Boiling Strings

[51m0n]

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1322078193' post='1446327']
(smart ass answer is) Get some flats and you'll never have to worry/bother with all that
[/quote]

You just have to worry about where your lovely tone went though

[JDH]

I prefer a tube, as the strings are suspended in the fluid rather that lay at the bottom of the container in any residue which results in the process...

[JTUK]

A tube is a faff to me... just coil the strings up loosely and lay them in a largish container. They will never lay flat so you don't have to worry about residue dirt on the bottom...and if that is the case, then you need to change the meths.

A tupperware container and lid and one bottler of meths is good to go...and cheap too.

Other substances might work better but access and availability...and price..? might be an issue

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1322220170' post='1448052']
Other substances might work better but access and availability...and price..? might be an issue
[/quote]
Isopropyl is indeed a better general solvent, as is acetone! Not entirely straightforward to get in quantity unless you happen to work in a lab though. Hmm, perhaps I should get into this string cleaning thing.
All of these substances will contain water, I don't know how much is significant from the corrosion perspective.

[Conan]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1322220933' post='1448074']
All of these substances will contain water, I don't know how much is significant from the corrosion perspective.
[/quote]

Compared to the amount of 'water' involved in playing a sweaty gig, I would suspect it's negligible.

[Ed_S]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1322220933' post='1448074']
Isopropyl is indeed a better general solvent, as is acetone! Not entirely straightforward to get in quantity unless you happen to work in a lab though.[/quote]

Have a look at a place called "Shiny Hardware" [url="http://www.shinyhardware.co.uk"]www.shinyhardware.co.uk[/url] - they specialise in PC cooling products, but will sell you industrial grade IPA, acetone and butanone in anything up to 25 litre bottles. Really aint that expensive, either.

[tangodown87]

thanks for all the input guys, bought some meths at the weekend so i am good to go!
got the weirdest looks just buying bottles of meths though...

[rhythmbug]

So I stumbled onto this soaking with meths technique. Bought a few bottles of Surgical Spirit from Sainsburys and left my strings to soak for 24 hours in a round container. Took them out this evening, bunged them in the oven for 5 mins to dry them off and restrung the bass. Result - strings sound dead as doorknob, knackered. Ok I wasn't expecting a miracle but to significantly more dead than originally, now that's odd. Could it be I used the wrong type of fluid? I don't understand how using a pipe could give a good result but using a container worsens them. Any scientists in the building?

[gary mac]

The container is not going to have any effect, so longs as the strings get immersed.

I suspect that your strings are just too far gone. Time to splash the cash on some new ones

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='rhythmbug' timestamp='1382729298' post='2256121']
So I stumbled onto this soaking with meths technique. Bought a few bottles of Surgical Spirit from Sainsburys and left my strings to soak for 24 hours in a round container. Took them out this evening, bunged them in the oven for 5 mins to dry them off and restrung the bass. Result - strings sound dead as doorknob, knackered. Ok I wasn't expecting a miracle but to significantly more dead than originally, now that's odd. Could it be I used the wrong type of fluid? I don't understand how using a pipe could give a good result but using a container worsens them. Any scientists in the building?
[/quote]

Problem is that you used surgical spirit not meths. Surgical spirit has lots of water, so corrodes strings.

[gary mac]

I thought meths was surgical spirit with a dye added.

[Adrenochrome]

Surgical Spirit usually has water in which is bad, as is heating the strings.
Methylated Spirits is mainly ethanol and methanol, so a lot better.
Composition can vary depending who makes them.

[Thunderbird]

I would never boil strings as the way I see it is I keep my basses in the nicest possible condition that I can so even though they are not the most expensive basses in the world, so I personally do not see the point (for me) of putting strings back on that are not really going to last very well and I may be wrong but some one told me that boiling strings caused small amounts of the metal to flake so if that is true I don't want to risk small particles going in my bass I think I would rather put new cheap strings on as some of them nowadays are really good quality for not bank busting amounts of money but that is just me and I am having a fad at the moment of trying different budget strings

[lonestar]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1321889498' post='1444079']
Heat cold cycle on the metal doesnt help make it last any longer either.

Back in the day I was into boiling them, but they would become more liable to break than if just left. Since moving over to meths I havent had any issues.
[/quote]

Apart from the blindness, shakes and increasing insanity presumably

[gary mac]

[quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1383080412' post='2260053']
Apart from the blindness, shakes and increasing insanity presumably
[/quote]

[BigRedX]

I tried boiling strings once. It took quite some time, made a terrible mess of one of my pans and the A string snapped when I put it back on.

These days if I figure in the time it takes, for me, its far more cost effective just to buy a new set of strings.

[Beer of the Bass]

Some of the surgical spirit you can buy in shops also has castor oil added, to prevent it drying the skin too much. If you were to soak strings in it, the oil would remain after the alcohol had evaporated. I suspect this is why the poster above found it deadened his strings further.
All available alcohol will contain a small amount of water - when I worked in a lab we found that even the more expensive grades of methanol or isopropyl without water in them quickly took on some water from the atmosphere once the bottles had been opened. I wouldn't worry about the small proportion of water in alcohol for this application. I use isopropyl from Maplins, as I don't like the purple additive in meths (to stop you drinking it) - this hangs around after the alcohol has evaporated and leaves your strings smelling bad.

[rhythmbug]

Thanks guys, makes sense. I got bum steered by someone who said surgical spirits is the equivalent of isopropyl alcohol. Evidently it is not! Does anyone use isopropyl and if so, where can it be bought?

Cheers

[rhythmbug]

Oops just saw the previous post, Maplins it is!

[lonestar]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1382770952' post='2256345']
I thought meths was surgical spirit with a dye added.
[/quote]

Its actually a pretty nasty chemical called pyridine:

"Pyridine is harmful if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin.[115] Effects of acute pyridine intoxication include dizziness, headache, lack of coordination, nausea, salivation and loss of appetite. They may progress into abdominal pain, pulmonary congestion and unconsciousness.[116] One person died after accidental ingestion of half a cup of pyridine.[22] The lowest known lethal dose (LDLo) for the ingestion of pyridine in humans is 500 mg·kg−1. In high doses pyridine has a narcotic effect and its vapor concentrations of above 3600 ppm pose a health risk.[45] The oral LD50 in rats is 891 mg·kg−1. Pyridine is flammable.

Edited November 1, 2013 by lonestar