Removing Lacquer

[Bikephan]

I would like to strip my horn to raw brass. I have tried to use a product for stripping furniture but I will require much more ventilation than I can provide. Any suggestions

[LittleRusty]

Take it outside.

[Bikephan]

i guess i would like to know if anyone has experience with a product that will do the job without a ton of ventilation

[UsedBits]

Some have said that soaking the horn in very, very hot water will do the trick. For me, I just can't stand the thought that I might ruin a perfectly good trumpet.
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[prof5]

Without resorting to fairly nasty chemicals, stripping lacquer is not easy. I have used boiling water successfully, but not on anything I prized very highly. 3M "Safest Stripper" is a non-toxic stripper that often takes off lacquer, but the biggest problem is that lacquer is never the same. Old lacquer, multiple coats, epoxy finishes, polyurethanes, and any old clear thing someone sprayed on there are all common in my experience.

Here's a link for the 3M stuff:

stripper

Anyone else have any good ideas for easy stripping at home?

Garry

[Trumpeter656]

I have heard that vinegar will remove lacquer but I have no experience doing so.
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2005 Bach Stradivarius 43*
1973 Bach Stradivarius 37

Conn 8D double F/Bb horn

[Trumpet Dude]

I would also like to strip my marching horn of it's god awful laquer. I am still trying to run the idea through to my parents. ONe way that will work is if you run the trumpet through the dishwasher one to two times.
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[Dr. Stu]

Take it to a pro, period. It's really inexpensive. Why would you want to risk ruining a horn you obviously like? (And who knows what you might do to your dishwasher or what the chemicals might do to your bathtub pipes).

A local instrument repair shop or plating shop will either be able to do it for you or send you to someone who can. As someone said on a similar thread a few months ago...If you have to ask how to do this, you shouldn't be doing it.

I hope I don't sound preachy, but I've heard of people who didn't know what they were doing trying this themselves with things like off-the-shelf chemicals, extremely hot water, dishwashing, and even a guy who tried to heat the lacquer in the oven a bit to help it come off. (That guy melted some of the solders in his horn and it fell apart). It is the rare person that successfully completes the job and it is much more common to only partially remove it (horn looks worse) or damage the horn.

My advice (FWIW2U)

-Stu

[cujazztrpt]

I used regular lacquer remover, wipe on with a rag, then wipe off..simple.
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[plankowner110]

I accidentally removed the lacquer from a new King trumpet once. It was an easy and costly mistake. I washed the horn in the tub and turned the water on to rinse it. Well, the warm water turned HOT on me and when I held the horn under the water, the lacquer blistered and came off in an instant.

In contrast, the old Conn "Lustre-Conn" finish on a Connstellation is the toughest lacquer ever put on a horn. You can literally extinguish a cigarette on the bell and not leave any mark on the finish.
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[Sooner]

I used a metal stripper compound that I bought at walmart. It worked perfectly for me, but it does require good ventillation.
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[Bill Bryant]

It all depends on what kind of lacquer your horn has. In the old days, all lacquer was made of cellulose and easily came off in very hot water. Later, many companies switched to various epoxies that are slightly thicker, softer, and tougher than the older lacquers. I don't know of any epoxy lacquer that will come off in hot water. Epoxy readily dissolves an anything with methylene chloride in it, typical of many paint strippers.

I removed the lacquer from a 70s vintage Getzen flugelhorn using hot water. I removed the lacquer from 90s vintage strad using methylene chloride; all the hot water in the world wouldn't have helped.

BTW, good repairmen know how much heat they can apply to various horns during soldering work based on when, and by whom, the horn was made. Modern epoxy lacquers can even stand a few seconds of a solder-melting torch without marring. Not so at all with the old cellulose lacquers which burn easily and look unsightly after a repair that requier a torch.
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[BigBadWolf]

How easy is it to strip your horns? My C trumpet's lacquer is in pretty bad shape and I was going to take it into the shop for the stripping. But if it is fairly simple and inexpensive, I think I could probably do it. Any thoughts?

Kevin