| Author | Message | ||
| starcycle
Junior Username: starcycle Post Number: 11 Registered: 3-2007 |
i have an 'epic' with a bocate top. i sweat quite a bit when i play (like yesterday at the 'lotus festival' in echo park,ca - nice sunny day and the band right out at high noon - no stage cover!). so how do i clean off the sweat... | ||
| lowlife
Advanced Member Username: lowlife Post Number: 283 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hi Steve, I sweat quite a bit also when I paly. For me, I purchased a couple of "micro-fibre" cloths from the automotive section of a local big-box hardware store. They seem to be able to restore the lustre with a gentle motion without damaging the finish. Other members may have other tips, so stay tuned to this channel. Ellery (Lowlife) | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 5321 Registered: 5-2002 |
I try to wipe my basses down, including the strings, after a gig before putting them in their cases. I'm wondering if it might be helpful to apply some polish before you go to the gig as well. | ||
| 2400wattman
Senior Member Username: 2400wattman Post Number: 421 Registered: 11-2005 |
I second the micro-fiber cloths. They don't really scratch your finish and with a little polish your finish will have a nice glow to it. | ||
| ivartshiva
New Username: ivartshiva Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2007 |
Ok, I have a more serious cleaning problem - as I posted in the introductions sections, I just got a '92 Essence that unfortunately had adhesive tape on the fretboard as fret markers and clear fibrous strapping tape on the back covering up autographs. I removed the fretboard tape, and there is a little residue there, which I would like to get rid of. Removing the strapping tape is a bigger problem. This adhesive is very very stubborn - I'm using isopropyl rubing alcohol and rubing a LOT and barely making headway. This probably isn't good for the finish but what is there that can get this off? Even my fingernail can't move this stuff. And yes I don't care a rat's ___ about the autographs - famous people can hand me their bass and I'll sign it for THEM - I just want a clean pure instrument - how can I clean the finish without scratching or degrading it? I appreciate any advice in this area. | ||
| dfung60
Advanced Member Username: dfung60 Post Number: 275 Registered: 5-2002 |
Try using naphtha to clean the tape residue. It's the main component of Ronsonol lighter fluid, which you should be able to get at a Walgreens or the like (a bright yellow bottle). Butane lighter fuel or the stuff in a Coleman white gas bottle is also OK. Obviously, this stuff is violently flammable so exercise appropriate caution! You may remember what's going on if you took chemistry. Molecules have a lot of different properties based on the atoms that their built from and how they're assembled. One of those properties is "polarity" which describes how the electrical field is distributed around the molecule. Some substances like water or ammonia have an uneven distribution and are "polar"; substances like gasoline or naptha have a very even electrical distribution and are "non-polar". When you want to dissolve something, polar solvents dissolve polar substances; likewise non-polar substances dissolve in non-polar solvents. You've probably already tried using water to clean off the tape residue and it didn't work, so polar solvents probably won't do the trick. Isopropyl alcohol is a strong polar solvent, but it won't make much progress on the goop. So, try a polar solvent like naphtha. It should dissolve the gunk. Naphtha is from the same chemical family as gasoline, but it's much less reactive, and less likely to damage your finish. The polyurethane or polyester varnish on your bass is relatively resistant to chemicals. As you've probably seen on the warning for any cleaner, try naphtha first in a less visible area to make sure that you don't dissolve or fog the finish. If there are cracks in the finish down to the wood, you should be extra careful as any solvent may cause discoloration in the wood. Tape residue is usually just on the surface, so you should be able to get this all cleaned off. Class dismissed, David Fung | ||
| chuck
Advanced Member Username: chuck Post Number: 209 Registered: 3-2005 |
Goo Gone. Made with natural citrus.Will not damage finish. Chuck | ||
| ivartshiva
New Username: ivartshiva Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2007 |
Thank you Dave and Chuck! Ronsonol did the trick. I did havd a Jimi moment there with my little can of lighter fluid, thoughts about a flamed maple finish and "Don't be mad..." As if! So all that horrible gummy crapola is off, the fretboard oiled, body nicely polished with the right stuff and buffed with an Alembic diaper (pre-washed) and she began to purr! Should I be concerned about this? Mike :0 | ||
| terryc
Advanced Member Username: terryc Post Number: 303 Registered: 11-2004 |
I know someone who literally covered all the block markers up on his jazz bass with black adhesive tape, can you believe that?? what a damn mess when it was removed..some people just don't know. Okay Mr Fung, chemistry, electrical physics and wave theory, I guess it is quantum mechanics and special relativity next?? The stuff you can learn on this forum!!!! | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 5579 Registered: 5-2002 |
Hmmm ... so now there's a run on Alembic diapers. | ||
| jas
New Username: jas Post Number: 4 Registered: 4-2008 |
If it wasn't for the intrinsic wavelike nature of matter, your cherished Alembic would suddenly collapse to something smaller than a flea's kneecap. It's mostly vacuum. Best not to think about Q mechanics. It does your head in. Relativity is a doddle - you go fast, you gain mass, you stop too quickly, you give off gamma rays and can be violently sick. Back in the Real World, there's plenty interesting science in a guitar, for example, there's always the myth of simple harmonic motion ... | ||
| terryc
Senior Member Username: terryc Post Number: 480 Registered: 11-2004 |
Simple harmonic motion..circular or oscillating..oh the wonders of modern physics Q mechanics is mind boggling at the bet of times..what I want to know is where the is the cut off line between time/space chaos and order?? | ||
| neyman
Member Username: neyman Post Number: 55 Registered: 7-2002 |
Just remember, "There is no spoon." | ||
| jas
New Username: jas Post Number: 7 Registered: 4-2008 |
Terry, There is no fixed line. The jury's out on the definition of chaos (though some would disagree with even that!). I think of high entropy being chaotic. But that can be different from unpredictability, and different again from instability. Broadly, the transition from chaos to order is spectral - like changing the balance between the neck pickup and the bridge pup using a potentiometer. There's no sudden cut off. I was thinking about the rotation of a string as well as the radial displacement the other day. Interesting to see the output of a guitar on a 'scope. Different from what most people think. Sorry to be all sensible and scientific. You may just have asked a rhetorical question!  J P.S. No spoon? Where does that come from? Rings a bell ... | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3052 Registered: 7-2004 |
The jury is not out on chaos. It is definitely an EVIL organization! Just ask Maxwell Smart or Agent 99. Heck, even Hymie, the android can tell you that. Now excuse me while I retire to the Cone of Silence. (Would you believe I was paid $100,000 to post this? Would you believe $100? How about two paper clips and an old lint covered cough drop?) dum de dummmmmm dum Bill, tgo | ||
| dannobasso
Senior Member Username: dannobasso Post Number: 734 Registered: 3-2004 |
I thought it was ...doot dee dee doot- doot dee dee doot- doot dee dee doot- doot dee dee doot- doot dah dweeeee doo da dat dunt whawow! doot da dee dunt- doot da dee dunt- doot da dee dunt -dunt da dee dunt dadt dun dwat. My shoe phone needs an mp3 player! | ||
| jas
New Username: jas Post Number: 8 Registered: 4-2008 |
Well, we sure trashed the "cleaning my bass" thread, huh? I would like to declare this diversion over and we can hand control of the forum back to the Earthlings. Live long and prosper etc. etc. | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 884 Registered: 6-2002 |
Danno quoted George Lopez: Doot De De! You've got a second career as a scat singer. Would you like a BlueTooth in your shoe phone? How could you walk? | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 6482 Registered: 5-2002 |
Opening theme here | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3053 Registered: 7-2004 |
Just like I told you, "dum de dummmmmm dum"! lol Love that Sunbeam. Bill, tgo |
