Steel wool to clean strings?

[VOLT]

Can you use 0000 steel wool to clean your strings? If so, will it get the dullness off of the unwound strings?

Thanks...

[D2o]

cynical1 is online, so I suspect you are about to get a good answer.

In the meantime, I saw the following response on another forum when someone asked the same question, and I thought you'd get a laugh out of it. (no offense whatsoever intended)



(reading between the pain, I'm guessing he's trying to suggest it's not an ideal solution)

I don't know - perhaps naptha?

D2o

[ux4484]

I know a couple guys who buff their frets at string changes with fine steel wool, but I'm thinkin' if your strings look like they need it, it's time to replace them.

I believe that string color changes are chemical (reaction from skin oil/sweat) as well as physically dirty, clean an unwound string with steel wool until it's shiny....it will probably break shortly therafter.

Keeping strings clean is a preventative thing, once they start turning colors, it's too late. Finger ease (messy) or Fast fret are two things you can use.

Coated strings are supposed to not turn colors either.

[RandomHero]

I would say no. Steel wool is not the sort of thing you want anywhere near your fretboard, nut, pickguard, bridge, or anything else close to your strings. Trust me, I'm the kind of guy who can't afford to change my strings when I want to, from time to time... but you'll be doing your guitar a huge favor if you drop the Hamilton on a set of Ernie Balls.

[D2o]

Steel Wool is commonly used for fret & fretboard cleaning, as far as I know. No?

D2o

[RandomHero]

If it is, that's something new to me! Although, admittedly, the kind of steel wool I'm used to would take a 64th of an inch off your fretboard every time you used it... I guess the finer stuff would be much more effective for that sort of thing, I just hadn't thought of it.

[sydsbluesky]

Put some tape on those pickups or they'll never come clean!

[dunkelfalke]

Jan 13, 2010 22:56:13 GMT -5 D2o said:

Steel Wool is commonly used for fret & fretboard cleaning, as far as I know. No?

Yep.

[cynical1]

The nastiest side effect to using steel wool is where the little steel wool particles go during the process... Sometimes they stick under frets...and it's great when they stick to your pickups...

I have cleaned bass strings over the years, but guitar strings are usually cheaper and not worth the effort to clean. See the end of fretbord staining/darkening-oil/water based stain? for the cheap and dirty on cleaning strings.

And I've used steel wool, or 3M abrasive pads for years to clean rosewood and put a gleam on it prior to re-oiling it after a fret job. Just use 0000 steel wool and go with the grain.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[gitpiddler]

0000 is good for fretboards. +1 for covering the pickups, magnets attract the steel dust. I use CLP (gun oil) on the strings to keep them clean. Once the rust starts, difficult to fix.
Fingernails are good for knocking the chunks off.

[thetragichero]

never used steel wool, but i've boiled bass strings (as all the punks used to tell me) to get a brighter sound for a bit
xoxo


--chris

[VOLT]

well i actually saw this guy doing it:



so i was like hmmm.... interesting...

[betweenthees]

im going to chime in a little late here--

Something i keep within arms reach on my desk are a few Neodymium magnets. These very strong magnets make cleaning up steel wool much easier. After using the wool i "comb" my desk with the magnets and all those goofy steel fibers jump right out! I can also use them to get the fibers off the guitar and if your real slick you can pull the fibers off your pickups with them

heres somethinng like i use- i have a stack of about 25 left of these
cgi.ebay.com/500-Neodymium-disc-1-4-inch-X-1-16-rare-earth-magnet_W0QQitemZ290396770264QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439cff0fd8

[lunaalta]

I wonder if 'combing' your PUs with a strong magnet is a good idea.... Dunno if I'd wanna do that.

[cynical1]

That's a good point. I would assume it depends on the strength of the magnet you're combing over your pickups. I do know that storing your pickups in a common bag, where the magnets can "stick" to each other is a bad idea over time.

Why not avoid the whole issue and either buy new strings, or use an abrasive pad.



The worst case here is that you've got to pull out the vacuum cleaner...

HTC1

[betweenthees]

i was refering to using the magnets to clean your workspace and fretboard- I would be cafeful exposing them to the pickups for long.

[rabidgerry]

Here is something I discovered (a temporary fix at best however mind you I'm an extra sweaty guitarist)

use planet waves fret cleaning paper

It's a bloody rip off though as is most planet waves stuff.

I know cause I used to get free packets of it from DiAddario 3 packs and you got some of this fret paper to try. It works on frets very well but it can also clean the unwound strings up for another day or two also.

cgi.ebay.co.uk/PLANET-WAVES-FRET-POLISHING-SYSTEM-INSTRUMENT-CARE_W0QQitemZ160365969538QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item25568e8082

No nasty interfering metal particles to funk up your pups.

However if the abrasive pad idea works I will certainly be trying this to keep my string a live a bit longer since they die within 2-5 days for me.

Dry abrasive pads yes? (of course)