Violin Forum/Message Board

[Chad48309]

While wandering around at night, I saw something sticking out of a local garbage can. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a somewhat decent violin bow, covered in some of the worst grime I've ever seen.

It needs a rehair and a new frog, but the stick seems to be fine. Always of the mind "waste not want not," I figure I'll fix it up and give it to a friend who is looking for a new practice bow.

I've never dealt with grime this bad before, and I don't deem the bow worth refinishing. Is lemon oil a bad choice to strip it all back? I understand it could quite possibly damage the finish, but it seems like the only option.
_________________
-C.S.

[Dave Chandler]

Worried about the finish!?

Tons of things you shouldn't do.
I'd avoid anything that might be a solvent for varnish, i.e. turpentine or alcohol, unless your exceedingly careful.

My thought would be to try a little olive oil on a soft cloth, even a toothbrush, and see if that might act as a solvent to remove the grime, but not go into the finish.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

[Dave Chandler]

Additional --

You may be able to scrub a lot of residue using a combination of oil and pumice, little pumice lots of oil, rub lightly.

If that doesn't work, you might try Murphy Wood soap, very little water, rub carefully and don't let it get into where fittings go or it'll swell the wood.

Worst case, denatured alcohol on soft cloth tempered with a bit of water or oil. This will take varnish off if you take it too far. Watch the color coming off so you know when you're starting to remove varnish.

Some of these suggestions come from Thomas H. Clay "Maintenance, Repair and Restoration of Orchestral Stringed Instruments".
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

[Janito]

Xylene

or

Terpenoid.

Don't worry about the finish - consider the quantity to be inversely proportional to the quality of the stick.

[Chad48309]

Thanks everyone! Because this thing is just a stick of lesser value, I'm going to use various methods at different parts on the stick and see which works best.
_________________
-C.S.

[Mat Roop]

Judicious use of warm water and houshold ammonia works well for me... Cheers, Mat