[pianotech] Cleaning bass strings

[Dave Swartz]

I have done more crazy things to bass strings than I care to
admit...including boiling them!  I heard of the idea first from a bassist
from years back in my rock & roll days, so I figured why not?

When Roger Weisensteiner (Kimball Piano) sent me a pallet of new parts to
smoke up (literally), he sent me numerous sets of bass strings.  After
smoking them, discoloring them and left some outside even, I went to work.

My findings and to my surprise were the results:

I took a big kettle pot and brought it to a boil......coiled individual
strings (whole) and placed roughly 10 in the pot., allowing them to cook for
around 10 to 15 minutes.  Not wanting them to rust, I used tongs to pull
them out of the boiling water, and immediately placed them on towels.  Using
hot pad mittens, I uncoiled each and dried them, assuring no water droplets
were present (at least to the naked eye).  I took them outside and shook
them...naturally, more water found the way from within the windings.  Much
to my surprise, these strings DID NOT rust.  They appeared a bit cleaner but
still were discolored.  Dirt & residue (from the smoke ordeal...another
story) still remained to some degree within the windings.  Look at them
through a microscope and you'll see :)

I've used serious chemicals to clean bass strings, ozone depleters,
toxic/caustic formulations that probably shouldn't be allowed in
public...LOL.  I've also sanded, Scotch-Brited with numerous degreasers,
surfactants, bead blasted.  The one thing I haven't tried is electrostatic
liquid cleaning as I've been looking for a time to do some testing with one
of my restoration houses....this might be interesting :)

So, long story short:  I've come to the conclusion if the strings need
serious cleaning, Mapes, Schaff or your preferred string maker is only a
phone call away.

Dave Swartz, RPT
Cory Products
www.corycare.com



On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 10:52 PM, Ron Nossaman <rnossaman at cox.net> wrote:

> On 3/24/2011 10:19 PM, johnparham at piano88.com wrote:
>
>> I recently visited a music store in Hickory and spoke to some musicians
>> who have been playing guitar for over 30 years, so they're borderline
>> "seasoned veterans."  They have friends who insist that boiling guitar
>> bass strings rejuvenate the wound strings.  They asked me if it works on
>> bass strings in a piano.  I told them no, mainly because extended life
>> on a guitar means another week or two of playing; extended life on a
>> piano means another 10 years.  After 10 years, rust can consume a set of
>> piano strings.
>>
>> Since that conversation I have revisited that question several times in
>> my mind.
>>
>> Has anyone ever tried boiling bass strings on a piano? If you boiled
>> them you would have to 1)thoroughly dry them before putting them on the
>> piano, and/or 2) lubricate them to make sure they did not rust.
>>
>
> I've heard this before, and don't have information that is incontestable in
> court, nor have I boiled strings of any species. I do have an opinion
> though.
>
> Guitar strings don't die by the same process as piano strings. The wrap on
> guitar strings accumulates skin oils and parts of dead cells. So though
> guitar strings age much more quickly than piano strings because they are
> continually handled, the contamination between wrap and core is just
> biological detritus, rather than corrosion.
>
> I doubt anything of value would come of boiling piano strings because of
> that alone, and by the time it starts looking like a possibly good idea, for
> the original set of strings, an actively used guitar will have gone through
> many many sets of strings, boiled or not.
>
> Besides, it couldn't do anything good for the flavor.
> Ron N
>
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