Silver polish/repair for deep scratches

[Homerun]

Hey guys,

I know that there was a topic like this a month ago, but I was hoping for some more advice...

I bought a Thor from a guy not too long ago, and somehow in the two years he owned it, managed to get some pretty impressive scratches in it. For instance, on the bottom bow, it looks like it was slightly set on concrete a time or two. I'm trying to get it looking new again, but I don't want to do something stupid, like, say, take 60 grit sandpaper to it (I'm not that stupid, but you get the idea). Any ideas for getting some of those scratches to smooth out and shine it up again?

[tubaguy9]

how deep do they go? Some can go through the plating. The plating is really only .005" thick, so it could possibly go through the plating. I don't know if there's much that can be done about it.

[Homerun]

Most of the scratches are strictly on the surface (wearing a watch while playing, etc.), but the ones on the bow are a little deeper. I can't tell if they are through the plating, though. The best way I can describe it (I'll see if I can get some pics tomorrow, if anyone is interested) is like the look of un-sanded piece of ash vs. a finished cabinet (don't know why that analogy came to me, but oh well)

[Homerun]

Maybe try some Wright's and hope for the best?

[BlueGrassBrass]

I would try Flitz silver polish. It is slightly abrasive and I have used it in my shop to "buff" out very light scratches in silver plated intstuments. But, as has already been stated, if you have a deep scratch in the plating, there isn't much that can be done, short of buffing them out and spot plating the area, if you REALLY want them out. If they are more superficial than anything, and not all the way through the plating, use some elbow grease and a good polishing rag with some Flitz, and you may able to improve the condition some.

-You should be able to get Flitz at any aito repair place, or hardware store.

[Homerun]

I'm pretty handy (but I also know my limits) so I ask you, how hard is spot plating?

[BlueGrassBrass]

Well, the spot plating I am talking about a wand, with a swab type material on the end,http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/plugnplate.htm it plugs into an outlet, and you clip an alligator clip onto the horn. There is also the plating solution, which you soak the swab in.

The spot you are doing would need to be buffed down to bare brass, and then, if your scratches go as low as the brass, and are actually into the brass itself, file them down very lightly, then buff out to smooth using a coarse to medium coarse buff compound (depending on the severity). If they aren't too deep into the brass, you can get away with buffing them out. Either method is going to remove metal from the horn. Then you would need to de-grease the area with a de-greaser, (I use simple green), then Naptha, which will remove all of your left over buffing compoud.

Then scrub the area good with distilled water, blow it off with compressed air, and proceed to plating. Spot plating is a very very slow process. It is easy to "burn" the plating if you leave the wand in one area for too long. If bad enough it causes the plating you are appyling to turn black, and you'll have to start over. You would need to apply probally several applicaions, apply, then apply agian, and so forth to match the orginal thickness....if it is in an area that recieves alot of hand or skin, or clothing contact, such as where your arm rests on the bell or where the bottom bow rests, spot plating won't last very long...it is more for touch up work, to restore cosmetic looks of the horn.

Some guys just hold the wand on there to achieve the wanted thickness but as I said above, it can "burn" the plating, I have had better luck doing it in cycles.

Also, if you don't get the area perfectly clean, the plating will stick and look great, but when you go to polish it up, it will wipe right off the horn. Getting the area clean is KEY to a good looking job.
Hope this helps.

[tubaguy9]

edit:

The plating is really only .0005" thick, if that, so anything you try to do will surely go through the plating. There's nothing that can be done about it.

Bloke, you're right, my bad. Point is, that the plating isn't enough to be able to do anything to remove the scratches