Cleaning Flatwounds

[ThomasTronics]

This has probably been brought up many times but i couldn't find anything recent.
My Pbass has cobalt flats for a few years and i love them but they are stinky. Like i have to wash my hands after.
What can i do to clean them? I don't want to buy new strings. Just want to clean the smell off.

Yes i know, wipe the strings after play and play with clean hands but I'm passed that right now.

Help me remove the stench.

 

[ddnidd1]

One approach - wipe them down with isopropyl alcohol from a drug store.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Use a small amount of 3-1 oil on a rag then wipe it dry. Cleans and will not dry them out. You want a touch of oil on the strings, makes it easier to play

 

[ThomasTronics]

I'd be hesitant to put oil on the strings.
Will the isopropyl alcohol dry the strings out?

 

[ThomasTronics]

@Turnaround do you know what to do?
You're usually my voice of trust and proficiency

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I'd be hesitant to put oil on the strings.
Will the isopropyl alcohol dry the strings out?

I used a isopropyl alcohol wipe to remove the remains of the polishing compound from a set of Chromes. No damage to the strings — but I was careful not to get any on the fretboard.

The wipes themselves dry out pretty quickly, so if I was wanting to do a very through cleaning job, I'd expect to need 2 if not 4 of them.

One problem with the wipes is that they're not going to get into the tiniest cracks. Maybe you think a little bathe would be needed?

 

[Yahboy]

The combination of GHS fast fret and nail polish block make my 2814 set clean and sound healthy after 2 years....

 

[Turnaround]

@Turnaround do you know what to do?
You're usually my voice of trust and proficiency

I'd wipe them down with some alcohol - isopropyl or methyl hydrate. Remove the strings to do it - you don't want to get the alcohol on the fretboard.

 

[Yahboy]

I'd wipe them down with some alcohol - isopropyl or methyl hydrate. Remove the strings to do it - you don't want to get the alcohol on the fretboard.

Unlike others string , cobalt flatwound easily get break on tuning post if take out frequently.

 

[Ostie]

I bought some string swipes once and I swear it’s WD-40. Feels like it, but the scent is different. Definitely oily. Anyway, I use alcohol to clean them, and sometimes hit them with the swipes afterward.

 

[Old Ozzie Guy]

Back in the Jurassic, remove strings from bass, coil into circles -slightly smaller radius than favourite stove pot, fill said pot with H2'O , throw in 1x"splash" of Methylated Spirits, bring to boil, then simmer for half'a (30min), take off heat , then small squirt of baby oil, stir, let sit to cool, then dry!! Have no idear if the metho or baby oil ,"do" anything, or is voodoo.. but hey.. very hi tech for stone Age bass players

 

[tb-player]

White distilled vinegar.

 

[lermgalieu]

Clean my flats? Over my dead, greasy-fisted body!

 

[MuseChaser]

Back in the Jurassic, remove strings from bass, coil into circles -slightly smaller radius than favourite stove pot, fill said pot with H2'O , throw in 1x"splash" of Methylated Spirits, bring to boil, then simmer for half'a (30min), take off heat , then small squirt of baby oil, stir, let sit to cool, then dry!! Have no idear if the metho or baby oil ,"do" anything, or is voodoo.. but hey.. very hi tech for stone Age bass players

I worked with a bassist back in the 80s who used to swear by boiling his strings to clean and refresh them. I've never tried it, but will when the set I have on now starts to sound or feel like they need something.

 

[Old Ozzie Guy]

I worked with a bassist back in the 80s who used to swear by boiling his strings to clean and refresh them. I've never tried it, but will when the set I have on now starts to sound or feel like they need something.

More than one bass player Iv been in bands with ( way back in the Jurassic), "boiled" strings, don't think any used flats, but round wounds definitely brought back top end, and punch. I joked about one bassist drinking the "slurry" left floating in his pot, I was at his place while he did it.

 

[Grizelda100]

I may regret this question but, what do they smell like?

Smoke? Sweat? Axe cologne?

I have flats that are 10 years old and don't smell like anything.

And now I'm going to have to go around my house smelling my bass strings to be sure.

 

[lermgalieu]

More than one bass player Iv been in bands with ( way back in the Jurassic), "boiled" strings, don't think any used flats, but round wounds definitely brought back top end, and punch. I joked about one bassist drinking the "slurry" left floating in his pot, I was at his place while he did it.

I used to do this. Waste of time IMO. The zing doesn’t last nearly as long as a new set’s zing.

 

[Kevin Hailey]

This has probably been brought up many times but i couldn't find anything recent.
My Pbass has cobalt flats for a few years and i love them but they are stinky. Like i have to wash my hands after.
What can i do to clean them? I don't want to buy new strings. Just want to clean the smell off.

Yes i know, wipe the strings after play and play with clean hands but I'm passed that right now.

Help me remove the stench.

if your strings are a few years old and they stink it really is time to get some new ones, and give your bass a good cleaning while your at it!

 

[JazznFunk]

Dr. Stringfellow's string cleaner and lubricant. Been using it on all my basses and strings for over 25 years.... even upright strings. Unless something serious has happened which has chemically altered and damaged the structure of the metal in the flatwounds, they could probably last you another decade or more.

 

[JazznFunk]

I used to do this. Waste of time IMO. The zing doesn’t last nearly as long as a new set’s zing.

This. I also found that the tone wasn't quite the same. Kinda like crushing an aluminum can and then trying to bend it back into shape again.... you'll get close, but never perfect.