Bigbells wrote:I'm Ebay seller trombones4ever who is being much-maligned for my use of heavy-grit sandpaper and a stiff wire circular brush to clean up the classic Olds Studio baritone horn...
At the expense of drawing fire, I'll offer a response.
A professional repairman would have removed the pistons and springs and screws--chemically stripped any lacquer and cleaned the instrument iby placing it in an acid cleaning bath, which would have removed the bulk of the corrosion and any deposits from the inside of the horn. S/he would then have buffed it on a buffing maching using tripoli (if necessary), followed by rouge for a color buff. After cleaning to remove any traces of grease and wax, a coat of epoxy lacquer would have been baked on. The result would probably have looked very nice indeed and be ready for another 20-30 years of use.
I'm not so sure that the inner surface of the bell is nickel plate, although it could certainly be. Most likely, it's silverplate.
Even so treated, what would a 3-valve marching baritone go for? That depends on a lot of factors; not the least of which is how tight the valves are. Refurbishing valves (plating and machining and lapping, fitting with new guides, felts and corks) is not an inexpensive proposition.
A 3-valve Olds Studio model in prime condition might go for as much as your "Buy it now" price, but that's a big "might". As-is, I would estimate that your instrument would sell for about $75-150 on eBay on a good day.
Guys, if I'm off on my guesstimate, please chime in.
(and the picture backs it up 
)
