Does anybody have experience cleaning old trumpets or coronets and not loosing the
gold horns wash in the bell and engravings, I have silver dipped a couple of coronets
in silver dip and have significantly reduce te gold wash
Is the Silver supposed to be "cut" with water to reduce the strength of stripping the oxyficating/
tarnish on the instrument? Thanks.
Cleaning vintage Sliver silver horns & gold wash
- Tundratubast
- 3 valves
- Posts: 354
- Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:13 am
- Location: NORTH COAST / ND, MN
Cleaning vintage Sliver silver horns & gold wash
Tundratubast
1965 McMartin 4v BBb
2019 Eastman 4v Comp, EEb (In Transit)
1965 McMartin 4v BBb
2019 Eastman 4v Comp, EEb (In Transit)
-
- bugler
- Posts: 100
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:23 pm
Re: Cleaning vintage Sliver silver horns & gold wash
I wish I could offer encouraging words, but cannot - same problem with the 90-year-old Conn BAT I've had for nearly half its life. When I had it restored a couple of years ago the restorer said "I can't save the gold, too much is gone, and it'll cost us at least a couple of thousand to attempt to re-plate it."
I sadly told him to do what he had to. The polished silver looks great, but, alas, it's just not the same.
I sadly told him to do what he had to. The polished silver looks great, but, alas, it's just not the same.
Miraphone 191 4-valve
1925 Conn 28J
Cerveny CEP 531-4M
Fox 880 "Sayen" (oops... that's an oboe)
1925 Conn 28J
Cerveny CEP 531-4M
Fox 880 "Sayen" (oops... that's an oboe)
- The Big Ben
- 6 valves
- Posts: 3169
- Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2006 11:54 am
- Location: Port Townsend, WA
Re: Cleaning vintage Sliver silver horns & gold wash
When those gold wash bells are plated, the silver is plated, all of the silver except for the inside of the bell is covered and then the thin gold is put on.
Fasten something over the bell so no cleaner goes in. Maybe block other openings in the horn so the cleaner doesn't go in.
Of course, I might have it all wrong. I'm in the TNFJ after all.
----
If you could stand the phoniness, perhaps the gold look could be applied with lacquer dyed so it looks like gold wash. If it looks like *** when you are finished, you can always take it off.
Fasten something over the bell so no cleaner goes in. Maybe block other openings in the horn so the cleaner doesn't go in.
Of course, I might have it all wrong. I'm in the TNFJ after all.
----
If you could stand the phoniness, perhaps the gold look could be applied with lacquer dyed so it looks like gold wash. If it looks like *** when you are finished, you can always take it off.