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The archives have a ton of posts on this very subject.

That being said, wiping your instrument down with a soft cloth with perhaps a bit of Windex sprayed on to help should be all that you need most of the time.

Regardless of what most silver polishes say about being "non abrasive", you have to understand that when used in this context, "abrasive" is a term of art. Almost all polishes contain something that's harder (on the Mohs scale) than silver metal, even if it's just rouge. As such, a small amount of metal will be removed each time you use a silver polish. And there isn't much silver nowadays on a silverplated instrument. You do the math.

It's probably a good idea to use polish on your instrument only for special occasions where appearance is important. And I think we all have an over-inflated idea of our appearance...

Pledge leaves a film on silver that I find unattractive.

As for polishing, I really like Hagerty's spray on silver stuff. It's quick, easy, gets into some difficult spots, and then you can use strips of an old t-shirt to rag the tuba down.

Another miscellaneous, helpful piece of advice (for those with SATIN SILVER finishes on their tubas -- which is not the scenario of the O.P.):

I learned the hard way, that after a thorough polishing with my Conn 56J, a lot of black tarnish (oxide) will be "broken loose" from the silver. No matter how hard and how long you rub the horn, you may THINK you've gotten it all off, but the first time you play the horn wearing a pair of cement colored trousers, you will learn otherwise.

Follow your annual / semi-annual polishing session with a good shower, using a non-abrasive, liquid detergent, to completely rinse away the "black stuff" from the surface of the horn.

(I suspect this is much less of an issue with a SMOOTH surface under the silver plate ....)

Cheers,

tubashaman wrote:maybe test the bottom

Pretty sure we are close...