Hi DavidUK. You are right how much your hands sweat and also the chemistry of that sweat can affect early corrosion of strings. You will have to be more fastidious than some other players in how often and how well you wipe your strings and guitars. You will find you must wipe down strings with lem oil ''every time'' before and after play and even if you put it down for a ''short'' while. Also you may need to wipe and polish the guitar before you put it back in the case. Your Ric will always look at it's best though! It's a hassle but it just becomes a routine.

If you forget to wipe them down even once they will corrode, even if they are new!
There goes another $10 bucks and the time to put on another set

Here is another solution to incorporate, Baking soda has a very high pH, it is very alkaline
They use it to raise pH levels and increase alkalinity. Perhaps if you were to wash your hands and then rinse them in baking soda and H20 or very lightly dust your hands with it, it may do the trick! That will get rid of acid corrosion

One more suggestion, eat more alkaline foods , avoid acid foods this can make a difference to your system as a bonus you may feel healthier.

I even wonder our bodies take in so many metals and contaminants from the atmosphere, if we sweat out theses other metals and pollutants then it may even cause some electrolysis which will cause the guitar strings to corrode a bit faster

Also Elixer's,,,, I use them on other guitars but not on Ric's. You still must wipe them down every time as well just the same as Ric strings.

I never wipe my Elixers - They never rust.

Yes they are a great set of strings, they do serve a purpose. If your hands tend to corrode strings prematurely, then that is when these strings become almost invaluable! Your correct they don't seem to rust and last a lot longer at any rate I think the Nano's sound fine, very close to other respective brands. It does save time in string replacement, all up they're hard to beat. I'm hoping DaveUK gives them a shot!

OK why do I ''still ''wipe em! Habit, I like a well lubed fretboard ( minimise friction) maybe also some wear and tear on frets, the board, the strings, maybe even my fingers Also it's just another way of extending their life a tad! Yes I also love the smell of lem oil, it near sustains me that stuff
If you tend to corrode strings fast even wiping nano's is a good idea!
Before and after use is my string wipe routine, it's just another part of play

If you get a whole stack of elixir nano single g,b,and e's you can mix them with other brands set bass strings, *if the same gauge and type*. It is mainly the treble strings that corrode fastest so it maybe a part solution for those who like another brand of string and at least they can retain the bass E.A and D strings and add anti rust to the treble end.

I use the Ric strings, but I also use Nano's full sets and a composite arrangement

And now for something completely different: my body chemistry tends to corrode nickel. So for me nickel plated strings die quickly, and even stainless goes from "clank" to "clunk" pretty quickly as well.

So, on my 4002 I use GHS Progressives. There is a little more iron in the alloy, and believe it or not these actually wear longer for me than any of the nickel alloys along with great tone. If you like flats, this same alloy is used in the GHS ground flats as well. I get by really well with the steel alloy in the Fender 9050CL sets as well. I have yet to change them. So these sets are worth a look if you do tend to corrode strings.

Because there will be at least a trace amount of salt in all perspiration, all strings should be wiped down after playing to minimize corrosion. Coated strings will, if nothing else, eventually wear through as well.

As I said before, I have guitars that have had Elixers on for a year. The only sign of rust comes from the frets - The strings are still coated, and are not rusted.

I did say, "Eventually," which hopefully is much later than sooner, but it will "eventually" wear through.

Since they do seem to last a long, long time for those who have posted, and since JustStrings does sell singles so I can assemble my preferred set of 45-60-80-105, I just might have to try them in a few years after my current set dies.

Your correct, the coating is not permanent, you can easily wear it down! These strings do last longer than conventional sets. For those who corrode string prematurely due to corrosive sweat, then in their case these strings due to the coating will last much longer than if they would have used a conventional set of strings. For me they last about 3 times longer than conventional strings. On a guitar I play a lot I could easily change every 4-weeks, on an acoustic I wear out a set in 2 weeks, much faster.. Ok in that case it's not the rust that destroying them it's me, but the guitars that don't get played as often they in particular need the strings that wont rust. As when I go to play them in a few weeks at least the strings will not have rusted Rust never sleeps but takes time, I'm well and truly finished with them before the rust takes it's first breath on a guitar I play daily!

The reason I like them is simply because I get to wear them out before the rust, on a guitar I play on a daily! I still wipe them every time, for many reasons.

I must laugh though, will the coating come off???!!!!!, never mind the coating I take of the string bindings directly above the fret, and I wear them from the inside out too. In my case I wear out the integrity in both it's tonal and physical constitution fast, the Nano's are extra good for the ones I play not so often and store, as conventional strings would just rust on them.

The coating will come off after a long period of playing, and the strings usually break after this.

The Nanos don't last as long as the Poly.