Sorry if this has been done but i couldn't find it after a search.

I have just bought some jade rosin as someone recomended it to me.

I was told that i needed to remove all of the old rosin from the bow but wasn't told how i should do it.
Has anyone got any ideas please?

I would think wiping your bow with a dry cloth would be the best way.
Also clean the strings with the same dry cloth.

I think there's some special stuff you can buy from the music store. I'm having the same problem. I'm going into town a bit later on, so I'll ask them and post back

I got back from the music store and they told me that there's some fluid that you can buy to remove the rosin from the strings, but they didn't know how to remove it from the bow. I'll have a look on the internet instead.

The strings need cleaning with string cleaner occasionally - you can buy the proper stuff, or apparently you can use vinegar. Don't get any on the varnish though! Cello strings can be cleaned regularly by rubbing them with a coin, but don't try it on the violin - it wrecks the thinner strings. use a duster instead, and clean the underside of the strings too.


Sorry, going - do you have to get rid of all the old rosin? Can you not just apply the new stuff when the old rosin starts to wear off? I would agree, and say that rubbing the hair with a dry cloth would get the worst off. Don't put too much rosin on the bow...

You can also use surgical spirit - but ditto the warning about the varnish!

It just eats it away...

After-shave works quite well (and makes the instrument smell nice too) but again you mustn't get it on the varnish.

As to getting the old rosin off the bow, I read somewhere that it's possible to simply wash the hair, after detaching it from the frog. But I never understood how you would get the hair back in again.

I've never bothered with removing old rosin before starting a new block - I don't think it's really necessary. Wait until your bow needs to be re-rosined and start using the new brand.

Once when I mislaid my rosin I used a spare block that was lying around, and I immediately regretted it. The sounds and feel was harsh and scratchy, almost as if there were lumps on the bow which caught the strings as I played.
I'm unsure whether it was the fact that the rosin was mixed on my bow, or whether it was just a different make of rosin, but I am sure that I'll always make sure I know where my regular rosin is!

Aye, but how old was the block that was just lying around? If it was more than a year old, it was probably shot!


I use a particular brand of Rosin, but it has happened that in sessions I needed to rosin my bow but didn't have mine - I've used other people's and honestly noticed absolutely no difference whatsoever - if the quality is similar, then you shouldn't really know a difference. Think of it this way, when you buy a bow, you don't know what rosin the previous owner was using, so when you apply yours it should sound horrible - but it doesn't.

I think we often like to over exaggerate how precise and special the tools of violin playing are - I don't believe it makes that much difference at all as long as the rosin is of a good quality.

I didn't 'clean' my bow when I started my new rosin and it didn't make any difference. I just did as Alan advises and waited until the bow needed re-rosined.

I do use the string cleaner occasionally and it does make a difference to have clean strings. I bought it from an online violin shop. I put a cloth under the strings to make sure no cleaner gets on the fingerboard or varnish.

Yes, I just started a new block of late and it's just fine without having 'cleaned' the old off. It more or less wore off anyway.

ON cleaning it off strings, I don't find I need to give it more than a regular wip off after each prac session and maybe a bit more of a rub on the C string, but I never need to use anything on it. That keeps all the strings nicely clean with no build up. If folk need to use something on the strings, are they cleaning them after each time playing and/or are they over-rosining their bows? My teacher seemed to be suggesting that might be the case.

You can use meths, which incidentally you can use for the strings as well, but PLEASE don't get it anywhere near the varnish, it wouldn't be pretty...but it works for the bow, and if your bow has gone brown and sticky at the heel it clears that up too!

I just use a string cleaner that I bought online from www.stringmail.co.uk - it only cost a few pounds and I've had it for months! I use it about once a week - Lottie's right, it makes a huge difference to have clean strings.


You could use cheap aftershave or perfume too - most people have a bottle of that lying around somewhere, bit more dangerous for the varnish, though, if it drips.

Speaking as a chemist, surgical spirit amd meths are more or less the same thing (mainly ethyl alcohol) even most aftershave is usually in an alcohol base , so theyre really all more or less the same.

To get rosin off the strings I use either perfume or meths - meths is better as perfume can leave a slight residue.

Off the bow - have you thought about getting it rehaired if you're that bothered? You can wash your bow, if you unscrew the frog and use an elastic band to attach it to the point so it doesn't tangle. Wash it in a bowl of soapy water - use a mild shampoo and make sure it's left loads of time to dry.

To get old rosin off the bow hair, I unscrew the frog completely, then carefully loop the hair round in a shallow dish with some meths in it, taking care not to get any on the stick. I leave it to soak for a few minutes, swish it around gently then take it out, wiping down with a clean cloth or some kitchen towel. Sometimes I do this twice if it is really full of rosin. Then I just leave it spread out to dry (doesn't take very long), then screw the frog back in.

It is quite easy, and worth doing from time to time even if you are not changing your brand of rosin. I also wipe down the strings with a little meths on a cloth.

Cleaning rosin off the bow stick without damaging the varnish needs some special preparation which is quite poisonous and best left to a repairer.

Yes, that probably is the case. I tell all my students to do clean the rosin off every time, and less than half of them do. But the strings still need some more attention from time to time. I attended a workshop with a violinist who plays professionally, and she advocated cleaning the strings with surgical spirit, and had us all do it as well. It was amazing how black the bits of cloth were afterwards - including my own, although I clean off after every session without fail.

To clean fingerboard etc.. I was told to use anything with high alcohol content. Put some on a cloth and off you go.

Is it important to keep the spirit away from the fingerboard, as well as the varnish?

No, the fingerboard is just ebony, it should resist just fine (although if it's a cheap instrument with 'ebonized' parts - painted black in other words - then you should avoid it), otherwise you'll have nothing to worry about.