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I recently purchased a rotary valve tuba and I've noticed my black tarnish stains on valves and I hate it, so I was wondering what I could use to get those off, and also what to polish lacquer with.

Except that maybe there's no lacquer to being with.

Hup

On the (rare) occasion that I "polish" my lacquer horns, I use NuFinish (http://www.nufinish.com/products/car-polish). It's not a wax or a polish, but in my experience provides an additional level of protection to the surface. I also use it on other things as well (like sunglasses at times). I suppose that if I ever polished or shined my car finishes, I'd use it there too; but that's not going to happen.

To spruce up your lacquer, you can use a good auto wax. Meguiar's or 3M are my personal favorites. Don't be heavy handed, a light coating works best. If the horn is dirty, wash it like you would a car first. You don't want to use an abrasive on lacquer because it will scratch and abrade very quickly. I've seen some use a buffing wheel on lacquer, but that is dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. The black buildup around the valves could be dirt accumulated by excess oil. You should be able to wipe that off easily. If it doesn't come off easily, then I'm not sure what it is......

I tried just wiping it off and it won't come off

This is what I was talking about.

Are you talking about the paddles?

yes

I'm 99% that is not something you can polish because that is wear on the paddles. I do not recall what they are typically made of, but I have never seen anyone polish their paddles back to looking new. I usually just see them replaced if it becomes that big of a deal.

Though, if I'm wrong, someone much more knowledgeable than me will point you in the right direction.

It's a Wessex and its fairly new so i doubt its worn down, but being fairly new to this I don't know.

DP wrote:

thevillagetuba wrote:I have never seen anyone polish their paddles back to looking new. I usually just see them replaced if it becomes that big of a deal.

you've really seen them replaced for that?!

Not for that specifically, but the wear on the paddles themselves. No one can really see the wear while you're playng, so I never think anything of it.

I've seen worn, pitted, coin on/coin off, and everything else other than replaced.

If it's a new horn, it shouldn't happen very quickly. Possible plating issue...?

bort wrote:If it's a new horn, it shouldn't happen very quickly. Possible plating issue...?

I agree. From everything I've heard about Wessex and how great their customer service is, I'd call them. Explain what is happening and how old the horn is and see what they say.

bloke wrote: ...Is there someone near you who could just hit the tops of them with their buffing machine - with a soft wheel loaded with yellow or green rouge ?

Or get a can of auto clearcoat polishing compound and a rag (or Dremel) and see what you can do.

I think that the paddles on the Cerveny 781 I had were mildly discolored in the same way. I notice that the paddles on my 60s Amati oval euph are not (though I rarely play that). I suspect this condition will recur since it may well be the result of the body chemistry of the player and the metallurgy of the paddles.

(Were it mine, I would just let it go...)

Yeah. Personally, I am not seeing this as a problem if it's just discoloration as opposed to pitting or surface degradation.

It only bothers me cause it started immediately after I
got it.

larryreaux wrote:It only bothers me cause it started immediately after I
got it.

That makes it sound like a problem in the original finish from factory. Contact Wessex. Neptune seems to be on the forum fairly regularly, so I'd be surprised if they didn't already know of this thread.

Contacting them will probably be the best way to get this situation under control for you.