Why Violin Cleaning Kits Are Needed?
If you give your violin some love and care, you will enjoy and play more. In this blog, we will share some information on how to clean a violin and the violin cleaning kit. We will let you know about some essential violin cleaning kits that might need for your instruments.
Over time, dust, rosin, and sweat will accumulate in the material of your instrument. No matter how careful the player is, the fingerprint appears on the varnish and after a while, the instrument will look less sharp than before. Did you know that when we clean the instrument it not only improves the look but also helps to improve the sound?
Get in the habit of cleaning rosin from the instrument and stringing it with a soft cloth after playing as a form of daily maintenance. However, from time to time, your violin will benefit from a thorough, yet careful cleaning.
List of Some Helpful Violin Cleaning Kits
- Orchestral String Instrument Cleaner And Care Product (TSC-V)
- The Original Nomad Tool and The Nomad Slim (MN204)
- Almond Oil
- Hill & Sons Varnish Cleaner
- Alcohol Hand Sanitizer Wipes
1. Orchestral String Instrument Cleaner And Care Product (TSC-V)
This string cleaner is the most important violin cleaning kit. You can easily remove the rosin from your strings which will make your strings last longer. This is the only product that cleans your strings at a 360-degree angle and at the same time, this is a fingerboard cleaner.
2. The Original Nomad Tool and The Nomad Slim (MN204)
Nomad tool is very easy to use but a very powerful violin cleaning kit. This kit helps you clean hard-to-reach areas. This instrument helps you preserve the tone of your string for a long time.
3. Almond Oil
Almond oil isn’t only good for your skin but also a very helpful violin cleaning kit. You can use it to clean or polish the varnish of your instrument. This helps your instrument shine and keeps it in good condition.
4. Hill & Sons Varnish Cleaner
This violin cleaning kit is another killer for your instrument’s varnish. It is the very essential kit to keep your varnish alive year after year. This helps your varnish glow and improves the health of the varnish.
5. Alcohol Hand Sanitizer Wipes
If you use alcohol as a violin cleaning kit to clean your violin, it will benefit you in two ways. Firstly it helps remove residue and secondly, it kills viruses from your instrument. These alcohol wipes are ideal if you want to clean your violin with alcohol.
Cleaning Your Violin With a Violin Cleaning Kit
Step 1
Start by cleaning your instrument from the inside: Place some rice inside your violin through the F-holes and shake it well, so that the rice is distributed throughout the abdomen and back. It will collect the dust inside your instrument and create a small ball of fluff. Hold the violin upside down; gently remove any links through the F-holes with the help of tweezers until all the rice comes out of the F-shaped hole again. Your violin will instantly sound better than it used to be. This step doesn’t require any violin cleaning kit.
Step 2
Then clean the strings. You can clean the strings with a special string cleaner. I clean my strings with 70% alcohol ketones. To protect the varnish from possible spills, always cover the violin with a cloth before cleaning the strings. Alcohol ketone is a very special violin cleaning kit for your strings.
Step 3
Then go clean the varnish. This step needs multiple violin cleaning kits. Using a special varnish cleaner or almond oil on a soft cloth, gently rub it on the abdomen and back of the instrument to dissolve any resin that has accumulated there. Sometimes it is a time-consuming process. You may want to clean small sections at once because there may be a large layer to remove the resin. Buff with a soft cloth to remove all cleaners and polish the instrument. Use a cotton swab on bridges and F-holes, but be very careful because the wood in these places is very fragile.
Step 4
The wood of the bow can be cleaned in the same way as the violin. However, generally speaking, you will need only a single violin cleaning kit for your bow. After the play, cleaning the bow with a feather duster should be enough to keep it in good condition. The bow should be reattached once a year to make it look nice.
Some FAQs About Violin Cleaning
What Can Be Used to Clean A Violin?
After playing, always wipe down your violin with a soft or microfiber cloth that will cost approximately $3. Always clean the strings and the body of your violin softly to remove oils and rosin every time you play your violin. For the best result choose anything that is lint-free as a violin cleaning kit.
How to Clean A Varnish On A Violin?
To clean the varnish of your violin, you will need a violin cleaning kit that is varnish cleaner or use almond oil. Put one of these on a soft cloth and rub it softly over the back and belly of your violin to clean the accumulated rosin. You should clean one part at a time, as there might be multiple sections of rosin to remove. This is a time-consuming process but trust me it will be worth your time.
How Often Should I Clean My Violin Strings?
Cleaning strings after every time you play the violin is a necessity. It doesn’t allow rosin to accumulate on the strings. If you play your violin often, you should get in the habit of cleaning strings regularly. Wipe down the rosin on your strings with a violin cleaning kit every time before you put the instrument back in its case.
Can You Use Alcohol As a Violin Cleaning Kit?
If you use alcohol as a violin cleaning kit, it will benefit you in two ways. Firstly it helps remove residue and secondly, it kills viruses from your instrument. A paper towel with a little bit of rubbing alcohol is recommended to clean your violin.
Can Anyone Use Water As a Violin Cleaning Kit?
In one sentence, it is a bad idea to clean your violin with water. If you clean your violin with water, not a violin cleaning kit, it could ruin the finish. It could also warp the wood. You can use soft lines or soft cotton instead of water as they don’t scratch and they don’t even leave lint behind.
Conclusion
Now that you know everything about cleaning your loved instrument and what violin cleaning kits are needed, you should systematically take care so that your instrument sounds good and stays in good condition.
Author: Classical Beast
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