Heavy Tarnish

[bebop]

I just got a trumpet from ebay with very heavy tarnish. I tried to use regular silver polish, but it didn't touch it. Does anyone have any ideas?

I don't think sending it to my tech to be buffed is an option

Jim

[Dale Proctor]

Go to Wal Mart and buy some MAAS metal polish. Put some on a soft cloth and polish the horn gently - the tarnish will come off easily. It works on most metals - here are before and after pics of a horn I bought on eBay, polished with MAAS.




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"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

[etc-etc]

Look up the aluminum foil + baking soda + hot water trick. Does wonders for silverplate. Just cleaned this way the mouthpieces.

[Don Herman rev2]

Check out this thread:

http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=83581&highlight=baking+soda+tarnish
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[a marching trumpet]

Well if I were in your predicament where elbow grease and silver polish doesnt work, Id go get some brass wool (same as steel wool just less abrasive) ONLY!!! If its as heavily tarnished as you described. Buff only a little at a time and spay silver spray on it between buffs. If its like you say it must be caked on there. My other suggestion would to plug the major openings in your trumpet and let it sit in a type of solution, Id just to keep the HARSHness of the chemicals in the silver polish down, I would try putting it in alot of water and gradually concentrate it more (never did it before but just though of it in my head) I mean it sounds like you have nothing to lose so id try it and see if it worked. hope it all made sense Ive been known to go off on ramblings and all
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1976 Bach Strad
Loud 1.5C
Arban Book

[Don Herman rev2]

If it's tarnish, the hot water and baking soda method in the thread above will work and is the safest method. It may take some time but is nonabrasive (though make sure you rinse the horn well so no baking soda is left). You will still need to clean the horn, preferably beforedoing the tarnish removal process. A chemical or ultrasonic dip would do a good job of cleaning, but Dawn and hot water with brushes,swabs, and cloths will do the trick as well.

I wouldn't use brass (or steel) wool on a horn I wanted to keep...
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[a marching trumpet]

Well what I ment was with the steel wool it would scratch right throught the tarnish, I ment do somehing as in a light buff with brass wool in really tarnished areas because you dont keep buffing tilll you get to the metal you buff just a tad bit and then let it soak in some silver polish, but your bath idea is good does dawn really work? I polish my horn, but havent given it a submergeing in the bathtub. Is it a good idea to, I get my horn cleaned professionally every 2yrs on the dot. should I baeth it?
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1976 Bach Strad
Loud 1.5C
Arban Book

[Don Herman rev2]

Even light buffing can cause scratches so I wouldn't do it, but it's not my horn, either!

Dawn is a detergent and yes, it does a good job of cleaning trumpets. You still have to brush and swab them to get some of the harder deposits off, and of course Dawn won't do anything about tarnish. For that you need to use the chemical method suggested (basking soda, aluminum foil, and hot water) or silver polish (I use Tarnishield).

For me, and possibly you, two years is too long between cleanings if the horn is used frequently. A thorough chemical cleaning every other year may be OK, though most would suggest once a year, but I would guess you still need to clean it between professional cleanings. Your tech can tell you if that's the case. I try to clean my stable of horns about once every six months, with a rinse now and then and swab the leadpipe fairly often (not quite daily, as I should, but maybe a few times a week).

Here's a link to some good articles about cleaning -- see the Technical Articles on cleaning (choose the one appropriate for you, but if you're reading this you can read them both) http://www.musichem.com/

Don't forget to rinse the mouthpiece often and clean it (them) when you clean your horn(s).

HTH - Don
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[Brad361]

[a marching trumpet]

Ok thanks, I may do it once a year. I do do a full diassimbley clean every month and a polish every 2 monthes. It works out I suppose. After all it is 33 years old.
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1976 Bach Strad
Loud 1.5C
Arban Book

[LittleRusty]

The problem with using abrasion to clean up tarnish is that the tarnish can go deep into the silver. By the time you have gotten the tarnish removed you might also have removed a significant amount of your silver plating.

[jpetrocelli]

I bought some Empire Instant Tarnish Remover from Ferrees Tools (They sell to the general public. It works like a charm. Like magic.
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Joe Petrocelli

[ChopsGone]

I've tried several things that both work and don't damage the finish (try on an inconspicuous spot on your horn first, at your own risk). Stinky stuff: Hagerty's spray silver cleaner (use outdoors), or Nevr-Dull (wadding - also better used outdoors). Inoffensive stuff: Hagerty Silversmith's Polish, Hagerty Silver Foam, Wright's Silver Cream.
The spray cleaner is good for covering a large area in a hurry, but doesn't replace elbow grease. The old Nevr-Dull takes work, but removes tarnish as well as anything I've tried.
The inoffensive ones are all good; I tend to try the Silver Foam first and go for the others if it doesn't quite get it all. But it may not be a quick process. I've got one very old cornet that's been getting a few licks every few days for months, and it'll probably still take several months more to get all that fine "patina" off of it. Good luck.
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Vintage Olds & Reynolds & Selmers galore
Aubertins, Bessons, Calicchios, Courtois, Wild Things, Marcinkiewicz, Ogilbee Thumpet, DeNicola Puje, Kanstuls....

[gbdeamer]

Great thread. I'm going to try the baking soda thing tonight. I'll try to take some before and after pictures.

[gbdeamer]

WOW!!!!!!!

I used the baking soda/aluminum bath for my horn last night...WOW!!!! To say that this method eliminates tarnish is an understatement! My 20 year-old horn looks like new. I didn't realize how badly tarnished my horn actually was until I was finished. I didn't take before and after pictures, but my flugel horn is in the same condition that my Bb was, so I'll see if I can do a side-by-side.

Here's how I did it:

- I first did a "regular cleaning job with dish washing soap in a warm water bath. Made semse to start with a clean horn.

- I lined the bottom of a shallow Rubbermade container with aluminum foil and began to boil some water. I was a bit concerned about putting my horn in a bath of boiling water, so I decided to boil one gallon and use very hot tap water for the rest. (THIS WAS A MISTAKE! Since I was using 1 cup of baking soda per gallon of water (and it took 5 gallons to cover the horn) the water wasn't hot enough to totally dissolve the baking soda. ) This first run did a decent job and cleaned the horn a bit, but I suspected I did something wrong.

- I did the whole process again, this time boiling 3 gallons of water and making sure the baking soda was entirely dissolved in the solution. THis time the change was dramatic. Within a minute or so the remaining tarnish began to totally disappear. Totally. Even in the nooks and crannies and hard to reach spots the tarnish was gone!

I'll let you know if there are any side-effects, but I can't imagine what they would be.

My advice for anyone trying this is to make sure the water is very hot, make sure the baking soda is completely dissolved.

Cheers!

[bebop]

Did you let the water cool off a little before pouring it over the trumpet?
Jim

[Don Herman rev2]

I do not advise pouring boiling water over your horn (as I mention in the original post about the method). The heat itself shouldn't hurt anything, though it might loosen corks and felts, but the thermal shock could cause braces and such to pop. Unlikely, but I have seen it happen. I prefer to start with water about as hot as I can stand, adding/mixing in a little hotter water a little more gradually. Takes more baking soda, but it's cheap.

FWIWFM - Don
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[gbdeamer]

[etc-etc]

[gbdeamer]