Maintaining Finish/Plating

[AkshayB]

I just gave my silver trumpet a bath and want to maintain its shininess until the next time I have to give it a bath. What is the best way to do this? I'm afraid of putting it in my case because I believe it makes it more dull. Should I wipe it with a polishing cloth after every use? Every week?

Thanks in advance,

Akshay.

[Jerry]

Wiping it down with a soft, clean, microfiber cloth after each use will make a difference. l wouldn't worry about putting it in a case after that.

Using a polishing cloth, if it's treated, could eventually remove the plating, but it would take a considerable time. I would not do that.

Using a very small amount of 3M Tarni-shield, which is a very mild polish with tarnish inhibitor, (diluted 50% with water) every few months would keep the horn looking sparkly. If you're disciplined, I would still wipe the horn down after every use with a soft, clean, microfiber cloth. (I'm not that disciplined.)

[Croquethed]

Wiping it down after you're done for the day really helps preserve the finish from whatever your hands impart on it.

I have a silver horn going on 7 years old. It gets wiped down every night and the finish is pristine. It gets a polish at its annual visit to the shop for it's ultrasonic clean, and I may have to give it a quick shot of Twinkle one time between visits.

[Riojazz]

Is it better to leave a silver horn in the case for long term storage (say, six months or more), or leave it out? If being in the case is better, is there some cloth or other solution that goes in the case that will help?
_________________
Matt Finley https://mattfinley.bandcamp.com/releases
Kanstul 1525 flugel with French taper, Shires Bb Destino Med & C trumpets, Schilke XA1 cornet, Schagerl rotary, Schilke P5-4 picc, Yamaha soprano sax, Powell flute. Sanborn GR66MS & Touvron-D.

[Crazy Finn]

[Riojazz]

I left one of my silver horns IN the case for six months, thinking it would minimize tarnishing, but it has quite a bit of tarnish (little brown marks and a yellowish patina on parts). Hence my question above.
_________________
Matt Finley https://mattfinley.bandcamp.com/releases
Kanstul 1525 flugel with French taper, Shires Bb Destino Med & C trumpets, Schilke XA1 cornet, Schagerl rotary, Schilke P5-4 picc, Yamaha soprano sax, Powell flute. Sanborn GR66MS & Touvron-D.

[dstpt]

LONG, but informative.

You might try Flitz Metal Polish to remove the tarnish from the silver. In other TH threads, some have said never to use Tarni-Shield, that it's too harsh on silver (and it also has a strong odor). Wright's, Weiman, and Blitz are all basic silver polishes that would be okay. One brass tech recently told me about these...

Maas silver / brass cleaner.
Zam Polish, but Fab (Fabuluster) is gentler.

...but I have not used them, yet.

Choose your product and use a clean microfiber or other lint-free cloth to apply and rub away the tarnish. Use Q-tips to get in between valves and slides, or put some toward the corner of a rag and pull through the tight areas, moving back and forth to remove the tarnish.

The objective is to remove the tarnish one time and then keep it off by applying a nanotechnology spray coating after that point. I've been researching this a lot in recent months, and I think it's the ticket for keeping tarnish from forming. That way you don’t have to keep using silver polish, which will keep you from removing tiny layers of silver over a period of time. I remember a girl in college that always used a silver rag and polish on her horns, and while free of tarnish, it soon started to show a “darkness” to the silver, instead of that newish bright silver look. The nano spray can coat the silver once it’s tarnish-free, so that you never have to go back to using the silver polish or rag. For that matter, any car wax should do the same, but some of those have smells that my nose cannot tolerate.

For those experiencing tarnish on horns that sit on the inside a case, I know they make little anti-silver-tarnish paper that you can cut up into 1-2-inch squares and place anywhere inside your case. The way I understand it is, they basically draw away the sulfur-containing gases in the air, which is what causes tarnish on silver. I’ve also, over the years, had custom “bags” made from “silver cloth” (what you see used for silverware), but there’s a discipline to everything, and that has seemed to be one additional step I could never consistently do in wrapping a horn or putting it in a silver cloth slip-cover every time I put it in the case. If you leave a horn on a stand, you could slip such over the instrument whenever not in play. That’s a thought. I tend to always put my horns away, due to clumsiness on my part, and I don’t want to make unnecessary trips to the shop!
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As a side note, I just got this product for cleaning raw brass: Bar Keepers Friend (cheap even at any grocery store), quicker than using Brasso (requires less effort to remove tarnish, water spots, et al), has a mild but pleasant odor (much better than Brasso, which I have to avoid inhaling!), and is available in various cleaning agents. Google it. My wife got the bottle of the liquid version for stainless steel, which works fine on raw brass horns. Shines much faster than Brasso. Someone please gently correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think any of their products will harm raw brass.

https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/products/

https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/products/microfiber-cloth-for-granite-stone/
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After removing the tarnish:

Step one:
Use a new and clean microfiber or other lint-free cloth cloth (area) and rubbing alcohol to remove any and all oily residue (valve oil, grease, polish). Use Q-tips again for the tight places, or you can use the Q-tips to push the partially alcohol-soaked cloth into the tight areas. Be sure that your hands are clean. Some people wear gloves when they work with rubbing alcohol, since it dries out the hands so much.

Step two:
Spray a new and clean microfiber or other lint-free cloth (area) with the nanotechnology spray and start rubbing all over the horn. Use Q-tips again for the tight places, or you can use the Q-tips to push the partially alcohol-soaked cloth into the tight areas. It will appear invisible, but it is there. You’ll be able to tell later, where you won’t see residual fingerprints after practice! This should last at least 2-3 days in the areas where the hands have touched. You can tell that you’ll need another thin application once you start seeing fingerprints, and even then, I think it’s there. It forms a moisture and oxygen barrier to prevent oxidation (tarnish).

This spray technology is a fairly recent advancement in car detailing. Some trumpet players have successfully used car waxes to coat their horns. One THer said that he has been using high-end car wax for years, and he even leaves his horns out of their cases all the time (except when the grandkids come to visit!), and they stay completely new-looking with no signs of oxidation.

These are the ones I’ve tried so far (the first three from Amazon, and the last one directly from the manufacturer’s website):

1. Dr.Jeffrey's Car Detailing Spray Sealant | Nano Ceramic Hydrophobic Glass:

Works well. Initially, it formed such a barrier that after about two days of use, I couldn't even find fingerprints after playing! I used Q-Tips to get the product into tight areas, like between valves and slides. It has no noticeable odor. On the sections of each horn where my hands don't touch, there have been no signs of oxidation, and this has been on raw brass for several weeks.
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2. Spray Car Coating Hydrophobic Nano Speed Sealant:

I just got this product, which is a little less expensive than No. 1 above and seems to be very similar. There is a very slight, but pleasant, odor.
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3. Rust-Oleum 287337 NeverWet Rain Repellent 11 oz, 1-Pack:

Do NOT buy. It has a strong odor. Use on your car only!
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4. The Last Coat 2

The demonstration comparing their product to others in the video on their website is impressive. I recently got some and have started using it. We as a trumpet player community would have to have some testing done to compare its efficacy over the other brands on the market, but my bet is on this last one (plus, I bought a lot of it, which will last a long time!). I know of one THer that has done some serious R&D in this area for brass instruments, but because our industry is little interested, they could not move forward financially, so they unfortunately had to abandon their pursuits. Let’s face it: Most players really don’t care how a horn looks, just how it plays. But there are those of us who care about both, which is why I’ve carved out time to share all of this.

With nos. 1, 2, and 4 above, I am noticing very slow oxidation on raw brass and virtually no oxidation on plated horns. I’ve even applied it to the inner slides (raw brass), and so far, I see no oxidation, and this is over several weeks…however, I am reapplying every few days to the contact areas. It only takes a minute or so as a routine at the beginning or end of the day. There is nothing toxic about these products (I would avoid the eyes and ingestion, of course!), and I can’t find any trace of them affecting my hands after being exposed. You always have the option to wear plastic gloves. And lastly, there is no change in the sound or response of the instrument after using these products. None whatsoever.

[Jerry]

[dstpt]

[OldSchoolEuph]

With silver plating, the primary culprits in the process of forming tarnish are airborne. If the horn sits out, more air flows past it, hence more tarnish. The exception to this is if the case has internal materials, typically plastic foams that one can notice degrading as the years go by, formed from high sulfur petroleum. (the white styrene and the nylon fiber cloth linings in most cases are NOT examples of this) In those instances, the case becomes a sulfur gas chamber for the silver, which will turn it amber, then black - often with permanent discoloration at any contact point with the outgassing material.
_________________
Ron Berndt
www.trumpet-history.com

2017 Austin Winds Stage 466
1962 Mt. Vernon Bach 43
1954 Holton 49 Stratodyne
1927 Conn 22B
1957 Holton 27 cornet
1985 Yamaha YEP-621
1975 Yamaha YEP-321 Custom
1965 Besson Baritone
1975 Olds Recording R-20

[cheiden]

While I've not used them myself I have read that others put the horn in anti-tarnish bags prior to leaving them in the case.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

[Liberty Lips]

The anti-tarnish bags work really well, and there are no harmful side effects.

[Riojazz]

Mine is a new horn, in a new case. I wonder if the case being new is the issue here; perhaps it still has some compounds from manufacturing.

Related: do any of you have a source you recommend for the anti-tarnish bags you mentioned? The ones I can see online are too small, or too way large because they are square (such as for plates or trays).
_________________
Matt Finley https://mattfinley.bandcamp.com/releases
Kanstul 1525 flugel with French taper, Shires Bb Destino Med & C trumpets, Schilke XA1 cornet, Schagerl rotary, Schilke P5-4 picc, Yamaha soprano sax, Powell flute. Sanborn GR66MS & Touvron-D.

[OldSchoolEuph]

Another option is to get silver cloth and lay it in the case with half folded over the horn like the lining in a Bach case. It works pretty well. Amazon sells it by the yard.
_________________
Ron Berndt
www.trumpet-history.com

2017 Austin Winds Stage 466
1962 Mt. Vernon Bach 43
1954 Holton 49 Stratodyne
1927 Conn 22B
1957 Holton 27 cornet
1985 Yamaha YEP-621
1975 Yamaha YEP-321 Custom
1965 Besson Baritone
1975 Olds Recording R-20

[cheiden]

[cbtj51]

Tarni Shield is the only polish that I have used for decades. A thorough cleaning once a year, then a microfiber cloth (one in every case) wipe-down at the end of every day immediately after BlowDri Brass for the inside. My 1971 Benge that I bought new in 1971, as well as my other horns, still looks great inside and out! Doesn't have to be hard or tedious, just habit!
_________________
'71 LA Benge 5X Bb
'72 LA Benge D/Eb
'76 Bach CL 229/25A C
‘92 Bach 37 Bb
'98 Getzen 895S Flugelhorn
'00 Bach 184 Cornet
'02 Yamaha 8335RGS
'16 Bach NY 7
'16 XO 1700RS Piccolo
Reeves 41 Rimmed Mouthpieces

[adagiotrumpet]

[LittleRusty]