Double Bass How often do you polish/clean your bass?

[Ed S]

I just received some paperwork from the maker of my new hybrid bass. Among other things, they recommend polishing the bass monthly w/ what I presume is a proprietary polish.

Just wondering how often you folk polish your basses and what you use?

About all I do is dust my bass w/ a microfiber when I think to as I do my weekly dusting of furniture. The next time I polish my old ply will make it once every 120 months - whether it needs it or not!

 

[unbrokenchain]

I just scrape the rosin off the strings and grease off the fingerboard sometimes... that's really it... I could see waxing it if I knew it was gonna be a rainy outdoor gig...

 

[Ed S]

I just scrape the rosin off the strings and grease off the fingerboard sometimes...

For whatever reason, I read that as "grease up the fb"!

 

[tsverrir]

To my knowledge, none of my basses have ever gotten a polish, unless something spilled on them. That includes my '78 P Bass, which I have owned since ´96. This does not include wiping off the neck during gigs.

 

[jj.833]

I'm cleansing the strings and bridge from rosin about every two months or so, the impulse being 'do I really sound so bad or it's a sticky strings fault?' I never polish the bass, only dust off the bouts when there's a gig with a dress code.

My bass is shellac covered and my luthier told me that no chemicals are best chemicals.

Just in case you were interested, I do polish my bass guitars (with a common furniture foam polish) when I change the strings, to get rid of the sticky gunk on the body.

I'd wonder why this sticky gunk doesn't happen on double bass, if somebody got an idea.

 

[BarfanyShart]

What now? For the most part, I have found basses to be like warthogs - they don't need to be very clean to function properly. Strings I am somewhat diligent about cleaning, because I can feel when they are dirty, and I want them to last for ever and ever.

I have recently come across these little alcohol prep pads at the pharmacy, like what they wipe your arm with before you get a shot at the doctor. They are very convenient and efficient for cleaning flatwound DB and BG strings, and touching up fingerboard/frets - which I might do every week or two. Much simpler and quicker than what I used to do, I wish I had discovered these things 20 years ago.

 

[Ed S]

I guess I should acknowledge that - since my last name ends in "ski" - I give my bass a good Polish every time I pick it up!

 

[CaseyVancouver]

I won’t use a microfibre ‘cloth’ as it is made of polyester and nylon. Why? It scratches.

For example I own a new black Lexus. After washing once I tried gently drying it with those yellow and blue microfibre cloths you get from Costco. It left many black hairline scratches that stand out in the sun. Never again.

Instead of microfibre I use an old cotton rag, from a towel, to gently wipe my basses after bowing with Pops. My oil varnish jazz bass never got wiped in almost 50 years. Some finger dirt needs to be cleaned off now and then. I bow daily with my classical bass. It gets gently dry wiped every session.

I use Kolstein’s cleaning and polishing kit only when needed, which is almost never. I had a bow that really needed cleaning before going in for a rehair. (It had decades of rosin on)

My experience is clean only when needed and wipe rosin off with a soft cotton cloth. Be careful if using soft rosin. It can dry to a hard candy like coating. I do use a microfibre cloth to rub the bow hair before playing or adding rosin, and to get dirt off the strings and fingerboard.

 

[Stewie]

Mine plywood Thompson gets a rubdown every couple of months. I use a store brand Pledge substitute. It still shines like new, and it smells lemony fresh.

Edit: I use an ancient cloth diaper that came from my wife's grandmother

 

[Ed S]

I won’t use a microfibre ‘cloth’ as it is made of polyester and nylon. Why? My experience is it scratches.

For example I own a new black Lexus. ...

Instead I use an old cotton rag, from a towel, to gently wipe my basses after bowing with Pops.

Curious - I got used to using mf towels when I had an old Corvair (after I rubbed out the scratches I put in being overly aggressive w/ rubbing compound!) My solution now that I just drive a GTI is to never wash it other than to occasionally park it outside when it rains!

We had some Stickley furniture touched up, and the tech advised us to use nothing other than a dry mf on the furniture. I'm pretty sure my wife has told me to be careful using towels - such as on my glasses - as they are abrasive. Instead, she suggested using a shirt/t-shirt.

 

[AGCurry]

Umm ... never?
I clean rosin off the strings when it builds up. I dust the bass where dust and rosin appear.
Maybe someday I'll do more if my wife tells me I should.

 

[GretschWretch]

I use the WIGATI approach: whenever I get around to it.

 

[Keith Rawlings]

I wonder if anyone has done any research to see if regularly polishing a carved instrument prevents cracks and separations?

 

[Anthony White]

Does anyone clean rosin off the bridge? Mine has a surprising layer of rosin build up, and I've wondered.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Any additional mass on the bridge is bad for sound. Rosin can be removed using the edge of a credit card as a scraper, or, if it’s bad, select solvents. Not a recommended DIY fix.

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

I wipe down my bass after every gig with a microfiber cloth. That's about it. I have the Kolstien cleaner and polish kit but I've only used it a couple of times over the past decade or so. The cleaner does remove rosin buildup, but the smell is very strong.

I clean my electric basses the same way. A few are older Fenders and the finish is easily clouded by commercial guitar polish, so I used naphtha to remove surface dirt when needed.

- Steve

 

[james condino]

 

[james condino]

 

[jsf729]

View attachment 4099439

Wow. That bass must have been pretty dirty to have to use a sand blaster to clean it!

 

[james condino]

Gotta' clean that first bass before you play it!