string boiling and rust. fix it..

[gonzosc1]

Read on another thread about how people don't like to boil strings because of rust forming inside the string over time and causing string breaks or just bad sound all together...well lets get the water out of the strings..
anyone who uses round wound Rotosound strings will know about the rust problem as it seems that Roto's drink water like theres no tomorrow. I love my Rotos,, but I lost many strings early in there life because of this rust problem. then it hit me one day and I couldn't believe that I didn't think of this sooner!!!!!!!!!!!!
after boiling a set of string, bake them in the over at 250'F for about 30-60 minutes. then let them cool a little bit and then put them in a ziplock bag and toss them in the freezer for an hour or so... this works great!
in theory the boiling and baking will expand the strings. the freezing should cause the string to retract and tighten up again..
I get about 1 to 1 1/2 years out of a set of Rotos and boil them around every 5-6 months

 

[jay]

If it's a cash problem I can understand, but I just change mine when needed. Not worth the trouble IMO if your already getting 5 months out of them...

 

[Gastrok]

Sounds like a yummy recipe!

A desiccant packet in your case / gig-bag would also help keep them Rotos moisture free too.


:lol:

 

[Matt0123]

I used EB strings for more than a year with boiling... But i've never baked and freezed them - for stainless steel it really can worth a try.

Now i have black labels for more than 3 months and they're still in very good condition. No boiling is needed

 

[Gastrok]

The nickel content in stainless steel will prevent corrosion...

 

[Grgzilla]

The nickel content in stainless steel will prevent corrosion...

Good point Gerry. :wink:

 

[Gastrok]

The nickel content in stainless steel will prevent corrosion...

Good point Gerry. :wink:

Maybe I ought to just change my nick to my real name! :wink:

 

[Grgzilla]

The nickel content in stainless steel will prevent corrosion...

Good point Gerry. :wink:

Maybe I ought to just change my nick to my real name! :wink:

I did that but only coz I had a rediculous name to start with.

 

[Callum]

The nickel content in stainless steel will prevent corrosion...

Good point Gerry. :wink:

Maybe I ought to just change my nick to my real name! :wink:

I did that but only coz I had a rediculous name to start with.

lol i just though it was the new cool thing to do.......somehow i feel mislead in this....

on topic though thats a cool idea i'll try when these la bella super steps i'm trying die on me, although for £13 a pack its pretty cheap....either that or just string up the EMP's i got incase i didn't like the la bella ones...

 

[gosurf80]

you could probably skip the freezer step since water boils at 212F. By the time it's been in the oven for about 15 minutes, I'd imagine that all the water would be gone. Then you could just leave them to sit until they're back to room temperature. Might save you some time...

Or if you're really adventurous, you could try re-stringing you bass while they're still at 250F.

 

[vlad335]

Heres a post of mine on Talkbass...



THIS WORKS! I had been boiling strings for years and this is a 100 times better.

Read the links inside the talkbass post. Just remember this is highly flammable and can be potentially explosive so be careful.

 

[permadave]

Heres a post of mine on Talkbass...



THIS WORKS! I had been boiling strings for years and this is a 100 times better.

Read the links inside the talkbass post. Just remember this is highly flammable and can be potentially explosive so be careful.

I have also been using a string cleaning tube with denatured alcohol for a few years and it works great! I save sooo much money. Once you build the tube (which is easy) its much easier and less hassle than boiling. I used to buy new strings for each bass every month. Now I clean them every week and always have the awesome bright tone of new strings.