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Charlie,

I have to thank you for suggesting(over and over) about using olive oil to treat skins. I think the kind of oil used can be very different in results.

Previously I tried some EVOO (extra virgin oilive oil) some special DOP made in Italy stuff, and it didn't really soak in. Then I tried Pompeian regular olive oil ( not extra virgin) and it soaked right up.

Now I soaked my newly mounted macho bongo.Normally I wouldn't treat a macho on bongos. I didn't do such a great job of getting the Bill Confer skin down far enough, so I resulted in needing to crank it down some. After just a few turns of each lug, the skin surface turned white-but it seemed only on the surface. So I put some oil on for about an hour. Soaked it right up and the color of the skin is closer the original brownish color!!

It really soaked it up, but does not have that oily feel and sounds mui bueno !!

T

Tonio, que pasa loco ? Just like you I have read about olive oil but never used. Do not know if I will. I recently mounted a mule skin from L & H on the Dandy Hembra, I used some cream that came with the El Piernas Bongó, it is call lubricante de cuero, is what I have been using since 2007 with good results every time I gig. Remember my post about trying to down level the factory skin ? It worked a little by wetting the skin but never went down far enough so my hand would not hit the rim, I decided to change the skin which resulted in a better sound thus far. Still the skin have the time to breaking.

Today I am replacing the Macho although it sound good, I have a Tambores Barranquilla ready mounted waiting for his time to sound.

Tonio wrote:After just a few turns of each lug, the skin surface turned white-but it seemed only on the surface. So I put some oil on for about an hour. Soaked it right up and the color of the skin is closer the original brownish color!!

It really soaked it up, but does not have that oily feel and sounds mui bueno !!

T

Tonio,
I am glad you could improve the look (and also the sound) by that oiling.
I have frequently applied olive oil cure to conga skins. El Greco´s method really works great,
of course the curing time is much longer with thicker skins - up to a week!
Do not forget to put aside some of your oil for lamb chops, salad sauce and the like

Caballo- Ifelt loco putting oil on the macho . It was a last resort to resurect the skin . I can't believe it still has a sharp slap.
I will probably try it on my L&H muleskin that I put on my Valje. Its too ringy for my taste.

Mike- I'm a believer !! I did try alittle thin coat on a tumba and it does help sound deeper. I'll see how they do on old skin thats turned all white. I always cook with EVOO !!

T

Thanks Tonio.

Remember though, not to over do it. Just a light coat on occassion is fine. Then, just before playing time, wipe it down with a clean lint free cloth. If a skin absorbs too much oil it will tend to lose it's lively sound. This is even more true for bongos, particularly the Macho.

Take Care Bro.
Charlie.

I just treated my 1992 CP's, old skool w/original skins, man what a difference, truly the skins not only look rejuvenated but they sound good also. I left the oil on over night and got worried about over soaking but it all turned out good. Thanks for the suggestion.

when you guys say soaking do you mean applying a thin layer of oil on the head then wiping it off the next day, NOT soaking like when you put on flat skins in water. are you using the dark olive oil to get the darker color on the skin?

It´s really about submerging the mounted, dried skin in olive oil for a while.

See here further down the page viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4378&start=60

In my case, I put a pretty heavy cote of oil on the top surface and then wiped it off. I also treated the underside of the skin being that I had them off of the conga. I was recently given a bottle of "Manteca de Corojo", which is paste like, by onile, I used it to treat my SOS, I now prefer this treatment over the olive oil being that the skins are left with a nicer, smoother feel.
Peace.
Juan

i got my 3 timbas just sitting around now, i put on new skins this summer on them, so with what i seen in this and the other post, i am going to try this olive oil treatment with dark olive oil, do it overnight, check and repeat if necessary to achieve the results i am look for, will take before and after photos, might try it on my 70s lp bongos also.

GUYS,
PLEASE DO NOT SATURATE YOUR SKINS WITH ANY TYPE OF OIL.
OLIVE OIL IS GREAT FOR THE WHOLE DRUM IN GENERAL, BUT JUST FOR LIGHTLY COATING THE SKINS AND THE SHELLS AND HARDWRE. BEFORE PLAY TIME WITH A CLEAN CLOTH, WIPE THE SKINS DRY.

PLEASE, REMEMBER NOT TO FLOOD YOUR SKINS, OR THEY WILL LOOSE THERE TONE.

THANKS,
CHARLIE.

yambu321 wrote:GUYS,
PLEASE DO NOT SATURATE YOUR SKINS WITH ANY TYPE OF OIL.
OLIVE OIL IS GREAT FOR THE WHOLE DRUM IN GENERAL, BUT JUST FOR LIGHTLY COATING THE SKINS AND THE SHELLS AND HARDWRE. BEFORE PLAY TIME WITH A CLEAN CLOTH, WIPE THE SKINS DRY.

PLEASE, REMEMBER NOT TO FLOOD YOUR SKINS, OR THEY WILL LOOSE THERE TONE.

THANKS,
CHARLIE.

Mike wrote:It´s really about submerging the mounted, dried skin in olive oil for a while.

See here further down the page http://www.mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4378&start=60

Please see this thread. The oil procedure spoken about re submerging as seen in the link above refers to only the Mediteranian Mule skins, not the local versions available in the US.

I echo.. echo LOL yambu and Abakua.

DO NOT saturate your USA cowhide, or mule skins if the tone is right. Only treat them lightly for rejuvination on bongos. Come on Mikey don't confuse willie .yours is specific.

For old bongo skins give em a light coat for a hour, it they seem to be loosing the snap crackle wipe it off-you're good. If it didn't seem to do anythiing after a few tuning /untunings (and playiing of course) maybe try another hour in a few days. You can tell if the skins needs it. it will soak it up. If it just sits there, you will not need much if at all. watch out for those LP buffalo skins, they will soak up just a little bit and get dull /dead sounding on you quick, whether its manteca or olive oil or even Lp's own skin treatment oil stuff.

For congas, it really depends on the skin, some skins take a very miniscule amount before its dead. some need more !!

phew

T

wow this is getting scarry, so what i will do is do it to 2 skins that i have that i will not be using and see how they turn out, i think i will go with the wipe method. thanks everyone for your imput on this.

Tonio wrote:DO NOT saturate your USA cowhide, or mule skins if the tone is right. Come on Mikey don't confuse willie .yours is specific.

T

Don´t get me started

OK, sorry if I unintentionally caused confusion here ,
I only said in that thread that for the Greek mule skins the
oil treatment was the bomb indeed.
Of course you are (or might be? ) right that this
method may not be valid for all types of skins.