Last week, we talked about daily maintenance of your bow. Today, we’re going to talk about regular cleaning of your instrument.
Cleaning Supplies
You only need two things to keep your instrument clean – some soft rags or cloths, and instrument polish. Please don’t use furniture polish. Please be sure to purchase instrument polish, made specifically for stringed instruments. It costs less than $5, and will last a couple of years.
For the cloths, you can purchase microfiber cloths from instrument companies, like these here. You can also use automotive polishing cloths, like you would find at Wal-Mart or Dollar General – the most important thing is that they are untreated.
I like to cut up old t-shirts for my instruments. Whichever you choose, keep one in your case for daily cleaning, and a few clean cloths nearby for your weekly cleaning and regular polishing.
Daily
After each playing session, you want to be sure to wipe off any rosin and fingerprints. Carefully wipe off the area by the bridge, wipe down the strings and neck, and your chinrest and end button area. You want to be sure to clean each area that touched skin, because the oils in your skin can break down the varnish of the instrument. The rosin can also do that, which is why we clean that off. Don’t forget to also clean off the wood part of your bow.
Weekly Cleaning
Once a week, you may want to use the power of water to get more dirt and grime off your instrument. Using a clean cloth, get it wet, then squeeze it as dry as you can. In general, water is bad for wooden things.
With the damp cloth, wipe down the entire instrument. You can start anywhere, and you may need to put extra focus on dingier areas. Take your time. Once you’re done, use another dry, clean cloth to buff your instrument. Don’t forget the begs, and your bow.
Next time we’ll talk about polishing your instrument.