What are your bass care tips?

[Delberthot]

1 hour ago, Grangur said:

Don't know what car polish @Delberthot is using, but don't ever use a silicone polish. Beware of car polish and certainly NEVER use spray silicone furniture polish, like "Mr Sheen" or "Pledge". The furniture industry curses spray polish as it wrecks the finish and makes it sticky and prone to attract dirt.

Silicone is almost impossible to remove from the surface and will make it impossible to re-spray if you, or a future owner, ever needs to re-finish the bass.

If you wish to clean a lacquered bass, simply wipe it over with a soft, damp cloth with a little detergent soap, and buff it up with an old towel. If there are sticky marks from stickers, use a little white-spirit to get that off.

I forgot to mention that - I was advised years ago not to use silicon polish but the car polish I use doesn't contain any

[steantval]

5 hours ago, Delberthot said:

I bought a litre of proper lemon oil from an olde fashioned DIY store 25 years ago and there's still loads left.

I absolutely detest scratches and dings, dongs or marks of any description and don't understand how some basses get in such a mess. Nitro finishes will age naturally but poly finishes are really hard wearing and I imagine it would take a lot to damage the finish.

My bass is the last thing to get taken out of it's bag once everything else is set up and the first thing to go away.

Once a year during a string change I take off all 4 at once instead of one at a time and treat the fretboard with the lemon oil, leave it for a minute then wipe off the excess with a clean cloth.

I then clean the bass with car polish - I've been using the same bottle of dark blue Colour Magic since the mid 90s on all of my dark basses.

This is the same time that I change the battery whether it needs to be change or not so I can concentrate on playing and not worrying about the battery going half way through a song.

That's it - plus no one gets to touch it, let alone play it.

It's coming up for 2 years old and still looks brand new

Colour Magic is actually a mild cutting compound and it’s original use on cars was to restore faded paintwork, red cars were especially prone to fading to a pinkish colour, a good going over with Red Colour Magic would usually restore it back to a nice gleaming red.

 

[Grangur]

@steantval has a good point there. Using Colourmagic or T-Cut is good for removing some scratches, but be sure to use a very soft cloth, otherwise the cloth will actually scratch the poly finish of a Fender type bass.

[Trueno]

^^ Good to know.

I've been thinking about using tcut on a tiny scratch on a bass. It'll be very softly softly if I do.

[pfretrock]

On 2/17/2018 at 17:29, Cat Burrito said:

A tip for the OP - Very light surface rust can be removed by gently rubbing the screw head (or other chrome part) with a dry brillo pad. 

Any tips for removing the fragments of steel wool which are now stuck to the pup magnets?

[steantval]

I use Solvol Autosol on the frets, machineheads, screws and poles on the pick ups, the best metal polish/restorer on the market IMO.

[Musashimonkey]

1 hour ago, pfretrock said:

Any tips for removing the fragments of steel wool which are now stuck to the pup magnets?

Blue tack 😊

[Cat Burrito]

1 hour ago, pfretrock said:

Any tips for removing the fragments of steel wool which are now stuck to the pup magnets?

I'm assuming you just did a small surface area initially rather than the whole pickup? Duct tape and patience would should get you back on track.

[Twanger]

On 2/17/2018 at 17:02, Skybone said:

Those sachets are excellent. Normally you'd just chuck them out, but you need to leave at least one or two in your case. They'll absorb any residue moisture from the strings, and generally keep the atmosphere in the case reasonable for the bass (or guitar).

I also keep a bar towel in my case, handy for wiping any excess sweat or anything off the bass (or guitar), and also stops the bass moving around in the case (if it's an after market case).

Towelling retains moisture. Isn't there a danger you would be increasing the humidity in the case by doing this?

[Dad3353]

27 minutes ago, Twanger said:

Towelling retains moisture. Isn't there a danger you would be increasing the humidity in the case by doing this?

Well, obviously that should be a clean, dry towel, not some beer-sodden rag..! Some folks wash their stuff, I'm told. 

[ped]

Those silica packets aren't much good after they've been exposed, either - unless you heat them to 300 every few days to reset them.

[basselfman]

2 hours ago, ped said:

Those silica packets aren't much good after they've been exposed, either - unless you heat them to 300 every few days to reset them.

Ah, didn't know that. They always have "throw away after opening" or something On the packets. So you can't just microwave them...?

[ambient]

On 17/02/2018 at 13:40, basselfman said:

I should probs stop taking mine into the bath with me..

 

does anyone here do fretbored care like lemon oil? Or is it all just a con

I use lemon oil. I was told 2 weeks ago by JD guitars that ebony has a tendency to shrink allowing the frets to pop out, so it should be regularly oiled.

[leschirons]

I seem to get quite a few gigs next to rivers and by about 10pm, everything is dripping with the humidity.

So, a quick wipe down, back in the hardcase and then bass out of the case when back home and also leave the case open over night.

[ped]

38 minutes ago, basselfman said:

Ah, didn't know that. They always have "throw away after opening" or something On the packets. So you can't just microwave them...?

I think you can put them in the oven, but even then they'll essentially absorb moisture right away and become useless again within a day or so. Normally they're in packets of items that are sealed airtight at the factory and so they can be of use to absorb any condensation as the parcel moves inside and out.

[paul_5]

Wash yer 'ands afore playin' t'music.

 

 

[Musashimonkey]

3 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

Wash yer 'ands afore playin' t'music.

 

 

+1 This, definitely this.