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Alright Freak Jury,

I've got my Aircraft Stripper, my ventilated space (back yard), my protective gloves, a protective mask and goggles and I'm going to try to make this old, extremely ugly Besson eefer I bought a little nicer looking by stripping the lacquer. Should I remove slides, valve caps, etc or just leave them on the horn? Will water remove the aircraft stripper residue or should I rinse with something else?

Any last minute advice? This little tuba (15" bell) plays EXTREMELY well and has nearly-pristine valves/compression, but it is dog-ugly, so I don't think I will be hurting anything looks-wise unless I have a massive screw-up.

58mark wrote:If it's an old besson, you might try first giving it a really hot bath. I have a besson trombone that the lacquer just fell off.

Did it last night, it's very, very stubborn. Started flaking off with steel wool... eventually. Figured the chemical treatment will be quicker and easier.

here is the before picture from the eBay auction I bought it on:



This picture makes it look a little nicer than it actually is. In the words of my girlfriend, "Ew, what is that thing?"

tuben wrote:

arpthark wrote:Any last minute advice? This little tuba (15" bell) plays EXTREMELY well

Just like Quentin's!
I recently got my similar (silver) Besson that was stolen from me nine years ago back. These tubas are powerhouses! Congrats dude.

Yes! I was thinking of him when I bid on it. Congrats on getting yours back. This one is from circa 1967 - do you know how old yours is, Robert?

It's an excellent horn. Whoever repaired it last went to Globs of Solder University though - very sloppy job. Down the road I will address that, but for now I'm just going to get it looking less like a creature from the deep.

Wade - I found some of the gel stripper but didn't know if it was as effective... I bought the aerosol can instead. Otherwise I think I am set w/ soapy water, hose, and run-off containment procedure. Wish me luck, fellas.

Wear gloves too...lacquer stripper will do more than just strip lacquer!!

Go at the edges of stubborn bits with the edge of a credit card; won't hurt the underlying metal.

Thanks for the tips, guys. I've managed to not kill myself. No hot outside water, unfortunately, and I have a vinyl hose anyway. I've got steel wool to scrub this thing down with - good idea, bad idea?

I'm no expert, but I can tell when terminology is a confusing mess. I have no doubt all advice here is good if we're for sure all talking about the same thing, but that seems highly optimistic.

So good for you for surviving. I would recommend reading the label. Procedures for dealing with an acid product won't be much help if the stuff is actually caustic (caustics make good strippers with relatively low liver damage potential etc.), or if it is really neither caustic nor acidic but just a very potent solvent. (I think that applies to methyl chloride, the classic aircraft stripper, but I wouldn't get near that stuff to find out.)

Aren't strong acids hard on copper alloys?

Donn wrote:I'm no expert, but I can tell when terminology is a confusing mess. I have no doubt all advice here is good if we're for sure all talking about the same thing, but that seems highly optimistic.

So good for you for surviving. I would recommend reading the label. Procedures for dealing with an acid product won't be much help if the stuff is actually caustic (caustics make good strippers with relatively low liver damage potential etc.), or if it is really neither caustic nor acidic but just a very potent solvent. (I think that applies to methyl chloride, the classic aircraft stripper, but I wouldn't get near that stuff to find out.)

Aren't strong acids hard on copper alloys?

I did read the label, actually! It is methyl chloride aircraft stripper.

Update: success!

Last minute advice: don't do it!!!





j/k -- it looks great!

Very nice work! Is that the finish you got just by stripping the lacquer or did you use steel wool, Scotch Brite, etc?

I used a little Scotchbrite. It ended up sort of satin-y and I actually rather like it. I might go over the bell with 2000 grit sand paper or something to get a more mirrored finish later. But, I think it looks cool.

Do you shoot it with clear coat or anything after it is stripped??

Nope. I'm just going to leave it bare brass for now.

Looks great! (I've always been partial to "satin raw brass").

Somehow, it seems that dents are less obvious with that finish....

Thanks roweenie. I agree. I feel pretty good with it as my first lacquer strip attempt. It was a LOT more physically involved than I originally thought. I thought the lacquer would disintegrate or something? But, after much hosing down and scrubbing I got just about all of it off. The satin finish wasn't exactly intentional , but it's a unique look and I like it.