In this phase the gut is repeatedly dipped in bowls full of water in which an adequate quantity of alkaline chemical was dissolved, which we know from the historical sources to be constituted by ash from dregs of wine (ceneri clavellate) or, in Padua, by tartar of barrels (griepoli). 

With each bath the percentage of alkalinity is increased, and tanning alternates with the scraping and degreasing phase which will be discussed separately.

With this procedure we obtain the degreasing of the gut and the decomposition of the non-muscular material inside them, ie the residual sub-mucosa.

Cordedrago, despite the difficulty of producing handcrafted materials that are now impossible to find on the market such as the ceneri clavellate, is carrying out a specific research in this sense, because it is unanimous both in the sources concerning the art of the string makers and in the treatises on merchandise, the praise of the qualitative excellence of this product compared to other analogues such as potash and soda.