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Cleaning the stick Wipe the shaft of your Arcus bow with a dry cloth after playing. This way you prevent any build-up of rosin dust. To remove a rosin build-up the stick can be cleaned ideally with a alcohol-oil-lotion. This lotion may consist of about 1 part oil and 10 parts purified alcohol, applied on a cleaning paper.
Take good care not to touch the bow hair with the somewhat oily towel. (The hair might otherwise need a thorough cleaning, see below.) For repetitive use a small flask filled with such a lotion can be very handy. The thumb leather might be sensitive against the alcohol, so it is better to avoid contact. Important Notice! Never apply this cleaning method to any other bows. The surface of wooden bows and other composite bows might be damaged severely by alcohol. Make sure your instrument is far out of reach, either a couple of yards away or even better - locked in its case. One little drop of alcohol might otherwise seriously damage the varnish. In case the hair is dirty it can be very useful to clean it thoroughly. Our sticks are immune to alcohol so it can be used for this purpose with good effect, as it dissolves both rosin and unctuous substances. We recommend two different approaches. First the more discreet one: Tighten the bow lightly. Put some purified alcohol on a paper towel and wipe the hair lightly. Repeat this step until the hair is clean. For a thorough cleaning we recommend the use of a special bottle, filled with purified alcohol. Put plenty of alcohol on the almost vertical bow. The draining alcohol carries away all rosin and dirt.
Checking the Length of the Hair The lengths of hairs depend strongly on the humidity: In dry air they are shorter, in high humidity longer. The length of the bow hair is ideal when the bow can be relaxed at low humidity and tightened at high humidity. After several month of playing the hair might also stretch mechanically due to the constant stress, often combined with the loss of several hairs. When you have to screw the frog into a farthest position to achieve playing tension the bow probably needs a rehair. Please note: unlike wooden bows it is not a problem with Arcus bows should the hair not relax in the most forward position of the frog, as the stick is never in danger to warping or loosing its camber. Polishing the Silver Of all metals silver has the most brilliant and clear lustre - as long as it does not corrode. To restore that shine, simply use a silver polish cloth as it is widely available.
Please note: Take good care not to get any rosin dust on the silver polish cloth, as this would easily scratch the silver. |
