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Thread: Daily Cleaning Routine

  1. #26

    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    Similar to big sky girl, after owning my new Northfield Big Mon for 3 weeks I am averaging 1 ding per week and the top now looks terrible, so I have pretty much given up. (I’ve never done this to any instrument I’ve owned in the past 50 years.) At this rate it will look like a Pre War guitar with stage 3 or 4 distressing by the end of the summer. Nevertheless, I still wipe it down after playing. And then toss it in the case.

  2. #27

    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    Quote Originally Posted by tgsmith View Post
    I'm curious to here what you all do for daily maintenance
    A quick 2-second wipedown of the strings after playing.


    Quote Originally Posted by TheMandoKit View Post
    I used to have trouble with my sweat corroding the strings, and I used Fast Fret before and after playing to minimize it, but as I have gotten older, that problem seems to have lessened considerably.
    Unfortunately, my remarkably extraordinary superhuman string-corrosion ability has not diminished with age. But, unlike other things, it hasn't gotten any worse either, so there's that.

    I do sometimes use FastFret rather than just a clean dry rag or paper towel, but I don't bother with FastFret every day, more like just whenever I remember it. It works well, but I don't like the smell of it, nor the fiddly business with the two little containers and their respective caps which always want to drop on the floor, so I tend to procrastinate using it.


    Quote Originally Posted by JeffD View Post
    Nomad! Oh. So, not this, then:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    (My mind has been permanently warped by Star Trek. The Nomad computer was literally the first thing I thought of when I saw Jeff's post.)


    Quote Originally Posted by JeffD View Post
    The Nomad is pretty cool. I got it as a gift from a non-musical friend who found it on a website of 10 gifts under 10 bucks for guitarists, or something. It really does a nice job and it is worth keeping in the gig bag.
    I might have to try one of those someday, looks convenient. Amazon has a mini version too. NFI.


    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Brock View Post
    I was wiping the strings down after playing, but I haven’t been remembering to do that lately. Maybe a reflection on the longer life of coated strings?
    Hmm, I haven't tried coated strings yet either, maybe I should.


    Quote Originally Posted by Josh Levine View Post
    I try to shower atleast 2x a week.
    Well... that's eight times more often than the classic "once a month whether I need it or not"...

  3. #28
    Registered User withfoam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Romkey View Post
    I wipe mine off with a cloth and some of Dave Harvey's secret polish when I change the strings. Mainly, I want to get the beer spittle off top and upper bout. Gross but true.
    Tell me more about this Dave Harvey's secret polish...

    Edit: Looks like I found it: https://cumberlandacoustic.com/product/jubliee-polish/
    Ellis F5 Reserve
    Collings MF Deluxe
    Kentucky KM-1050

  4. #29
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    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    I played an 84 KM-1000 when I met the late Macon Richards. My mandolin was about 5 yrs old then, but looked practically new. He said "How old is that mandolin?". I told him, he had a funny look on his face. He commented on how good it still looked. Then, he asked "how many kids you got?" None, I said. He said "that explains it." I now believe he was right.

  5. #30

    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    I have a stash of cloth diapers that I've used on my guitars and mandolins for years. Super soft! I use Fast-Fret on the strings, wiping it off above the strings & pulling the cloth up between the strings and fretboard.

    Otherwise, I may occasionally use a cloth very lightly dampened with water to clean any fingerprint oil off the top, body and underside of the neck, and wipe it dry.

  6. #31
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    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    Daily... As in every day? I play it, give it a quick wipe with soft cloth ( or maybe not) and RETURN IT TO ITS CASE! All my instruments are in their cases when not being played. I have 30 year old well played instruments with barely a scratch on them because of my somewhat anal attention to using cases. Cleaning and polishing won't repair nicks and dings. And I do clean and polish when I change strings. OK I'm done pontificating, for now.

  7. #32
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    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    I just do the 2 second string wipe after playing - only because I’m lazy and hate changing strings.
    I change strings every couple of years and wipe the mandolin off then.

    Kirk

  8. #33
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
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    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    Quote Originally Posted by tgsmith View Post
    I did the same!
    Me too, too!
    Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
    Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
    Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
    Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
    Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
    And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
    Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
    Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.

  9. #34
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    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    You're supposed to clean it, hahaha. While I do occasionally clean it, keeping it in the case when it is not being played doesn't let it get too bad. I have mandolins that I have had for decades that still look close to when I got them, slight wear on the back of the neck from playing is all. My gigging mandolin is varnished and playing in hot humid weather on river cruises makes the top ding simply by looking at it. Rocking in the waves on a boat doesn't help the occasional knock either. The neck has not only the finish mostly worn off, but almost all the color too. It's not quite a speed neck yet, but very close. I have played it a lot and it shows, it also sounds like it and I love it. Not much point wiping it down daily at this point.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  10. #35

    Default Re: Daily Cleaning Routine

    Quote Originally Posted by tgsmith View Post
    I did the same!
    I'd been looking at these Nomad's for a while. So, with $600 burning a hole in my pocket, I got one too.
    Nicely designed. Seems like it will last. And it will last forever for me because it is inappropriate for a mandolin. It is way too big. It it too thick to fit under the strings, unless your action is measured in centimeters, and too wide to fit between any of the frets. It barely slips under the action of my open back banjo. The little brush is nice.
    Zzounds -the merchant- was great.

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