So DLO, once more I seem to need some advice. I have a synthetic Musser xylophone on loan from the school. Its old, the paint on some of the bars has come off, and it has permanent marker graffiti on it. I would just like to know how I could get some of the dirt, dust, and oil from people touching the bars off without hurting it.

Since my question is on topic with cleaning, I thought some of the more experienced members of the forum could go and list how they go about cleaning instruments, both wooden synthetic, and metal.

I would also love it if someone could tell me how to remove a 5 month old coffee stain from vibraphone bars.

On the Vibraphone try a stainless steel cleaner/polish with a nonabrasive cloth or sponge,rub across the bars.Make sure the cleaner doesn't have chloride in it.

For fear of stripping the finish (and affecting the tuning), I'd be hesitant to try much more than mild soap and water on the Kelon bars. Whatever you do, don't try to repaint them. You could really screw up their tuning and resonance. It's better to have bars that look bad than sound bad.

As for how to deal with coffee stains, the obvious answer is to keep food and drink away from the @#$& instruments!!! But since it's too late for that, here's what I'd do:

(1) Remove the stained bars. You don't want to get water and cleaners where they're not needed.
(2) Try to clean the stain, starting with the mildest cleaners and methods first. Start with plain water, then soap and water, etc. Scrub gently with a soft non-abrasive cloth so you don't scratch the bars.
(3) If the bars are bare metal (no colored finish or lacquer), I might resort to using something like Bar Keepers Friend or Comet if all else fails. Wet the bar, sprinkle the powder on, make sure it's thoroughly wet, and let it sit for a while -- maybe a few hours. DO NOT SCRUB. Rinse, and dry thoroughly. Hopefully the bleach or acid in the cleanser will lift the stain.

If the bars aren't bare metal, you may need to do a little experimenting. Before trying various cleaners on the coffee stain, test them on the underside of the bars to make sure they won't screw up your instrument's finish.

As for general bar-cleaning instructions, it's going to vary depending on the type of bar. Synthetics are the probably the easiest since they're pretty much impervious to water and most mild cleaning agents. Just don't scratch the finish off. Metals are pretty easy, too. A wipedown with a slightly damp cloth usually takes care of 'em pretty well. If you need more than that, a mild soap & rinse are generally OK. (Be sure to dry them thoroughly afterward!) For wooden bars, the best course of action is to take care of them so they don't get fouled up in the first place. If you take care of them, they should never need more than a wipedown.

Well the fine product of Windex will work well on everything on the instrument, also be sure to restring the keys as this will help the keyboard look professional once again and will prevent the upper "black" keys from hitting the lower "white" keys.

I'm glad you brought up the topic of re-stringing. It seems that the strings on the xylophone broke. So, I unstrung it, took off the bars, and replaced the string. But, I am at a loss of how I can tie the two ends to the metal spring. I always loose tension, and it makes the lower notes lay on the metal frame, resulting in a horrible sound that resonates through the entire frame.

Any tips on restringing?

If the stain is water-based, like coffee or some other non-sugary drink, the stain should come off with just water or water & a mild cleaner. Metal is a nonporous surface and shouldn't so easily be stained. This is all hoping that the coffee was a] black and b] not spilled on the dampening bar as well.

With the permanent marker, try taking a little rubbing alcohol, possibly diluted and that usually takes permanent marker off. Test it on a surface that won't be seen first, obviously.

With the dirt, dust and oil, take some Windex to it. Do NOT spray it directly on the keyboard. Spray it onto a dry cloth first. Take your time, and the normal dirt stuff should be gone. After that, it's normal maintenance and you can just wipe it down the same way.

So when you restring it, pull it back as far tight as you can absolutely get it and then hook it. Try to get it as tight as you can, you don't ever want to be playing on it where notes lay or hit the frame. And just to make sure, what string are you using?

I am using 3mm diameter (estimate) nylon string. At least I think it is nylon, its impossible to cut without tension, and when it is burned it turns into a nice brown plastic-y substance.

It hasn't shown any sign of fraying or elasticity.

Ok, I just wanted to first make sure that you weren't using weed whacker chord. That's just a bad idea and it would totally screw your bars over.

I've used the nylon string before, so I think I know what you're talking about. It's the same stuff that you find at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's not bad, but if you can get your hands on an 1/8" parachute chord, that would be best. You can go to an Army surplus store or flea market and buy it there for pretty cheap. Adams sells keyboard string, but it's a little hard to work with and just a little bit too thick. The parachute chord will last longer and hold tension better than the nylon string will.

Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for highlighting that.

Just because it can shred small shrubbery at 10,000rpm, does not mean that tensile strength is good for a bar.

Parachute chord is gets it's strength from all the woven layers of fabric, not the force-molded plastic weed whacker string is made from.

Yep, I see it around here a lot. Mostly with the smaller programs that aren't as well funded or that have knowledgeable percussionists to tell them better. The intentions are good, I doubt that they have problems with it breaking a lot, but the damage that it does to the bars isn't worth it.