There are two other ways of quickly cleaning bow hair of excess or old rosin. One is to wipe regularly with a microfibre cloth whose fibres can also work between the hair. That is also good for the strings, greatly enhancing sonority. Another, which came from a cellist friend, is to brush back and front of the hair with an extra-soft toothbrush. This is perhaps gentler than a comb! Both he, the cellist, and I are minimal rosin enthusiasts.
Using a toothbrush is an excellent idea. I will try that for sure. I'm not so sure if I like the idea with the microfiber cloth as I expect that to get quite messy over time.
@@ARCUSMuesing Yes indeed the microfibre needs regular washing without additives, just the plainest machine detergent. I use a Germans brand with a slight pile - I believe we are not supposed to mention proprietary names on this channel
In case it's a wooden bow with shellack varnish you might use acetone instead of alcohol. It solves the rosin just as well and won't damage the shellack coat. It's a lot more expensive though, which is why we normally don't use it on our bows and all other carbon fiber bows. You can also use acetone to clean a dirty wooden stick really nicely.
@@planet-karma Wow, that's weird, here in Germany you can buy that stuff in any supermarket. Are there really people in Canada that are so desperate as to be drinking such stuff???
@@ARCUSMuesing I really don’t know what the logic is but I can’t find anywhere locally (it’s easy to find in the US and I may be able to get it that way but unsure about import restrictions). On the other hand, I found 99% rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) at the drugstore clearly meant for disinfection of surfaces or even wounds but I’ve read that that concentration is not safe to put on the skin and is dangerous to inhale. I’m assuming it will work to clean my bow hairs but I will need serious ventilation and to protect my skin. Alternatively, I could return it and a get 70% solution which I read will work and may be safer.
Hello! How can I clean / remove the stickyness from my Arcus violin bow FROG? Is there varnish on the frog, meaning that I cannot use alcohol, or is there not? Thanks for any advice!
No, there is no varnish on the frog, it is the pure snakewood, polished. Sure you can use alcohol to clean the frog, only you want to avoid the thumb leather as that is more delicate.
Yes, it's the same for every bow. But please be careful in case you own a wooden bow! With a wooden bow you SHOULD NOT (or at least very carefully) do the radical method (step 3 in the description: "washing" the hair with alcohol) because the alcohol can harm the varnish of the stick. Good luck and lots of fun cleaning your bow!
@@ARCUSMuesing Oh ok thanks! I've seen a few types being used.. any thoughts on Metholated Spirits? I've also read that Isopropyl has extra oils in it that aren't so good for the hair and Metho.. let me know if you've had any experience is researching these :)
@@joshuavercobassist1594 I'd say it's a waste of money. Ethanol is cheapest and works great, so why bother using the expensive stuff? And no, we haven't tried it, but I see no reason why it shouldn't work. You might also use 12 year old Scotch. :)
There is no general rule. If the hair does not come in touch with anything dirty, no cigarette smoke for example, oil, skin care products etc, you many not need to clean it completely for years on end.
The button can use a dry swipe regularly to prevent a build-up of anything and if the silver tarnishes you use the same polish cloth as for the other silver parts. The screw can be cleaned with a paper cloth and then re-lubed with some candle wax for example.
Hi Aleksandar, please never use Alcohol to clean your violin! And never use alcohol to clean the stick of your wooden bow! That would totally destroy the varnish of the stick. It's only ok to use it with carbon fiber bows!
Hello Aleksandar, the shellack polish (varnish) of the bow can be restored without too much difficulties, but I would recommend to have that done by a luthier or bowmaker. As I explained in the video, stay away from the violin with alcohol. I would not even recommend to clean the strings with alcohol because you may cause damage on the varnish when you slip with the cloth etc.
