coffee vs guitar strings

[wellREDman]

coffee disaster involving a bunch of geetar strings in paper jackets  , whats best to stop em rusting?

obviously I cleaned/wiped em down  already

[Granny Gremlin]

You gotta rinse them off, ideally with soap otherwise they will be sticky forever - especially if there was sugar and/or milk in the coffee (goes double for roundwounds, which I assume here since geetar).

Dry them off well right away and they'll be fine; paper towel then quick blast from hair dryer.  Leave them out for a couple hours or so and pop em in a fresh ziplock (the paper sleeves are garbage obviously).  If you're worried you can stick a silica descant pack in there with them if you have one (I keep em), or if you don't have one a 1/4 folded paper towel to absorb any remaining moisture (also a good trick for various veg in your fridge FYI; especially pre-peeled bulk garlic).

[nofi]

bulk garlic?

[Granny Gremlin]

I'm Polish.  Also it helps keep yer immune system up.



Usually not any more expensive (per clove) than whole bulbs, but hella more convenient.  Check yer local Chinatown.

[Pilgrim]

Or wipe 'em down and put them in a warm oven for an hour at maybe 150. That will evaporate water.

[nofi]

guitar strings are cheap. buy a new set.

[wellREDman]

thanks , silica gel is a great idea

i wish i had the luxory to just buy more, but  I coach music at a charity special needs unit, our string supply is dependant on the generosity of  backline guys I crew for at the local Arena, so I get a lot of packs already missing a top E, and the kids break them more often than any others resulting in me having a big box of bottom E to B strings and no top E's , so I had to spend some of my meagre budget on a bulk load of Top E's....

guess what was in my bag when the flask failed

[Pilgrim]

I have a box with 4? (maybe three) sets of new Hartke 34" BASS strings - rounds - that has been sitting for a couple of years.  If you can use them, PM me your address and I'll mail them to you for your charity unit.  If you only need guitar strings, no harm done.

[wellREDman]

I have a box with 4? (maybe three) sets of new Hartke 34" BASS strings - rounds - that has been sitting for a couple of years.  If you can use them, PM me your address and I'll mail them to you for your charity unit.  If you only need guitar strings, no harm done.

That would be really great cos I rarely have bass strings donated , cheers man, have PMed you

[Highlander]

Lightly boiled then baked in a pre-warmed oven at gas-mark 5 for 15 minutes... allow to cool then avoid coffee at all cost... 

[Dave W]

Boiling will help, and since you've already wiped them down, you won't have as much coffee residue floating around in the water. How long they will last compared to new-in-package strings will depend on how much got into the inner windings.

[Lightyear]

Try to the tried and true wet cell phone trick - once they're rinsed bury them in a bag of rice.  It dries up cell phones - might work for guitar strings as well.