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Hey all,

Is there anything out there, besides silverplating, that I could put on my unplated brass mouthpiece rim? I've heard of a wipe-on product that folks use on the main body of the instrument. Would that be safe to use on an unplated mouthpiece rim?

Vokes

Ok,

Did some research and found that it wouldn't really be safe or durable for rims
I'll use the other mouthpiece instead.

Clear nail polish works in a pinch

Goldplating

Gold plating would be great, but silver has to be the foundation first over the brass, then gold goes on.

I've always wondered how a mouthpiece would be coated in something like this:

http://www.magnaplate.com/coatings/magnaplate-hmf" target="_blank

Extraordinarily smooth and extremely durable. "Permanent lubricity" on a mouthpiece sounds interesting. Send in your MP and have it coated and tell us what you find...

TheHatTuba wrote:Clear nail polish works in a pinch

Or colored works the same. I have blue and a sort of coral red. A good even coat is harder to put on than I thought it would be. I have never tried painting my nails, but if it's as hard as painting a rim, impressive skills there. I get best results when I spread the polish out on a flat surface, and dip the rim in the puddle.

are you allergic to silver? silver plating really isn't that expensive.

kmorgancraw wrote:I've always wondered how a mouthpiece would be coated in something like this:

http://www.magnaplate.com/coatings/magnaplate-hmf" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Extraordinarily smooth and extremely durable. "Permanent lubricity" on a mouthpiece sounds interesting. Send in your MP and have it coated and tell us what you find...

Look before you leap!

According to the technical leaflet at this site, this treatment uses "nickel base alloys". Many people find that contact with Nickel induces dermatitis (usually not life threatening, but very uncomfortable, and once induced, the sensitivity stays with you for life).
Almost certainly not a good choice for use on a mouthpiece, unless there is some magic involved that stops the nickel leaching out.

The nail-varnish idea mentioned in an earlier post works well, but needs regular maintenance.

bloke wrote:There's a place in Rhode Island that does rhodium plating.

' sounds like a joke (Rhode / rhodium), but it isn't.

I just Googled rhodium. According to a jeweller's site that turned up, rhodium costs nine times as much as gold (or to put it another way, four times as much as platinum). Another site claims that nickel from 10k gold can leach through normal-thickness rhodium plating and still cause allergies, so the extra expensive rhodium has to be applied extra thick; sod's law in full swing - I guess I'll just touch up my nail varnish.

Pretty soon now I'm going to have to get me a new mouthpiece, which means I'll have to decide whether I also need a bigger receiver, or maybe a bigger mouthpipe. I guess there's no hurry, it's only been waiting three years - maybe it won't hurt to wait until after the summer rush ... In the meantime, I'm less than half way down the nail varnish, so that 5 gallon drum of plasti-dip is probably not too urgent either. But just in case, can you recommend a convenient way to stop the throat getting clogged up with over-spray ?

bloke wrote:

MikeW wrote:Pretty soon now I'm going to have to get me a new mouthpiece, which means I'll have to decide whether I also need a bigger receiver, or maybe a bigger mouthpipe. I guess there's no hurry, it's only been waiting three years - maybe it won't hurt to wait until after the summer rush ... In the meantime, I'm less than half way down the nail varnish, so that 5 gallon drum of plasti-dip is probably not too urgent either. But just in case, can you recommend a convenient way to stop the throat getting clogged up with over-spray ?

...Are you circumcised ?

Non-observing. Somehow I could never work up the commitment. (what does a deadpan smiley-face look like, anyway?)