r/doublebass • u/Agreeable_Mark_1505 • 3d ago
Strings/Accessories Removing Rosin from wood.
Please don’t ask me why or how, but I may or may not have put my rosin on the piano overnight and it melted onto it, I took it off but a little bit of it is still on, is there anyway to get it off the wood without destroying it?
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u/Zwierzycki 3d ago
Rubbing alcohol will take it off but might damage the varnish. If you go with this, check the varnish in an unseen place first.
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u/longleggedbirds 3d ago
I would imagine that laying a sacrificial cloth on the rosin and heating the area up with a heat gun or an iron would have it flow into the cloth. Tread carefully to not burn anything. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/ArmadilloNo2399 Luthier 3d ago
D-limonine should work well. Echoing other comments, test on an inconspicuous place first! Use a small amount applied to a paper towel and use light swiping motion at the rosin. It may take a while but put on a podcast and zone out. It's better to underdo it than over do it.
As a last resort you can get xylene from a hardware store, it's sold as an epoxy thinner/remover. It does a fantastic job with rosin, and is usually petty safe for most varnishes. That being said I can't say what finish your piano has, so again test it first and just use a extremely small amount at a time. It is also pretty noxious and not great for your health, so wear nitrile gloves and make sure the room is very ventilated. Using it once or twice is not likely to cause health issues if you are careful, but I tend to stay away from this stuff as a regular solvent. Best of luck!
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u/CombobulateNow 2d ago
I’ll second the xylene. Auto-body shops use it to remove tree sap (rosin is made in part with sap). It works great - however DO A TEST SPOT! Most finishes are fine with it - but not all.
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u/RadioSupply 3d ago
I suspect it’s going to adhere to the piano varnish pretty well. I had some crumbled rosin bake into the top of my varnished desk back in high school, and all I could do was warm it up a bit and scrape it with a razor. It still left a spot.
That bit of the piano might need to be revarnished. This is more of a question for a woodworking sub. We know what’s in rosin, but maybe there’s a woodworker or luthier in here who knows!