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I bought a pack of Elixir guitar strings the other day and noticed on the back it said they're made by W.L. Gore as in the people who make Gore-Tex. Turns out t

I bought a pack of Elixir guitar strings the other day and noticed on the back it said they're made by W.L. Gore as in the people who make Gore-Tex. Turns out the strings are all coated in PFAS to keep them from corroding. I guess I knew they were coated but I just never really thought with what...

bozzcl 6y ago
Oh man. I have been using them nearly exclusively since 2010. Time to look for new strings, I guess.
- keeganjw 6y ago
  Yeah it sucks and I don't think they're alone. It seems to be all coated strings. I've switched to D'Addario NYXL's for electric now.
  - bozzcl 6y ago
    That's gonna be a problem for me... I use coated strings because my sweat is on the acidic side, to the point steel or nickel strings last barely a month or two before rusting completely. Maybe I need to get better at cleaning my strings, I have to admit I do miss the twang of Ernie Balls.
nate_meurer 6y ago
No, Elixir strings are coated with PTFE, not PFAS. These are two entirely different substances. PTFE is a polymer, often referred to by its most well-known brand name Teflon. Over decades of use, there is zero evidence of any health effects whatsoever from PTFE, the only exception being when it's heated to around 500 deg F. In everyday use it is completely inert and harmless. PFAS is a generic term describing a family of fluorinated chemicals. Evidence is piling up that many of these have serious and long-lasting health effects. Some PFAS chemicals are used as the monomers for making PTFE, but once the PTFE is made, the constituent monomers cannot be released except by extreme heat. All that to say, your coated guitar strings are completely safe. Certainly safer than the teflon-coated pans I cook on every day.
- brnt 6y ago
  Not on your guitar obviously, but on the furnace or in the oven, 500 F or 260 C isn't very unusual.
  - nate_meurer 6y ago
    Very true. It's alarmingly easy to overheat a nonstick pan.
    - blockmeifyoucan 6y ago
      I bought a forged iron pan years ago because i got tired oft buying new teflon pans every x months. It's brilliant! Used only for frying (no tomato sauces etc) and with high initial heat it eventually non-sticks better than teflon and e.g. pancakes turn out perfect.
      - Ductapemaster 6y ago
        Yeah I dumped my Teflon cookware years ago, with the exception of one nice nonstick baking sheet I have. Cast iron requires a bit of care but it’s really not that hard. Plus if you screw it up, just strip it down and start over! For acidic foods I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven, or a SS sauce pot.

bozzcl 6y ago

Oh man. I have been using them nearly exclusively since 2010. Time to look for new strings, I guess.

keeganjw 6y ago
Yeah it sucks and I don't think they're alone. It seems to be all coated strings. I've switched to D'Addario NYXL's for electric now.
- bozzcl 6y ago
  That's gonna be a problem for me... I use coated strings because my sweat is on the acidic side, to the point steel or nickel strings last barely a month or two before rusting completely. Maybe I need to get better at cleaning my strings, I have to admit I do miss the twang of Ernie Balls.

nate_meurer 6y ago

No, Elixir strings are coated with PTFE, not PFAS. These are two entirely different substances. PTFE is a polymer, often referred to by its most well-known brand name Teflon. Over decades of use, there is zero evidence of any health effects whatsoever from PTFE, the only exception being when it's heated to around 500 deg F. In everyday use it is completely inert and harmless. PFAS is a generic term describing a family of fluorinated chemicals. Evidence is piling up that many of these have serious and long-lasting health effects. Some PFAS chemicals are used as the monomers for making PTFE, but once the PTFE is made, the constituent monomers cannot be released except by extreme heat. All that to say, your coated guitar strings are completely safe. Certainly safer than the teflon-coated pans I cook on every day.

brnt 6y ago
Not on your guitar obviously, but on the furnace or in the oven, 500 F or 260 C isn't very unusual.
- nate_meurer 6y ago
  Very true. It's alarmingly easy to overheat a nonstick pan.
  - blockmeifyoucan 6y ago
    I bought a forged iron pan years ago because i got tired oft buying new teflon pans every x months. It's brilliant! Used only for frying (no tomato sauces etc) and with high initial heat it eventually non-sticks better than teflon and e.g. pancakes turn out perfect.
    - Ductapemaster 6y ago
      Yeah I dumped my Teflon cookware years ago, with the exception of one nice nonstick baking sheet I have. Cast iron requires a bit of care but it’s really not that hard. Plus if you screw it up, just strip it down and start over! For acidic foods I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven, or a SS sauce pot.