Violin Forum/Message Board

[Amalia]

I am not a luthier, just a violin player and collector.

Question one: What can I safely clean the strings and finger board with? I gave my 11yo son a lesson on shifting tonight and I noticed that his fingers could not seem to slide up the strings smoothly. He said the strings were "sticky" and so I checked them myself and yes, they were indeed "sticky". Who knows what kind of kid dirty is causing the stickiness but how to I remove it safely? It's not just the strings but the fingerboard itself.

Question two: I recently purchased a new violin. I like it very much but the back of the neck is not very smooth. I showed it to a local luthier and he fixed the problem while I waited by coating the neck with something (that apparently dries very quickly). Tonight when I was examining my son's violin, I noticed that it too, has a rough neck underneath. What is this that the luthier put on the neck of my new violin, and I can I do it myself to a couple of my other violins that need it? I hate to drive 2 hours and trouble him with something so minor that he didn't even charge me for it.

[Mat Roop]

Amalia, re cleaning.. all depends on what that stuff is....try rubbing alcohol... but be warned though if you drip any on the violin, it can immediately remove the finish...If you try it, be sure to cover the violin well and use the alcohol dabbed lightly onto a soft cloth so that it does not drip...be patient, work slowly and don't hurry!
re the neck... he likely used shellac, ( using shellac requires considerable skill otherwise you can cause serious damage to the violin) but I would prefer (and you can do this easily yourself) to just sand the rough spots with a 600 grit sand paper ....that way there is still some absorbancy and will help comfort if the hand sweats. The neck under the fingerboard is not normally finished with any finishes...it is just polished and burnished.
Cheers, Mat

[Jeffrey Holmes]

I don't use alcohol to clean boards... It tends to dry the wood out. If a player is looking for a solvent, mineral spirits is slightly safer, but takes a bit longer. One still should be careful not to get any of the solvent near the varnish.

I use very fine steel wool and linseed oil for cleaning the fingerboard, but the strings must removed first... bad idea for players. The post can fall in the process.

Many necks have been colored by chemical or pigment stains (to take the edge off the white wood). If you sand a neck that has been colored, and go through the surface finish, you'll leave light spots.

Personally, after the back side of the neck is sanded, burnished and stained, I use linseed oil to seal it. Shellac wears a bit unevenly for my tastes... and I don't like the shine.
_________________
Jeffrey

http://holmesviolins.com

[Jack H.]

I use either alcohol on a soft rag to clean strings and FB or 0000 steel wool.
Use only a damp rag, squeeze well to ensure there is no dripping, it can be detrimnetal to the varnish if it drips on the instrument.
Steel wool is more agressive and can cause premature wear on the strings.

As for the neck, if it does not have shelack on it then some 0000 steel wool is also good but may remove some pigment. with a damp cloth ( again no dripping, for a different reason though) rub the area that you steel wooled and let dry ( dries quickly if the rag is not too wet, or you can use a hair drier) adn then steel wool again and damp rag again until it is smooth when dry ( wetting will raise the grain but after a few rounds of wool and wet it should be baby bottom smooth.
Once it is smooth you can use some linseed oil on a rag, again just a little and buff it well. that should take care of that.

good luck.

[Amalia]

Thank you all.