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Topic: Bars ... Polishing with ?????? |
Ron Whitworth
From:
Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!
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Posted 2 May 2009 8:04 am |
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What do you use to polish your bar with??????.
I mean for making the bar slide better & look better
too.. I have noticed sometimes a bar will sorta drag
on the strings & just wiping it down does not help all of the time. Your suggestions please.
Thanks for reading & all answers provided.. Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."
We need to turn the TWANG up a little
It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.
They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head 
Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron
the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them. |
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Connie Mack
From:
phoenicia, new york
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Posted 2 May 2009 9:56 am
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i used to use magazines.
now i use the internet.
 actually. nothing
_________________
82'sho-bud u-12, frankendekely u-12, bride of frankendekley u-12, a whole mess of other instruments...finger still messed up but getting better... |
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Jim Bates
From:
Alvin, Texas, USA
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Posted 2 May 2009 10:29 am
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Simichrome is the ONLY polish that works for me, and has for many years. I do not like to have any string noise or dragging.
A test I use is to turn up volume on steel, tip the bar, and drag the bar across the top string. A good ploished bar has NO scratchy sounds.
hanx,
Jim
ps- another good way to keep the highpolish on it, is to use a jeweler's rouge cloth. |
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Ned McIntosh
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 2 May 2009 11:40 am
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Mothers Mag & Aluminium Polish works for me.
_________________
The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being. |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 2 May 2009 5:28 pm
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I use Autosol on a small buffing wheel in my grinder.
The bar slides way smoother after that and also looks a bit shinier.
A lot of you don't have a buffing wheel.In that case a rag works great, with a bit more effort. |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 3 May 2009 9:53 am
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String/bar drag can also be caused by using a stainless steel bar on stainless steel strings. I'm not up on the physics of it all, something about metals of two different hardnesses, but I can feel the difference. A stainless bar travels smoothest on nickel strings, while stainless steel strings (George L's, e.g.) feel best when using a chromed bar (such as a BJS)
I use any kind of aluminum polish to buff the bar. Mother's, SimiChrome, Racing, etc. It's usually pink in color. I also use gloves and a buffing wheel, but be careful with it... that hoss can throw you. 
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Hook Moore
From:
South Charleston,West Virginia
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 3 May 2009 10:19 am
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Forgot to add: BJS bars don't need polishing, per se. Just an occasional wipe-down. They're very hard chrome plated.
Stainless bars do need polishing from time to time, though. They get nicked and scratched. And there may be something to do with the chemistry of my perspiration and the metal.
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 3 May 2009 10:21 am
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 Connie.
I have both stainless and chrome plated bars of many origins and brands. I just take 'em to the kitchen sink, wash 'em with dish soap and hot water then dry 'em off good. Takes off all the oils and makes 'em easier to hold on to. |
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Ned McIntosh
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 3 May 2009 2:55 pm
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You guys are right about not needing to polish hard chrome-plated bars...whenever I try to do that it's like ploughing the sea - you can't see where you've been. The stainless-steel bars (I have a Perfect Balance s/s bar) benefit from a good polish.
I'l have to try the washing thing for the chromed bars, didn't think of that!
_________________
The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being. |
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Bill Moran
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 5 May 2009 6:30 am
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I have a 30 year old Emmons bar, I can't seem to give up, that needs a good buffing. That might be a project for later today.
_________________
Bill |
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Eric Philippsen
From:
Central Florida USA
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Posted 5 May 2009 6:45 am
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I, too, have never polished any of my bars for all the years I've been trying to play steel.
I dunno, is there really any noticeable performance difference before or after polishing? Unless, of course, a bar is obviously very dirty or grunged up? Or is cleaning/polishing a bar sort of like cleaning your steel or washing your car? It doesn't work or run any better but it's a lot more satisfying to play or drive? |
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Jim Bates
From:
Alvin, Texas, USA
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Posted 6 May 2009 6:34 am
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Obviously there are many degrees of hardness in the stainless bar and bars of other materials. Stainless is a generic term.
If a bar gets scratches on it and you notice it when playing then, clean it up and polish it and see if that helps.
I also have a Clayton glass bar that has scrathes on it. Guess I can try some Tin Oxide on it?
Thanx,
Jim |
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Roger Francis
From:
kokomo,Indiana, USA
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Posted 6 May 2009 6:44 am
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| Good one Connie!!! |
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Ron !
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Posted 6 May 2009 7:14 am
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There is something in Connie's answer.I did polish mine a long time with newspapers.
The ink works like a polish and don't cost nothing either.
Ron |
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