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That isn't supposed to happen with 24K gold plating if done correctly. Gold should be darned near impervious to anything save aqua regia. You might want to consider returning the mouthpiece for replacement. But don't try to polish the stains off--the gold is extremely thin and soft won't take much of that.

See if the stains wash off with some warm water and hand soap.

Call Custom Music and talk to one of their tuba salesmen. Ask them what THEY recommend, and if you can return the mpc if some "repair" they recommend doesn't turn out well.

Can you email them a digital photo?

They MAY well ask you to send it back directly so they can see for themselves, and fix it themselves.

[edit / add -- Scooby & I were posting somewhat simultaneously -- with essentially the same advice -- let Custom decide whether to repair or replace it for you.]

Good luck,

Steve Inman wrote:Call Custom Music and talk to one of their tuba salesmen. Ask them what THEY recommend, and if you can return the mpc if some "repair" they recommend doesn't turn out well.

Can you email them a digital photo?

They MAY well ask you to send it back directly so they can see for themselves, and fix it themselves.

[edit / add -- Scooby & I were posting somewhat simultaneously -- with essentially the same advice -- let Custom decide whether to repair or replace it for you.]

Good luck,

I vote for this choice. At least, that would be my first step.

You have a defective product which has failed when it was used for the intended purpose in the intended way.

Send it back and have it repaired or replaced at their expense. You may need to pay the shipping which is probably only a few dollars for just a mouthpiece.

I agree that you should send it back. However, when you get a new one, here is my advice for gold rims:
Never, NEVER set the mouthpiece down on the rim. Always lay it on its side when it is not in the horn. And if you lay the horn on its side, make sure that the rim of the mouthpiece does not come in contact with the ground. Make sure that any pouch you may have for it is very soft where it touches the gold rim, that it is not tough leather or a zipper or anything like that.
Nothing harder than your face should ever touch that gold rim.

MartyNeilan wrote:However, when you get a new one, here is my advice for gold rims:
Never, NEVER set the mouthpiece down on the rim. Always lay it on its side when it is not in the horn.

Heck, I do that with all of my mouthpieces, and I don't even own a gold one. Silverplate isn't that thick either, and even if it's Lexan, bare steel or titanium, I don't want to bother with the scratches that eventually show up.

MartyNeilan wrote: Nothing harder than your face should ever touch that gold rim.

Why?

I assume your thinking is that any contact will cause wear on the gold plating -- the more the wear, the less the life of the plating.

You've stated this as a universal absolute -- will all life in the universe as we know it end if this happens? Or will the mpc need replated after 5 years instead of 10?

If life as we know it comes to an end, THEN I'd agree with you. If "every little bit" of potential abrasion hurts, then it all depends on how often you want to pay for more gold plating, I suppose.

Cheers!

Steve Inman wrote:

MartyNeilan wrote: Nothing harder than your face should ever touch that gold rim.

Why?

I assume your thinking is that any contact will cause wear on the gold plating -- the more the wear, the less the life of the plating.

I'm inclined to agree with Marty--not because of wear, but because 24K gold plating in addition to being very thin, is very soft and ridiculously easy to scratch.

Allow me to plug Dave Houser's PVD rims here--they look and feel like gold (mine feels a bit "slicker" actually) and wear better than iron. And they are completely hypo-allergenic.

It doesn't take long for me to wear through the plating on a gold-plated mouthpiece with my facial sharkskin stubble. Barring accidents, I don't imagine that I'll ever wear through the PVD coating.

Hm. I would have gone ahead and asked for a replacement from Custom Music. They sent you a bad mouthpiece (regardless of it being used in store or not), and you deserve one in better condition. You might as well try what they mentioned (unless the authorities who know more than me say otherwise), but I'd just say be careful to not cause any damage. If what people have been mentioning (poor plating), then you might not even bother and ask for a replacement.