Acid bath

[vintage7512]

I want to get the tarnish off my silver 3301. I had bought polish and used it on my trumpet and came to the conclusion that using a bathtub and lots of elbow grease would be very tiring and time-consuming and might very well accomplish nothing but to get me aggravated and the bell shiny, leaving the inner tubing still tarnished. Does an acid bath get the inside stuff de-tarnished and how much should it cost? I had my trumpet done for about $100.00 10 years ago and it was worth every penny - looked brand new.

[SousaSaver]

No.

But there are products you can use that just wipe tarnish off, like Tarn-X. You still have to polish the instrument to give it a luster though.

Some repair shops will polish the horn as part of the cleaning charge. It might be worth it not to polish it yourself.

[bort]

Bathtub for tarnish? I poilshed my Marzan a few months ago, and it took about an hour or so. Granted, it only had about 2 years of tarnish on it, but still, not such a bad experience.

I think I used Haggerty's? What have you been using?

[vintage7512]

I only said bathtub because the polish I bought calls for it to be rinsed off. I forget the name of the stuff but it wasn't a liquid like TARN-X - it was a cream - and it took elbow grease. Can I use a strong liquid like TARN-X without doing damage?

[Dan Schultz]

As one poster already said.... there is no good way to chemically polish a silver horn.

Polishing a silver tuba really isn't so bad if you have the proper setup. Go to Goodwill and purchase a large wooden table leg. A length of 4" x 4" will do if you shave off the sharp corners. Wrap the piece of wood with carpet until it is near the size of the inside of your bell. Fasten the large end of the leg in a vice or anchor it solidly to a large benchtop with a C-clamp. Shove your tuba bell over the carpeted piece of wood. Cut a couple of T-shirts into strips and use the strips like a shoe-shine man on the inner tubes after slathering on some Wrights Silver Creme or Hagerty's Silver Polish.

I guess you could take the family dining table and have a ready-made polishing fixture it you flip it up on it's side and add some padding! Better wait until after the Holidays!