Tuba lacquer stripped...now what?

[BopEuph]

So I stripped the lacquer off my horn, with some stuff from Lowe's. Great stuff; spray on, wait ten minutes, hose off, repeat.

But now, due to the uneven lacquer wear and scratches over the lacquer, there's rust and green colored spots covering the horn, and it feels rough to the touch in those spots.

What I'm wondering is, is this where Brasso shines (pun not intended...or is it)? Or do I need something else to remove the oxidation before using a polish?

Nick

[BopEuph]

Ok, Brasso is tending to do the trick, but I was wondering a few things:

There are some scratches and some weird white marks in the brass that look like scuffs. I'm not too worried about them, but I am curious if the patina will set fine on those marks? Will the scratches be visible when the horn darkens?

Nick

[tclements]

LEAVE IT!!!

[djwesp]

{advice courtesy of the great jeff stelling}

"Go for a run. Come straight in the house, strip down to your underwear, and give your horn a huge bear hug and rub your sweat all over it. Do this for a week, then if you still don't have a raw brass patina, I'll buy the expensive patina builder for you"

[Dan Schultz]

{advice courtesy of the great jeff stelling}

"Go for a run. Come straight in the house, strip down to your underwear...

Is the presence of underwear important?

[chenderson_86]

Is the presence of underwear important?

Your neighbours might appreciate it.

[djwesp]

{advice courtesy of the great jeff stelling}

"Go for a run. Come straight in the house, strip down to your underwear...

Is the presence of underwear important?

I do not know. I imagine that he probably wanted to avoid advising me to strip fully naked. Man, can you imagine the damage a spit valve could do to your delicates!?

[BopEuph]

Heh, nice.

The question wasn't how to set the patina, but if the scuffs and scratches will keep it from setting evenly?

By the way, if you have seen my posts, it has a smashed bell that I'm waiting to find a replacement part. I'm borrowing a 12J from my old high school, and my horn has fewer dents on the valveset and main bugle than the borrowed horn does. And looking at some of the other Ebay horns, besides the bell, mine is in great shape. All the dents will be easy access once the bell comes off.

Nick

[circusboy]

{advice courtesy of the great jeff stelling}

"Go for a run. Come straight in the house, strip down to your underwear, and give your horn a huge bear hug and rub your sweat all over it. Do this for a week, then if you still don't have a raw brass patina, I'll buy the expensive patina builder for you"

I do that anyway -- had no idea it would affect patina . . . .

[djwesp]

The question wasn't how to set the patina, but if the scuffs and scratches will keep it from setting evenly?

The answer is/was, the better the patina, the more it will evenly cover scuffs and scratches. The more you build the patina the more they will blend in with the rest of the horn and eventually fade to nothing noticeable.

The green spots are verdigris and are naturally occurring from the copper in the horn reacting to the chemicals in your sweat, spit, or air (especially in humid areas or areas close to bodies of water). Verdigris is soluble in alcohol and is easily removed with rubbing alcohol.

The idea is to develop the patina faster than the verdigris occurs, hence my Jeff Stelling quote. We use the word "patina" in raw brass instruments to denote a brown patina, even though verdigris is also referred to as patina (outside of our realm).

The reason why the sweaty jog will help turn the horns brown is because of a chemical reaction that occurs between your sweat and skin's oils creates a very small amount of potassium sulfide. Potassium sulfide degrades quickly in water (from your sweat or otherwise) and so there is little time to waste when you are smearing your nastiness all over the horn. The reaction with the copper creates the brownish/dark colored patina we are looking for and it doesn't matter if there are scratches there or not. "Patina Builders" contain a small amount of liver of sulfur (more potassium sulfide) and are a FAST and very even shortcut to the patina building we do naturally over time (or with the sweaty run rule).

[BopEuph]

I got 1500. It seemed to make the brass all cloudy looking. I tried on the defunct bell first. Will the valve oil make a difference in the scratchy appearance?

Nick