Sandpapering your rusty strings..

JonathanAnon

I find that the strings on my guitar get rusty very quickly (esp on my second guitar) if I dont use them and clean them frequently... So I got some very fine 2500 sandpaper and take the rust off them.... Also use it to take the catchy edges off my plecs..

Does anybody else do this... ?

Meirleach

I can say I've never used sandpaper on my strings before, I've soaked Bass strings in denatured alcohol before and it seemed to work okay(although that stuff can be ackward to get). Have you tried stainless steel strings, or phosphor bronze?

Rigsby

Cant say I have ever heard of anyone sandpapering their strings. However, if it works, that's great. I'd imagine though, that there would be a lot of grit left between the coils with this method.

I was wondering why your strings rust


Perhaps it's the acid in your sweat, or you dont put your guitar in a gig bag when not in use, and/or leave it in a damp place ?

JonathanAnon

See the place I'm store the guitar at the moment is fairly damp, but I decided to put the guitar in my brother's house so as to protect a new set of strings on my guitar... (I'd put a brand new set on my Jackson, and then got fired from the band so didnt need them for a while but wanted to protect them).. His place is very comfortable.. And still after three weeks, rust as bad as it was where I was storing previously..

I havent heard of stainless steel strings, are those elixir longlife strings the type you are talking about?

Rigsby

JonathanAnon wrote: »

See the place I'm store the guitar at the moment is fairly damp, but I decided to put the guitar in my brother's house so as to protect a new set of strings on my guitar... (I'd put a brand new set on my Jackson, and then got fired from the band so didnt need them for a while but wanted to protect them).. His place is very comfortable.. And still after three weeks, rust as bad as it was where I was storing previously..

I havent heard of stainless steel strings, are those elixir longlife strings the type you are talking about?

Do you keep your guitar(s) in a gig bag or hard case when not in use ? If not it would be a good idea to do so. Besides rusting the strings, dampness can play havoc with the neck of the guitar, i.e. warping. Also realise that the wood in the body and neck of the guitar is also getting damp, and if it's allowed to dry out too fast, cracking can occur.

My advice is to get a gig bag or better still, a hard case and put some silica gel sachets in the case with the guitar.



Stainless steel strings have a steel winding as opposed to the usual nickle windings. You could try them, but IMO this is not the solution to your problem. My above suggestion is.

Celly Smunt

I've heard of boiling strings,probably easier spending the fiver on a fresh set of strings tbh.

Keyzer

pmcmahon wrote: »

I've heard of boiling strings,probably easier spending the fiver on a fresh set of strings tbh.

Seconded - change your strings man...

Oink

JonathanAnon wrote: »

I havent heard of stainless steel strings, are those elixir longlife strings the type you are talking about?

Do try the Elixir strings. Well worth the money.

kmaque

Elixer strings work well for me, at twice the price, they last four times as long.

fenderpick

try coating your strings with a resin called fast fret it puts a teflon nonstick coating on the strings which helps with speed of play,
Make sure you wipe down the strings after play I change my strings every couple of months after a few gigs

-=al=-

Usually stick the elixers on a locking trem and the 5er d'addario's on most other things

never tried alternative methods but wiping the strings down quickly after use does the trick

Rigsby

It is all great advice about different types of strings to use, wiping down after use etc.

However the OP says the strings get rusty "if I dont use them". This would suggest dampness is the culprit. If he continues to store his guitars in damp conditions without
putting them in a gig bag or case ( I am assuming he does not do this, otherwise he would not have the rust problem), then IMO all the above tips/advice are futile.

Prevention is better than cure.

fenderpick

Rigsby wrote: »

It is all great advice about different types of strings to use, wiping down after use etc.

However the OP says the strings get rusty "if I dont use them". This would suggest dampness is the culprit. If he continues to store his guitars in damp conditions without
putting them in a gig bag or case ( I am assuming he does not do this, otherwise he would not have the rust problem), then IMO all the above tips/advice are futile.

Prevention is better than cure.

mmmmmmm applying resin as I suggested sounds to me like" prevention"!.
It Looks to me like the man lives in a cave and only a caveman would take sandpaper to a set of guitar strings .......LOL