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Methylated Spirits (Cleaning strings)

#21
ThumbFreak said:
Has anyone tried it?

I've heard of boiling strings and that it doesn't really helped. I researched and found this site that told me another way which is basically making a container out of PVC pipe, filling it with Methylated spirits and letting the strings soak for 12-24 hours.

I just made the little case and I have my DR Marcus Miller signatures soaking right now.

Apparently they are supposed to come out just like new.

Hopefully so! I don't have the money to buy new strings now. :crying::o

I'll get them out in the morning after about 14 hours of them soaking. Put them on and see how it sounds. :)
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Yes!but your bass will smell like it's just come out of "bass hospital":smug:
 
#22
It cleans your strings, but doesn't bring back the tension lost through age, thus stressing your neck and changing your set up and relief.

I have the PVC pipe, but i also have a worn truss on one of my basses.

Change your string, point blank.
 
#26
Bhuti said:
It cleans your strings, but doesn't bring back the tension lost through age, thus stressing your neck and changing your set up and relief.
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This comment is not true; there is no negative effect on your bass. Old strings don't have any different tension requirement than new ones. Tension X produces Y note whether the string is new or 40 years old. Old strings do not change your setup or relief.

If the implication in the statement were true, there would be a lot of neck problems in basses with old strings. There are many, many, MANY bass players who use flatwounds and never ever change them unless a string breaks. This practice does not cause problems with string tension, setup or relief. I have a P bass with strings last installed in 1972 and it's in great shape. Many other players have strings that are 10+ years old and there is no negative effect on the instrument.
 
#27
I have used simple, cheap denatured alcohol with excellent results. Boiling doesn't work nearly as well. Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol will probably work fine, is available in any drug store or Wal-Mart, and is less expensive, I seem to remember. It can be poured back into the container afterwards through a fine filter and reused. I just buy new strings now, no, I'm not rich, just found two things that soaking to clean does NOT restore. That is - dents and flat spots on your strings cannot be removed. The other is simple metal fatigue! Imagine how many tens of thousands of vibrations a given string will have on it by the time it's 'dead'! The renewed brightness doesn't last very long, either.
I use food grade vinegar to sharpen my fret files, and it works better than anything! It leaves a bit of rust residue on the iron, but on nickel or stainless strings? I'd be curious if someone tries this as an experiment... let us know the results!
 
#29
Baker69 said:
Is denatured alcohol available in the UK? I think as it is such a dangerous chemical we may have to have a special license or something to buy it over here, but I could be wrong. :hmm:
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Denatured Alcohol is methylated spirits...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol

you should be able to get it in camping stores (some camping cookers run off it) or decent hardware shops
 

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