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I have a euphonium that I am not attached to as it was a speculative bid on eBay and not what I thought it was. It has worn lacquer and some red marks on a crease on the bell. From reading other posts I think it may be red rot. Can anybody tell me what red rot is can it be stopped and can it spread to other instruments in the house?

sousaphone68 wrote:I have a euphonium that I am not attached to as it was a speculative bid on eBay and not what I thought it was. It has worn lacquer and some red marks on a crease on the bell. From reading other posts I think it may be red rot. Can anybody tell me what red rot is can it be stopped and can it spread to other instruments in the house?

Well, as you can see from the above, there's nothing to be done about it, and the rest of your instruments will be rotted through before the year's out. Your bad for bringing that euphonium in - never buy stuff from ebay, you just don't know where it's been and it isn't worth the risk!

Seriously, given the explanation above, do you think it's red rot? I don't think it is. I have plenty of reddish corrosion here and there on brass instruments, maybe the same ion or salt chemically but not "red rot" erupting from the inside.

If it is on the bell, then I seriously doubt it is red rot. Red rot typically happens where moisture can accumulate, like your mouth pipe and tuning slide crooks.

If it is on the bell, it could be another thing called an "acid bleed," if it is on the bell rim.

Can you post a photo?

Red rot looks like this: