pine pitch on lanyards

[chris_girard]

Quick question for you guys. What's the best way to get as much pine pitch off your lines as possible?

 

[Reed]

Just use them again on another tree besides pine. They return to normal soon.

 

[ramanujan]

i have the same problem with grand fir... and i usually do just wait it out, but sure is annoying.

 

[geofore]

pine pitch

Spray it with Simple Green let stand a few minutes and wash it with your jeans.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Geo,
Is this a process recommended by the rope's manufacturer, or just a home remedy?

I ask because some of these products can dramaticly reduce the rope's strength.

 

[treeman82]

For me it depends on how much pitch is on the rope. If we are talking about a lot of pitch them I will usually get a cheap wash bag and take it to the local 24 hr laundromat. If it's not too much then I just let it work itself out on its own.

 

[Burnham]

I have to deal with heavy pitch contamination of gear, and regular machine washing has been less than satisfactory.
Check this link to a product called Lifeline. Concentrated cleaner designed for use on life support ropes. Works pretty well for me.

http://rescuesource.com/cart/cart.cgi?mode=view_product&id=RP4105&catagory=Rope+Accessories

And I was really interested to note Louie Hampton's post to the "tar on my rope" thread regarding various substances and their effects on rope. To quote Louie, " just don't pee on it".
Here is the link he posted.

http://www.draftlight.net/lifeonaline/

Go to the chart:
Page 18, a.2 Common chemicals and their effect on polymers

This make me wonder if I should be at all concerned, as I have been, about using waterless hand cleaners to cut pitch...anybody know more on this?

 

[jblimbwalker]

I took RockyJ's advice and used GoJo to rid the tar on my rope. Worked great and now I only have a slight black stain on rope. I'm not concerned about this weakening my rope, the bend my friction saver puts in my rope, in my opinion, is still the weakest link, although I aint giving that up either. The pitch will wear away soon. Most of my removals are pine and pitch is a pain, I just deal with it until it wears off.

 

[Burnham]

Pitch will only wear away if you are not always in pitchy species. If you work in those all the time it only builds up more and more! I know GoJo or Goop works to clean up pitch really well, I just don't know if it has destructive effects. I don't think degradation would have to be evident to observation or in normal use for it to have occurred. One might only find out when the rope is severely stressed, when it is too late for that information to do you any good. Don't take any of this to mean I think or know that such damage does occur...I don't know and would surely like to.

 

[Stumper]

The waterless hand cleaners are mostly mineral spirits with lanolin and other emolients. The petroleum solvents are pretty safe-nylon and polester are both highly resistant. I don't think that lanolin hurts anything-animal, mineral, vegetable or synthetic fiber. A good clue about using stuff on rope is its approval for cleaning clothing. Both are textiles. Nylon and polyester are both commonly used in clothing. While approval for clothing cleansing doesn't guarantee 0% strength degradation, serious damage is pretty unlikely-the makers don't want to replace a bunch of clothes that fall apart due to using their product.

 

[oldugly]

I have worked in plastics for several years, (sometimes you need a part time job to be a tree trimmer). Nylon, is the material of choice for hydraulic tanks, therefore I think that most petroleum base cleaners would be safe for use on ropes. HOwever-there are many types of polymers that have a sever adverse reaction to petroleums, (pvc. and some types of polyeuthenes) I would consult the rope manufacturer for the safest way to clean your ropes. As all manufacturers use different polymers in their different ropes.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The best thing to do, would be to avoid getting the tar on your rope in the first place. You could use a sleeve at the point where the rope touches the tree. I've used left over anti-friction hose from the Cobra system. It's big so you can slide the rope through easy, it reduces friction, keeps your rope clean, and it's free.

 

[chris_girard]

Thanks for all the great tips guys. I appreciate it.

 

[geofore]

CLEAN ROPE

Mike that's my way of doing it, not sure what Samson has to say about this method on the Blue Streak I use, I have not asked the tech dept. about it yet.

 

[jblimbwalker]

chris_girard....breaking news from site elder Maas: "The best thing to do would be to avoid getting tar on your rope in the first place". I guess this could apply to pitch as well. Now that's good advice.