03-2009, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barend

ok, I had no idea that you could take out the screw and. Just did it and the frog came loose. A miracle!

Can you also detach the other part at the tip of the bow? I mean the white part where the hairs go through. Or is that not advisable or necessary for washing the hair?

NO! NO! NO! Leave the hair attached to both the frog and the head. Be really careful not to get the hair twisted. It's actually much easier and safer if you have four hands to do this. If you do mess it up, all you need is a rehair, which you probably need anyway. But, washing the hair will extend its life for a few months.

Good Luck!

barend · #15 09-04-2009, 03:11 AM

I also have some black debris on the top of my roisin.
How I can get stuff this off? I have tried to scrape it off with a knife but that was no succes. Can I use some alcohol for it or does that spoil the roisin?

After I have washed the hairs I want to start totally clean.

Andrew McGregor · #16 09-04-2009, 03:31 AM

Cheese grater, then use alcohol to get the rosin off the grater.

barend · #17 09-04-2009, 08:57 AM

Just washed the bow hair. The alcohol removed all the the black spots. Then I washed it with warm water. It is drying right now.

Also the cheese cutter did the job of removing the debris from the roisin.

So thanks fot the tips guys! really helpful

One more question concerning bows. I just bought a second hand bow which hasn't been used at all. The hairs look and feel just like new. I bought it unseen just to have a spare one. I just played with it, but it sounds rather wooshy. Bij woosh I mean the extra noise coming from the bow. The bow is also a little bit lighter en longer then my other one. Is the extra noise because the bow is new? will it go away after some days?

MDEbass · #18 09-04-2009, 06:06 PM

Yeah the hair is probably not broken in. Just use a bunch of rosin and give it a little bit of time. Sometimes it may take no time at all to break the hair in and sometimes it will take forever. Just use liberal amounts of rosin. If you think it needs more, put more on. I know they say to "use sparingly," but when the hair is new, you almost can't have enough rosin.

Don Higdon · #19 09-04-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barend

I don't keep it in the case. But from now on I will.

Don't. There are mites that will eat the bow hair. They thrive in the dark, and they can get into a closed bow case. They never come into the light, so I leave my bows exposed to the light at all times. They go into the case only on the way to and from a job.

Andrew McGregor · #20 09-04-2009, 07:50 PM

For the same reason, it's a good idea to leave bow cases open when you're not using them.