removing lacquer ?

[jamsav]

I ve got an older horn that shows its age in scratches, dings, dents and worn , uneven lacquer. The body shop can handle the dents, but I am considering stripping the remaining lacquer from the horn . Is this something an abrasive polish can do ? I seem to recall a JHS compatriot ( okay it was me ) taking alot, if not all of the lacquer off of a school tuba with NOXON , a metal polish . This was an unintentional result of my wanting to make it shiny !! So is this doable, and what would the potential consequences be ? Aside from smelling like raw brass....

[WakinAZ]

I've stripped a couple of removable bells. Takes about two or three times using Aircraft brand paint stripper. A messy, toxic and long chore. After doing the bells, this guy would not sign up to strip the body of a horn with all the nooks and crannies. Raw brass makes your hands stink and looks good only to dedicated raw brass enthusiasts, but if your lacquer is that patchy...

Search the archives for other opinions and experiences. This is a well-worn topic on this board.

Eric "who is okay with a raw brass bell and so-so lacquer on the horn body" L.

[tofu]

Why couldn't the OP strip the bell, polish it to a shiny brass state and then take a spray can of lacquer and relacquer the bell himself? I would think that the bell alone would be a nice improvement visually and not as much work as redoing the body of the instrument or as difficult.

[Lee Stofer]

I would caution one before they "go there", trying to re-lacquer anything larger than a 2nd valve slide crook. Particularly in lacquering a bell, there are several issues: 1) getting the bell prepared, which involves getting all the old lacquer off, making sure that it is completely dent-free, making sure that the surface is completely de-greased, having an environment where there is not a lot of dust in the air and the humidity is not too high (and temperature is right), then spray the lacquer in such a way as to completely cover the bell with no overspray, but no runs either. You need to then look at the bell in a good light, and if you can see a bit of "rainbow" effect in the lacquer finish, then it is a bit too thin a coat, and need to shoot it again for it to be durable. Of course, if you get the lacquer on the thich side, it will affect the sound, probably not look good, and be more susceptible to cracking. And, just any old spray can of lacquer from the hardware store won't get it either. There is a reason that people have these things professionally done.

To help some of my customers avoid the expense and trouble of a complete refinishing, we will do extensive touch-up of a lacquer finish, a partial refinishing. With some time and care, polishing, degreasing and spot-lacquering of wear spots on the instrument can make it look a lot better and protect the metal. And, there are techniques to blend in the repaired spots so that it is not really noticeable.