Going to clean my horn

[DaTubaKid]

Hey guys, I'm planning on cleaning out my horn myself in a couple of days, and I just wanted to run my plan by you guys to make sure I'm not about to cause my instrument to spontaneously combust or anything. I've been reading through the archives all day, picking and choosing what seems to apply to me, though I have a few questions at the end.

So, I'll be cleaning out my Miraphone CC1291, 4P + 1R.

The slides/valves
First I'll remove all slides and valves from the horn. I'll set them aside to clean them individually. My horn fits in my bathtub (I checked today), though I'm not sure if I'm going to soak my valves and slidesin my bathtuba or in the sink. I'm going to wipe off all the grease and oils from them thoroughly, take them apart completely, setting aside the pads and such, then let them soak in lukewarm dishsoap (possibly Dawn) for about 15-20 minutes. I've got some old diapers here (unused, thankfully) which I'm going to use to go over the valves and slides to make sure all the crap is off them, then run the diaper through the valvese to get crap out of there. Then I'll rinse them in cool water and dry wiith a soft towel.

The horn itself
I'm going to let the horn soak in my bathtub in lukewarm dishsoap water for 15-20 minutes. Then I'm going to use the used diaper to go over the whole outside of the horn to get all the stuff off. I'm going to get a pipe brush from the store tomorrow, so I'll run that into some hard to reach places to knock some crap loose. Then I'll rinse the horn again with cool water and dry with a soft towel.

Now for my few questions:

1. Because my horn is silver, I was planning on using some silver polish. The two types I have are Wright's Anti-Tarnish Silver Polish and Tarni-Shield Silver Polish. I actually haven't used either of them yet, so I have no experience with them. I'd rather not go out and buy new stuff (like Hagerty's), but i will if they both totaly suck

2. Should I take out my spit valve corks before soaking the instrument?

3. Should I do anything to take special care of my 5th rotary valve. I dont' want to take it apart or anything, but should I be taking the corks (I think mine are a plastic cork) out?

Thanks.[/b]

[iiipopes]

There are several threads about the pros and cons of any particular product or method of cleaning dispersed among both the current and archived threads of the forum. Please use the search engine to get some lively discussions, especially about my witch's brew for corroded situations.

[JCradler]

I just used the Wright's product this weekend, it does a great job with a minimum of fuss and smell. Damp rag, a bit of polish, wipe it all over the surface. Let it dry to a haze and then buff it off. The diapers you mentioned will be fine for this.
I'd leave the water key corks in place. Some may disagree with me, but I've never had a problem with this.
As for the rotor, hmmm... Do you know how to properly disassemble and reassemble one of these? If you do, then I would want to take it out so no gunk gets trapped in there. If you don't know how to take apart rotors( lots of folks who own them don't) then leave it in and rinse, rinse, rinse. Then rinse some more.
Expect all this rinsing to take the oil on the rotors and bearings with it, so dump some piston-type oil down the tube( theoretically the body of the rotor does not touch the casing, but I figure it can't hurt to have some light oil in there protecting things), and oil the bearings with proper oil(lamp oil, rotor oil, I have used mineral oil with success). I would probably pop out the rotor bumpers, as they are not glued in like the water key corks.

If you get to a point where you don't have confidence in what you are doing with this procedure, take it to someone who can do it properly(i.e. repairman you trust). BTW, how much playing time has been spent on this tuba? I believe Bloke had a post (duh, of course he did! He posts on everything!) about how keeping your mouth clean and your leadpipe oiled will greatly extend your time between tuba cleanings.

my$.02

[DaTubaKid]

I've had the horn for about a year, and I've been playing it pretty extensively since I got it. I'm a music performance major at UIUC, and I play in a decent amount of ensembles, aside from practice time.

As far oral hygiene goes, I haven't always been the best about it. One of my goals for this year is to really improve that, for my horns sake.

I've never dissassembled a rotor before, and I'd rather not risk messing it up myself. I wanted to make sure I could still clean the horn pretty well without dissassembling it. I'll just have to make sure to rinse lots.

That reminds me of another question I meant to ask. My shower has a removeable head so that you can wash those tough to reach spots. If I were to set it to the softest setting, would it be fine to rinse the horn with that? I understand that's a difficult question to answer because no one knows "how soft soft is," but if other people have had luck with it, I should be ok then.

iiipopes, I'm aware of several of those threads. I spent most of yesterday reading through those threads. Some of the information was valuable and applied to me, while some didn't. So it has been a picking and choosing for what method will work best for me. I'd use vinegar, but my mom reacts horribly to the smell of vinegar, so it's out of the picture. I just wanted to run down what I had learned from my readings to make sure I wasn't bending what I had read.

Thanks for your help.

[windshieldbug]

I use Tarni-Shield on all my silver horns and mouthpieces. I like it because it claims to be non-abrasive, and it cleans up with water. Its for stuff you can eat with, so it ought to be good for stuff you buzz in.

I've NEVER removed the water keys before a horn bath. They stop up water, so they get water on them all the time. If you're worried about them swelling, just unscrew the whole key from it's mount.

I've never bothered to take out the rotary cork stops, either. I think that you could do far more damage to them by taking them out of the mounts. There is no possible reason to remove a plastic (black) stop, anyway.

You can run a cleaning snake through the 5th valve if you want, especially when its wet. I've done lots of rotary valve horns in the bathtub without valve disassembly. Just be sure to oil it and work it in before you start (you know what they say about oil and water... ). For good measure, I always put a few drops on the bearing surfaces when I'm done.

Rinsing shouldn't be a problem with the shower head, as long as you're careful not to scratch the horn. You're talking water on metal, for goodness sake!

IMO

[iiipopes]

Thanks for reading the threads. Whatever you choose to clean the horn:
1) Be easy. This is an instrument, not an automobile.
2) The showerhead will be fine.
3) Don't get the water any hotter than you can stand to put your hand in, as on some instruments, hot water can flake off lacquer, and on silver the heat will conduct through the horn making it more uncomfortable to hold.
4) Did I say be easy? Especially on silver plate. Anything more than a soft wipe down can eventually wear through the plating.
5) Do the obvious preventatives: don't play right after eating, some even brush their teeth before every time of playing, be careful of your case, your stand, your chair, etc., anything that can bounce and dent your horn at the worst possible moment, get to know your tech and have him go through it once a year for cleaning, making sure the solder joints and braces are intact, renew compressed felts and corks, check springs, dents you may not immediately notice, but could cause an issue, like on valve slides and blocks, etc.
6) Did I say go easy on the cleaning and polishing? Especially the first valve, as it usually takes all the crap (literally) so clean and reoil regularly, as well as the entire valve block.
7) Rotaries and pistons have different maintenance. Make sure your horn is maintained properly, especially with rotors having the additional linkage that should be adjusted and lubricated properly.
8 ) Oh, yeah -- go easy on the polishing. Did I just say that?

[Rick F]

...though I'm not sure if I'm going to soak my valves and slides in my bathtuba or in the sink.

I'd use the sink for valves and slides. With soapy water in the tub, you probably won't see the bottom and may set your horn on them do some damage

[tubaplyer]

Wright's silver polish is a staple in my book. I prefer the paste over the liquid though. I think that it stains one's clothes when combined with tarnish.



word

[iiipopes]

If you're worried about tarnish stains - just do what Napoleon did - order his silver to be polished with dry champagne. I'm not sure it will shine any better, but by the end, you don't care and are having much more fun anyway!

[tubatooter1940]

If you clean it in the tub, be aware that you two are going to leave an awful ring, so find a way to get that cleaned up before the dominant female gets home and cleans your clock.

[iiipopes]

tubatutor1940 knows. I, too, have experienced the bathtub ring and the ensuing fallout. Wasn't it Shakespeare who said, "Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned." ? On the good side, it only took me less than an hour of scrubbing with the appropriate cleaning agent to get it clean again.

[windshieldbug]

On the good side, it only took me less than an hour of scrubbing with the appropriate cleaning agent to get it clean again.

The horn or the ring?

[iiipopes]

Ooh! Ouch! Got me! Good one! Uh, the tub. My son also had his say with me, as I cleaned the tuba in the bath down the hall, which is closer to his bedroom and is the one he usually uses. It's shiny now! Both of them! Or, All of them! Er...It's getting hot in here, or is it just me?