Maintaining that "Brand New" Appearance

[DJMT1287]

I currently own a Conn 56J Satin-Silver Tuba. It's been starting to build up water stains and some dirt marks around the valves and bell area. I've tried watering it down with just warm water and a rag but it doesn't change. My dad recommended Windex but I'm not sure how that will affect the satin finishing.

Matt at Dillon Music recommended using a certain brand of polish that one could easily purchase at a local hardware store that you apply and wash off. I have not yet tried this due to lack of memory on the brand and transportation up here in Ithaca.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cleaning the exterior of a satin-silver tuba? Preferably one that wouldn't tarnish or ruin the satin finishing.

[windshieldbug]

I use 3M Tarni-Shield. It's marketed for silverware, non-abrasive, water-soluable, easy to use, and I find it at the local hardware, although I'm sure it's sold all over.

I hate to admit that I got turned on to it by a trumpet player, so they ARE good for something...

Some people like Hagerty's, both paste and spray-on. If you go for something used on silverware, it's hard to go wrong...

[peter birch]

the only wat to keep it looking brand new is to wrap it in soft cloths, keep it in its case and never touch it. brass instruments are meant to be touched, held and played. This exposes them to all kinds of risks that we just have to live with. i do remember the old boosey & Hawkes imperial instruments had a "frosted" silver plate that was an absolute nightmare to keep looking good, you just have to do your best.

[DJMT1287]

I am obviously aware that with time and performance, any instrument will lose it's "brand new" appearance and luster. My general IDEA of this post is to ask for ways of cleaning the horn so that it looks better than it does now. In other words, suggestions on how to clean a satin-silver finish as opposed to regular silver, and so forth.

[GC]

You're going to have to clean a satin horn more often than bright silver. The major problem with most modern satin finishes is that they're relatively coarse, and they accumulate the black residue left by silver polishes in the pits of the finish. The gunk then comes off on your hands and pants for days or weeks if you don't make an effort to get it out.

There have been several suggestions in the past as to how best to do this. My favorite has been to mix silver cleaner with dishwashing detergent prior to polishing. After polishing, put the horn in the tub and spray it with warm water; the detergent will get off the polish and clean the accumulations in the pits.

Another shop suggests polishing, spraying the horn with Simple Green, and then hosing the horn down. Another user chimed in and said that Simple Green is too corrosive to use on silver finishes. It worked for me, but I didn't keep my horn long enough to see if there were any long-term effects.

Wright's Silver Cream, Hagerty's, and 3M Tarnishield contain tarnish inhibitors, and the effect accumulates. With subsequent treatments, the time between cleanings will increase little by little.

One major problem with the Conn CC's is that the tubing around the valves have little room to get your hands in. You might consider strips of gauze or cheesecloth to get into the hard-to-reach areas.

[Bandmaster]

When I got my satin gold 1927 Conn 38K off of eBay the silver had tarnished through the gold pretty badly since it had sat in storage for 40 plus years. I called up Dan Oberloh and he told me to use Wright's Silver Creme and mix it with baking soda and water to make a paste. Apply it with a natural fiber bristle brush (a platers brush as he called it) using circular strokes then washing it off and dry with a soft towel. An old toothbrush can work in the tight areas around the valves. This method worked very well on the old Conn. Since it was washed off, there was very little residue left to come off on my hands and clothes. After that, just a little touch with Wright's Silver Creme has kept it looking great.

Before:


After:

[Bill Troiano]

Welcome Grasshopper! Let me introduce my son, Dan to everyone here. I was really suprised to read Dan's post, only to relaize it was my son at the end. Well son, today you are a man! Welcome to Tubenet.

Now, to this business. If you called home more often, you would have found out that, while your brother and I were at Dillon's on Thurs., Matt recomended Wright's Silver Creme and I bought a jar. So, when you come home in March we'll try it out. Now, call home tonight for your brother's birthday.

[pgiampi1]

I've used Wright's quite a bit and it works really nicely. It seems to clean as well as polish, so if you've had a hard time keeping up with rubbing the horn down with a cloth, it can be very forgiving. Just make sure you have Q-tips for those hard-to-reach places.

[pulseczar]

I agree with the platers brush.

[Yosef: Tubist]

I agree with Matt Walters...

we use the Wrights silver cream on our satin Conn 20K sousas here at App State, we've tried some other things too... but the wrights seems to be the most bang for the buck... easy to use too... the secret I've found is to follow the directions

A lot of my section mates don't clean out the sponge and it ends up not getting the instrument very clean.. I always rinse the sponge very well in warm water (it should be white when you apply the polish) When its still damp the Polish spreads pretty thin, but works GREAT!!

I'd be interested to see how well the mixture Oberloh suggested works?.. hmmm


anyway... yeah the Wright's should work great!! (Just make sure the sponge is clean and a little damp!!!

[Rick Denney]

A note on prevention:

Silver tarnishes in the presence of oxygen, greatly aided by any available catalyst. Sulfur is a catalyst, and many parts of the county have lots of sulfur in the air.

I have some mouthpieces that I set on a window sill several years ago, and that spot is right above an HVAC vent. The fresh supply of air blowing across those mouthpieces resulted in heavy tarnish. They look after a year like mouthpieces usually look after ten years.

Therefore, you should minimize contact with the outside air, especially circulating air. Keep the instrument closed up in the case when not in use, and that will help prevent tarnish better than most anything.

Rick "whose raw brass instruments are a nice shade of brown" Denney

[tokuno]

I've never owned satin, but for my polished silver horns, I favor 3m's Tarni-shield. Minimally abrasive and protects against future tarnish.

I have a favorite technique that I began using in the early 80's and that I've shared often but have never seen anyone else employ - makes me wonder if there's a negative effect that I haven't considered. Anyway, here it is: line the case with silver cloth.

Every fabric store hereabout carries it. Used to be called "Pacific Silvercloth", but there's generics available that look and act the same, but are a lot cheaper.

I get a big enough piece to cover the inside case bottom, lay the horn on top, then fold the cloth back over the horn.

It's thin, feels non-abrasive (I think it's a cotton base), and acts as a sacrificial tarnisher.

I have a pretty silver baritone that comes out a few times a year for Christmas Caroling, and shows not a spec of tarnish. Could be that with the case sealed, it would be that way, anyway, but I also had a daily-driver silver euphonium, and never had tarnish issues with that horn, either. I credit the silver cloth, mostly.