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 <a href="http://www.corycare.com">www.corycare.com</a> <div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 10:52 PM, Ron Nossaman <<a href="mailto:rnossaman@cox.net">rnossaman@cox.net</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> <div class="im">On 3/24/2011 10:19 PM, <a href="mailto:johnparham@piano88.com" target="_blank">johnparham@piano88.com</a> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> 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. </blockquote> </div> 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 </blockquote></div>