Black Residue whenever cleaning off the horn...

oncebittentwiceshy · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 8:13 am Post subject:

I have a Strad...silver finish...I accidentally (A while back) used the wrong kindof cloth to clean it off and then ther was this black residue on it...I go tmost of it off...and I rub it down with a new silver cloth...the question is...this stuff keeps coming back...is it in my skin oil? can I wash the silver cloths? Should I use it sparringly and use something else that is washable in the meantime between the "polishings" ? Thanks
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JDWildcat · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 8:16 am Post subject:

I suspect it's just tarnish. A good silver polish should take it right off.

_londonhusker · Heavyweight Member Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 658

Tarnish (usually from oxidation, sometimes from other chemical exposure, such as sulphur) on silver horns in our atmosphere will be black. That's why you use the polish-embedded cloth or some other product. It's perfectly normal and can be slowed by protecting a horn in storage in a vacuum-sealed bag. It can be accelerated by wrapping rubberbands around your horn ...... or by putting a scrambled egg in your case.

You probably did not need to know all that.

Dave
londonhusker

_dcstep · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 8:44 am Post subject:

There's a polish called Tarnishield by 3M that's excellent at taking the tarnish off AND makes the silver a little more resistant to future tarnish.

Dave
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pair of kings · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 8:49 am Post subject:

If you keep using the silver cloth - you will probably keep getting the black

Take a soft cotton cloth and you can wipe it off and buff it without generating any more black residue.

oncebittentwiceshy · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 9:05 am Post subject:

Every once in a while...if I were to use a polish (real one) then would the soft cotton cloth cause any scrathes? I have swirls..but I expect those you know...just wondering. Once a month you think when I give it a bath a good time?
Thank you for your replies...they were quick
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-Shawn

[ This Message was edited by: oncebittentwiceshy on 2004-02-13 12:05 ]

pair of kings · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 9:32 am Post subject:

for in between I really like those microfiber cloths. to keep the surface clean form body oils smudges etc

as for scratching shouldn't be a problem if the cloth is clean - I would n't bear down on the metal real hard.

a light polishing every month when the horn is cleaned sounds like a good care plan to me.

ultimatlely my concern is more for the inside of the horn. Funny to me to see people polishing every finger print off the horn when the leadpipe is jammed with crud .
I prefer cleaning my leadpipe and tuning slide more often. at least weekly.

MUSICandCHARACTER · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 10:11 am Post subject:

badebop · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2004 10:19 am Post subject:

I'll ditto the Tarneshield polish. If I keep the horn washed down and wiped off frequently I can go at least a year before I have to repolish. Good stuff!

ARB · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 4:37 am Post subject:

I rarely need to polish my silver horns when I keep them in a tarnish bag.
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