Spilled soda on a tuning peg during a repair session | Musical Instrument Repairers

Mia Park · 2026-02-25T04:35:29.683007+00:00

I was fixing a violin and had a can of cola on my bench. It tipped over and got on one of the tuning pegs. Now there's a sticky residue that won't come off easily. Has anyone dealt with this before? What's the best way to clean it without harming the wood?

kim1786mo ago

nguyen.wesley saying soda isn't sticky is really hard to believe. That cola syrup gums up everything and ruins the finish. You gotta use rubbing alcohol like tarag95 said, but go slow on the wood.

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nguyen.wesley6mo ago

Is it really that sticky? Just soda, no big deal!

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tarag956mo ago

Oh man, I did that with iced tea on a guitar peg once. A little rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab got the sticky off without a problem. You ever try that stuff for cleaning?

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