CLEANING ANTIQUE STRINGED INSTRUMENTS HOW TO

However, this is equipment that is not readily available or particularly safe to use at a consumer level and is only available for commercial production. We have a UV booth in our workshop that we use for the production of our instruments that is great at setting varnish and sterilizing instruments. UV Light: The best way to sanitize an instrument would be to put your instrument in what is essentially a special instrument tanning bed and let extra strong UV light destroy any bacteria and viruses present on the instrument.The simple answer is that there is no good and safe way to sanitize an instrument at home.

CLEANING ANTIQUE STRINGED INSTRUMENTS HOW TO

Use caution and when in doubt don’t use it.īecause of the current pandemic, we have also had many people ask recently about how to sanitize their instruments.

If your instrument is made by a maker who is still living, we suggest contacting them to ask them if they have a polish that is made specifically for their instruments or if they have a brand of polish that they suggest. Because of this, we recommend testing any polish you use in a small and less visible area, such as around the button or endpin. You do not want the varnish to come off as it will change the sound of your instrument, can be very time consuming and costly to fix, and there is no guarantee that your instrument will return to the sound you loved after the varnish is repaired to the best of your luthier’s ability. Sometimes the chemical compounds in the varnish and react to each other, which can cause the varnish to come off of your instrument.

Every instrument maker has a different recipe for the varnish they use and every instrument polish uses a different recipe as well.

While we generally do not recommend using instrument polish, keep the following things in mind should you choose to use it on your instrument. Polish can help remove more stubborn buildup and can give your instrument a nice shine if the varnish and polish don’t react to each other. Sometimes we get questions about using instrument polish. We suggest doing this to keep your case clean and to make sure that any items that are too old to use are disposed of and not cluttering up your case.

Once a year, you may also want to take your instrument and items out of your case and vacuum any bits of rosin or other debris that slowly builds up in your case over time.

Don’t forget to wipe the stick of your bow down as well (but do avoid wiping the hair on your bow).

About once a month you should take your soft, clean cloth and wipe down your entire instrument to prevent the buildup of dust and rosin in other places.If you play the cello or the bass we suggest wiping the bridge down too. You will need to wipe off the strings and the top of the instrument between the bridge and the fingerboard. Each time you play your instrument, wipe the rosin residue off when you are done.Under the video, you will also find step-by-step directions on General Cleaning, Using Instrument Polish, and Sanitizing Your Instrument.Ĭleaning your instrument is a straight forward process and all you need is a soft, clean cloth. Not sure how to properly clean and care for your instrument or how to sterilize it? You’re in the right place! Below you will find a thorough video about how to properly clean your string instrument and how to sterilize it safely.

Cleaning antique stringed instruments