The Blitz String Care Cloth De-Constructed
How The Original Blitz Cloth became the go-to for guitar string cleaning
Plus, tips on how to properly use it!
QUICK TIP! What you eat can negatively affect your guitar strings; for example, eating onions before playing can increase the acidity in your sweat and in turn kill the tone of your strings!- The Story of the String Care Cloth
- How to Properly Use the String Care Cloth
- Tips for Cleaning Your Guitar or Violin Strings
The String Care Cloth’s Beginning
Since 1912, people have known Blitz as the company that put the polish in the cloth. Originally created for the United States Military serving in WWI as tool to polish their brass, the cloth has to this day proved to be one of the longest lasting polishing cloths on the market. Browse the full line of Blitz Polishing Cloths for musical instruments. Blitz even had a call from a young man who found a Blitz cloth from the 1950’s in the original box at his father’s house. We were happy, yet not surprised to hear that the cloth was still working today. Blitz was thrilled to have created such a dependable polishing cloth for flat metal surfaces. Throughout the years, Blitz began hearing rave reviews from an unexpected group; guitarists who were looking for ways to better clean the dirt and tarnish buildup on their metal strings. As the Original Blitz Cloth was made for the US military, the cloth was commonly supplied in Army Surplus stores throughout the country. This is where the Original Blitz Cloth made its debut into the music world. Guitarists were finding that the Blitz cloth not only cleaned away the dirt and buildup on the strings, but also removed the tarnish leaving a slightly slick surface. Blitz heard the comments from the new customers loud and clear. The Original Blitz Cloth, which is still sold today, was repackaged and sent out to music stores across the country where it was eventually picked up by guitarist and writer of The Guitar Player Repair Guide, Dan Erlewine. Today, many guitarists are using the cloth due to Erlewine’s description of the Blitz Cloth as, “the greatest string cleaner I’d ever seen”. Rave reviews are still coming in whether they be on underground online guitar forums or by word of mouth; the best kept secret for guitar string cleaning will always be the Blitz String Care Cloth. Visit the String Care Cloth Product Page to buy now!How to Properly Use the String Care Cloth
The package comes with two cloths. The first is a treated yellow cloth that is meant to be used first. The other cloth is a non-treated gray buffing cloth meant to be used after the polish from the first cloth has been applied.
According to http://www.300guitars.com/articles/guitar-string-construction-how-theyre-made/, guitar strings are made by winding metal strings around a core; windings include round-wound, flat-wound, half-wound, ground-wound, pressure-wound, and hex-wound and are made of bronze, steel or nickel. Because of the winding of the metal, the strings become more absorbent of liquids than flat surface metals. The Original Blitz Cloth & the String Care Cloth are treated with aggressive cleaning agents originally with flat surface metals in mind. Guitarists were noticing two results while using the cloth; the first was a smoother switch between frets; the second was overall reduction in tarnish.
Things to Remember for Successful Cleaning
- The treated yellow cloth contain heavy amounts of our special cleaning agents meant for larger surfaces. Because you are applying a heavily treated & aggressive cloth to a smaller surface, you can use less pressure to apply the polish. One or two gentle wipes with the cloth over the surface of the strings, once in a while will be enough.
- Your strings are wound. This is important to remember because over using the cloth will cause too much of the cleaning agents to absorb between the windings of the metal. This cloth feels oily to the touch and is meant to keep the strings feeling slick. You don’t want the strings to become greasy.
- The non-treated gray cloth is for polishing & buffing similar to the famous Mr. Miyagi line, “wax on, wax off”. Use the gray cloth after the yellow to distribute the polish. You should see black lines on the yellow and gray cloth where tarnish and dirt have been lifted.
- Wipe down the strings after every use (every time you play) with the non-treated gray cloth. You may use the yellow cloth again when the strings begin to show tarnish or lose their slightly slick feeling. Remember you should NOT use the yellow cloth as often as the gray.
- Return the yellow cloth to the air-tight pouch to prevent it from drying out.
- Rarely Blitz will hear from customers that their fingers were turned black after using the Blitz String Care Cloth. This is because the cleaner released from the cloth is wedging its way in between the windings of the string. When players have higher levels of acidity in their sweat, this can react with the cleaner causing a black residue on the skin. The Blitz forumla will continue to clean the strings as vibrations occur; the rare black residue is not at all toxic or harmful to you or your safety.
- Blitz also offers a Guitar Care Cloth perfect for waxed wood finishes, lacquered wooden surfaces, or even polymer (fiberglass, or wood-polymer composite) surfaces. Visit the Guitar Care Cloth product page to learn more about Blitz Guitar Care.