Tuba Bath & Satin Silver Cleaning

[Rick F]

Here's a link that may help. It's for trumpet, but you can adapt it for your use.

Giving your horn a bath
http://www.musichem.com/articles/pst_care.htm

Hope this helps.

[Bove]

If the weather's nice and warm, I'd lay the horn flat on the ground and try filling it with a garden hose from where the gooseneck goes.

To keep the Tuba clean while you hose it down, I’ve used an old shower curtain on the ground under the tuba.... Keeps the grass and dirt out of there.

[Lee Stofer]

Yes, the horn needs a bath. A simple rubber mat in the bottom of the tub will help protect your instrument. Brass instruments last longer and perform better if kept cleaned and well-lubricated. Remove the slides and take the valves out, then wash the instrument and its parts, inside and out, with warm water and soap, preferably dishwashing liquid. the brand "Dawn" is particularly good and strong. A good cleaning brush, such as can be found in the Yamaha Care Kits, is a great help. Once everything has been thoroughly scrubbed (but not scratched up) and rinsed in clean water, then the instrument should be thoroughly dried out. I like to drain out all the water possible, use cheesecloth and cleaning rods to remove as much water as possible, then let the instrument sit unassembled and dry thoroughly. Then, grease and put the slides in, working each side in-and out several times individually before finally reinstalling the slide. Doing this works the grease up into the inner slide so the whole thing is lubricated well, and can prevent stuck slides in the future. then, reinstall the valves with a good valve oil. The absence of water in the valves at this point will help the oil to better adhere to the valve parts, keeping them lubricated longer. Finally, a good polishing with 3-M's Tarni-Shield Silver Polish will protect the instrument and keep it looking good for months.
If you do not feel comfortable about doing this yourself, any competent repair tech can do this, and more. Eventually, brass instruments will need a chemical-cleaning to remove stubborn deposits in the valves and slides, and your repair tech (hopefully) is prepared to do this for you.

[GC]

One particular problem with satin silver is that polish and tarnish residue will accumulate in the pits in the finish and will blacken your hands and clothing for days or weeks. There are several ways to deal with this that have been suggested by some real pros on this BBS; these suggestions came from David Fedderly and Joe S.

1. Clean and polish the tuba carefully with your choice of a good, tarnish-fighting non-abrasive silver cleaner. Put the tuba in the tub, spray the horn all over with Simple Green cleaner, let it sit a few minutes. Spray off the Simple Green and dry carefully with a soft cloth. Most of the residue should be gone from the pits in the satin finish.

2. As an alternative, mix paste or cream silver polish (like Wright's) with dishwashing detergent prior to application, polish, and then hose off with warm water.

[Hank74]

I would add for us sousaphone players that our instruments can also take a bath from time to time to clean out any gunk inside. That's what a band repair tech told me two months ago and he was right. It did a great job.

Let me point out though that you don't want to put the entire sousa into the bath, unless you have a really big tub or the entire tubing has gunk, which you would need to see someone about that. The tech told me to only take out the valve part out and then put it in a warm water tub with some dish soap. Let it sit for a few hours.

Most sousaphones today have the valve part easily detachable from the rest of the horn. All you need is to unscrew the carriage (as they call it) and carefully remove it from the tubing. Also, unscrew the valve pistons before giving the carriage a bath. Same thing with the gooseneck and tuning bits.

In a matter of time, your sousa will play like new! We all need to take care of our horns and nothing beats it than giving it a nice bath.

Hank74

[Dean E]

spray the horn all over with Simple Green cleaner, let it sit a few minutes. Spray off the Simple Green and dry carefully with a soft cloth.

Please do not use Simple Green. It is highly corrosive and unless rinsed out of every tiny nook and cranny, may permanantly corrode the metals used to make your horn.

There was a discussion on the TubaEuph forum at Smartgroups (you have to register first) under "horn bath stupidity":
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/view ... ageid=2574

See: http://www.delphion.com/gallery
http://www.patent.freeserve.co.uk/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/evelads/inven.pps

Evidently, Simple Green cannot be used on US military aircraft because it can corrode the aluminum, especially in the cracks where it cannot be rinsed off immediately. The brand's web site doesn't warn about brass however:

"Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green on aluminum?
Simple Green products have been successfully and safely used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: Aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water.

[Buried in the fine print!] The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green or Crystal Simple Green can accelerate the corrosion process.

Therefore, contact times of All Purpose Simple Green and Crystal Simple Green with unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green/Crystal Simple Green residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation."
http://www.simplegreen.com/faq.html

[Dean E]

Do you have any suggestions on what else to use . . . ?

For polishing a silver-plated horn, it is obvious, but be careful not to use anything abrasive or scratchy (sandpaper, steel wool, or a wire brush), which will wear through the thin silver plate.

I like the Hagerty's Spray Polish best, but it is expensive and the cans' valves tend to clog.

Hagerty Silversmiths' Spray Polish
Hagerty Silversmiths' Polish
http://nancysilver.com/care_prods/hagerty_silver.htm

Wright's is good, especially when mixed with Dawn (or similar) dishwashing detergent.

Wright's Silver Cream
Wright's Anti-tarnish Silver Polish
http://www.jawright.com/

There are very strong, commercial-type chemical cleaners, but I won't get into them now because they create dangerous fumes, can cause chemical burns to the eyes and skin, and could cause permanent damage to the horn and plumbing when used by untrained people.

[Dean E]

Moved

[MileMarkerZero]

Also, remember that you don't have to polish it all the time. Polish the horn completely. For upkeep for the parts that are siver plated (tuning slides, inner bell, etc. - the parts that really show schmutz) just spray some windex on a cloth diaper and wipe away the fingerprints and smudges. Then flip the cloth to the dry side and wipe away any residue.

Now a question: I have some really stubborn tarnish on the inside of my bottom bow (56j-satin). Hand buffing has had no effect. Is there a MILDLY abrasive silver polish that will remove this, or should I use something like Wright's in concert with a lambswool buffer on my cordless drill?

[Dean E]

. . . . Now a question: I have some really stubborn tarnish on the inside of my bottom bow (56j-satin). Hand buffing has had no effect. Is there a MILDLY abrasive silver polish that will remove this, or should I use something like Wright's in concert with a lambswool buffer on my cordless drill?

Try mixing Wright's Silver Cream (or Wright's Silver Polish) and a liquid dish detergent. Apply and scrub gently with a soft, nylon-bristle detailing brush.

I do not recommend using ammonia-containing products, such as some formulations of Windex, on silver. Ammonia chemically reacts with silver.

[Conn 2J CC]

Adam - I second Lee Stofer's recommendation to finish your polishing job with 3M's Tarni-Shield Silver Polish. My wife and I put two coats of it on her Baritone Saxophone, which has a frosted silver body with shiny silver keys and trim. We overhauled it almost five years ago, and it still looks great. Someone at 3M told me two coats would help insure complete coverage, but more than two coats would be overkill. You can get some from Ferree's Tools in Battle Creek, Michigan, among other places.

Thanks for posting this thread. I got several ideas from this topic to comtemplate myself, since I'm presently cleaning up the frosted silver finish of a 1915 Conn C Melody Sax. When finished, our Bari Sax will have a little brother.

Good luck with your horn.

[MaryAnn]

What about sterling silver? Is there some immersion method for polishing this? I think I've read that sterling can be chem-polished (i.e., no abrasives) by running hot water in the sink, putting aluminum foil on the bottom, adding salt, and soaking the item. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

MA