Cleaning a violin

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Permalink Reply by Erin Shrader on September 3, 2009 at 2:49pm

Hi Darren,

If you're wiping off your violin after every use, you're already doing exactly the right thing. More should only be done by a professional. Regarding polish, the current thinking among makers and restorers is that less is more. It's easier to do harm than good, so just keep it clean. Use a soft cloth, like a piece of old t-shirt or one of those microfiber cloths that are sold for cleaning instruments. That's it. And if you keep up your good habits, that won't have to happen very often, either.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Howard on September 4, 2009 at 1:10am

Excellent! Thank you for responding. I am glad I am doing more good than bad even though I am 'dulling' the polish. I am using old t-shirt type material so I will keep going with it.

Thanks again.

Erin Shrader said:

Hi Darren,

If you're wiping off your violin after every use, you're already doing exactly the right thing. More should only be done by a professional. Regarding polish, the current thinking among makers and restorers is that less is more. It's easier to do harm than good, so just keep it clean. Use a soft cloth, like a piece of old t-shirt or one of those microfiber cloths that are sold for cleaning instruments. That's it. And if you keep up your good habits, that won't have to happen very often, either.

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Permalink Reply by eddymontreal on September 8, 2009 at 8:42pm

I would agree with Erin that using a soft cloth is a good habit. I'm an amateur photographer and I use a similar cloth I use to clean camera lenses since it doesn't have any material that would harm the glass. Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Darren Howard on September 21, 2009 at 2:37am

That helps a lot, thank you. I have been using a soft cloth but perhaps not one quite that soft.

Thanks everyone for your input, I feel much better knowing I'm doing the right thing.

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Permalink Reply by Ann Marie Cordial on September 21, 2009 at 11:40am

I clean both my instruments with Windex...per the manufacturer's directions. But don't do that unless you have a Carbon Fiber instrument!
---Ann Marie

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Permalink Reply by Nate Tabor on March 25, 2010 at 1:55am

Too much polish is always bad. Never use anything with an alcohol base, as it could destroy the varnish. The rosin buildup is in end the hard to avoid. It is does get too bad, take it to a luthier, they should be able to remove the bridge for a proper cleaning.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Howard on March 25, 2010 at 2:05am

Thanks, this is very helpful. One shop cleaned the instrument for me with lemon oil and it looks great but I am not sure if it was the right thing to do. I will take it to a luthier to see what they think.

Nate Tabor said:

Too much polish is always bad. Never use anything with an alcohol base, as it could destroy the varnish. The rosin buildup is in end the hard to avoid. It is does get too bad, take it to a luthier, they should be able to remove the bridge for a proper cleaning.

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Permalink Reply by Emmanuel G.M. on March 31, 2010 at 12:39pm

I would bring the violin in to be polished by a professional at least once a year. When you do it yourself during the year, you can use paper towels and a little bit of hill cleaner. As long as you don't apply too much, and keep doing the same circular movement, it should be fine.

If your violin is very old and expensive, then I wouldn't mess with it. haha.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Darren Howard on April 1, 2010 at 11:42pm

Thanks, no it's not an expensive one and at the lower end but I want to practice cleaning this one so that when I get a better one later in the year I know what I'm doing.

Thanks for everyones help.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Sandstrom on July 12, 2010 at 2:09pm

Darren,

the Only thing that I do differant that what has been said is once a week I cover my violinbody with 2 layers of newspaper then clean my strings with rubbing alcohol and a cloth to clean the rosin off them

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Permalink Reply by Darren Howard on July 12, 2010 at 11:54pm

Randy Sandstrom said:

Darren,

the Only thing that I do differant that what has been said is once a week I cover my violinbody with 2 layers of newspaper then clean my strings with rubbing alcohol and a cloth to clean the rosin off them

That is a great idea! Thanks for the tip.

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Permalink Reply by Spencer Cook on January 7, 2011 at 6:08am

And yet my teacher (classical) says not to clean the rosin off the strings,  just to wipe the body down with a soft cloth.

Randy Sandstrom said:

Darren,

the Only thing that I do differant that what has been said is once a week I cover my violinbody with 2 layers of newspaper then clean my strings with rubbing alcohol and a cloth to clean the rosin off them

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