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musicmork
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 13 Mar 2004
Posts: 1530
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 Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 10:43 am Post subject: Should you polish vintage mouthpieces ? |
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I used to have over 100 used cornet and trumpet mouthpieces with some of them fairly rare. I sold most of them and now I have around 35 mouthpieces left. They are all used and some are heavily tarnished. Simple question.....does polishing the silverplating devalue a vintage mouthpiece?
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MARK /aka "musicmork"/ aka " The Creator "
TRUMPET: Getzen , Olds
MOUTHPIECES Bach 3-C, Schilke 13a4a
CORNET: Holton Galaxy (Awesome horn)
KEYBOARDS: Kurzweil PC88MX,Yamaha S-30, Casio Privia 575R |
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Robert P
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Joined: 28 Feb 2013
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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I wouldn't polish it per se, I'd give it a good soap and water wash and use the baking soda and aluminum foil method of removing tarnish. Supposedly doesn't remove any of the silver.
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iiipopes
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Joined: 29 Jun 2015
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| Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 7:01 am Post subject: |
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| Robert P wrote: | | I wouldn't polish it per se, I'd give it a good soap and water wash and use the baking soda and aluminum foil method of removing tarnish. Supposedly doesn't remove any of the silver. |
Baking soda does not work as well as clothes washing soda. Baking soda is bi-carbonate of soda, so one of the chemical links is already taken. Washing soda, or mono valence carbonate, is more reactive and does a better job of restoring the silver.
Here's what is actually going on: the aluminum foil is a catalyst. The carbonate has a chemical reaction to the suphur in the tarnish, which lets go of the silver ion to bond with the carbonate. Unlike polishing, which removes silver, the carbonate method actually restores the silver to the mouthpiece.
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Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
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StartingUpAgainAt53
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Joined: 30 Jan 2018
Posts: 44
Location: Half Moon Bay, CA
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| Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 11:06 am Post subject: |
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Sorry- what is "clothes washing soda"? Is there a brand name that makes this?
Also, what exactly is the tinfoil/backing soda method. I have quite a few mouthpieces to clean up.
Lastly, any suggestions for a gold plated mouthpiece?
Thanks,
Marc |
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Robert P
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| Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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| iiipopes wrote: | | Robert P wrote: | | I wouldn't polish it per se, I'd give it a good soap and water wash and use the baking soda and aluminum foil method of removing tarnish. Supposedly doesn't remove any of the silver. |
Baking soda does not work as well as clothes washing soda. Baking soda is bi-carbonate of soda, so one of the chemical links is already taken. Washing soda, or mono valence carbonate, is more reactive and does a better job of restoring the silver. |
I've tried both, the only difference I found is the washing soda disintegrates the aluminum foil and makes a mess.
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Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C
Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Flugel |
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conte72
Regular Member
Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 37
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| Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Soak them in white vinegar. I’ve used this method to get rid of deep tarnish. Just remember to rinse thoroughly after you soak them. I’ve soaked old horns and mouthpieces with great success. No damage to the plating. |
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Rapier232
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 16 Aug 2011
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Location: Twixt the Moor and the Sea, UK
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| Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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WD40 removes tarnish from silver.
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Dale Proctor
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Joined: 26 May 2005
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Location: Heart of Dixie
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 6:17 am Post subject: |
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Just use some liquid silver polish and a soft cloth, and wash it afterward. If you use mouthpieces regularly and/or store them in a closed box or instrument case, they won't tarnish enough to matter for years. A cleaning like I described won't remove enough plating to matter over your lifetime.
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