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i just bought a 1950's era german F tuba. the mechanics have been worked over and the slides and valves are in pretty good shape. however, i think it has been some decades since the instrument has been cleaned inside and it is full of grime. i realize the easiest way would be to take it in to a repariman with better brushes and chemicals, but i am on a rather tight budget (certainly now) and would like to see what i can do myself. so far i have taken the slides out, soaked them for a couple hours in soapy water, scrubbed with snake (not a great one) and with big bottle brush. i've put a thin oil into the tubes and quite a lot more comes out, then rinsed it out with soapy water again... i still think there is more in there... is there more i can do? is it safe to use something like vinager? i know i can't get at everything but yeah... there is also the matter of possible corrosion on the inside... this could be a weekend job but time is something i have plenty of right now. any suggestions for easy to find cleaners that are safe would be great! the outside is no problem.

Hi,
You think Alberta is Nowhere, you should be out where I am.
Anyway, if you have an instrument repairperson near you see if he can sell you some SLIME-AWAY POWDER which he should have or can get from Allied Supply in Elkhorn, Wisconsin or perhaps a supplier in Canada. It is safer and easier to use than Muriatic acid. You mix 12 oz. with 1 gallon of water, soak for 10 minutes and rinse with water. Possible brush scrubbing. Just be careful not to mix too strong or soak too long or old or damaged lacquer can be loosened or discolored. A 12 oz. container should be less than $20.00 US. I'd wear gloves when using.
Good luck

If your budget is real tight, you might want to try a 50/50 mix of a good grease cutting dishwashing liquid and white vinegar (no water to dilude it). I've used this simple concoction a lot on horns over the years with great results. Scrub an area you want to clean real good with this and rinse with water, scrubbing some as you rinse to make sure you get it all out. Good luck with your new old horn.

If you have any stone masons or bricklayers locally, sponge some sulfamic acid off of them. It's a crystal that will mix with water... but it won't go into solution more than 10% by weight.... making it a very safe acid to use for cleaning brass. This is the main ingredient in most of the commercial products like 'Slime Away'.

I'm not an advocate of everyone on the block to start concocting 'witches brews' to clean their horns, but if you are out in the sticks and no repair resources are available, there's gotta be some form of alternative.

TubaTinker wrote:If you have any stone masons or bricklayers locally, sponge some sulfamic acid off of them. It's a crystal that will mix with water... but it won't go into solution more than 10% by weight.... making it a very safe acid to use for cleaning brass. This is the main ingredient in most of the commercial products like 'Slime Away'. . . .

I second Dan's recommendation of sulfamic acid. My source is liquid "CLR," from the hardware store. "CLR is mainly made up of three acids: glycolic acid, sulfamic acid and citric acid." http://www.jelmar.com/CLRbasic.htm
I've mixed up solutions in a child's wading pool to soak very darkened, oxidized silver sousas.

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Greg wrote:I thought CLR was proclaimed by the TNFJ as an official "No No". Am I mistaken? I would love to hear a response from Bloke or Tinker or Lee on this.


BTW I generally just use vinegar. It's safe and easy to get cheap and it works as an ingredient for a good marinade for beef brisket on the smoker.

The only reason I mentioned sulfamic acid is because that's really what's in the 'slime away' that many of the repair guys use. It's safe stuff when used with a little sense. Heck... you can destroy a tuba with vinegar, too... if you don't have any sense.