Maintainance

[JayW]

Hagerty's (sp?) Silversmith Polish...... comes in a spray can..... goes on easy and really does a great job. Plus it has tarnish inhibitors that really help. I find I have to apply it about once every 6 months.....and in between I just wipe the horn of with a clean rag, keeps its shine great.


If you just bought it, may want to consider a good chem clean? unless that was done recently. Ya never know what goodies someone may leave you in there.

Congrats on the horn

[JayW]

hmmmm...sounds interesting.... let us know how it works if you do try it

[Dan Schultz]

I see you live in Ontario. Don't know what the temps are this time of year but if you have any form of ventless gas heat, you need to keep your silver horn under wraps. One of the by-products of a gas flame is sulfur... one of the nastiest silver tarnishing agents known to man.

[WoodSheddin]

nothin. as long as the valves work and air goes through it, play it. if the valves start getting plagued by gunk and valve oil don't help then throw it in the tub and snake out the junk.

[Paul S]

Thx for the help. I bought some supplies for the horn already, and i was just wondering if anyone has heard or ever used NEVR DULL? I just want to make sure it's safe for the horn.

I have a can of Nevr-dull beside my desk here and I use it on old brass items that have decades of tarnish & grime as it is excellent & fast for that kind of build up.

I would never use it on my silver horns though as it is will certainly remove much more of the silver plate than you probably want taken off.

[tubatooter1940]

My motorcycle mechanic recommended Nevr-Dul for cleaning and polishing chrome in one step.He told me to apply it with fine steel wool
because the chrome was so much harder than the steel in the wool that steel wool would not scratch the chrome and would clean it fast.

[WoodSheddin]

nothin. as long as the valves work and air goes through it, play it. if the valves start getting plagued by gunk and valve oil don't help then throw it in the tub and snake out the junk.

Don't listwen to this bonehead. I almost puked when I saw the disgusting piece of green goo that came out of his horn.

[Rick Denney]

My motorcycle mechanic recommended Nevr-Dul for cleaning and polishing chrome in one step.He told me to apply it with fine steel wool
because the chrome was so much harder than the steel in the wool that steel wool would not scratch the chrome and would clean it fast.

I have also used this approach and it works good--for chrome.

NevR-Dull also works really well for raw brass, especially smaller items. It does not polish to a mirror finish, but leaves a bit of glow that looks good on old brass.

I wouldn't use it on silver, partly because there are other good products for silver that specifically address silver tarnish. You want a tarnish remover and not a polish, though those terms are not consistenly used. The less abrasiveness the better.

Rick "who would NEVER use steel wool on anything shiny unless it's harder than steel" Denney

[Rick Denney]

(image remove as a service to mankind...)

We know you wanted to punish Harold, but it's lunch time, fer cryin' out loud!

Rick "no longer hungry" Denney

[ThomasDodd]

I have also used this approach and it works good--for chrome.

I'll have to try that on my car bumpers. Thanks
00 or 000 steel wool?

NevR-Dull also works really well for raw brass, especially smaller items. It does not polish to a mirror finish, but leaves a bit of glow that looks good on old brass.

I wouldn't use it on silver, partly because there are other good products for silver that

I never noticed NevR-Dull being abrasive, but still. Is there something similar sutible for silver? I like the wading approach. I used to have somthing similar to NevR-Dull, that was also a wading in a can, but cannot remember what it was.

[Rick Denney]

I'll have to try that on my car bumpers. Thanks
00 or 000 steel wool?

Actually, 0 will work fine. The chrome is harder than the steel, so it won't scratch it, though the dirt you pick up might. I have used it to clean off everything on bumpers from light dust to rust streaks.

I don't know if NevR-Dull is abrasive or not. I'm thinking that the chemical in the wadding is optimized for brass, though, and it might be quite a lot of work on silver. I'd rather use something that requires less vigorous rubbing with silver, Just Because.

If perhaps Chuck G can remind us of the chemical that dissolves silver oxide, I think you could probably pour that on cotton wadding and have your own silver-specific NevR-Dull.

Rick "who was not a star student in chemistry" Denney

[ThomasDodd]

I don't know if NevR-Dull is abrasive or not. I'm thinking that the chemical in the wadding is optimized for brass, though, and it might be quite a lot of work on silver. I'd rather use something that requires less vigorous rubbing with silver, Just Because.

NevRDull claims to for "all metals"
http://www.eagleone.com/_products/0,1035605.asp
I don't like the new can design though. It appears to be solven based and non-abrasive.

Silvo Duraglit looks more specific to silver
http://nt.bnt.com/talas/menu.html?categ ... oduct=1877
It's more expensive than NevR-Dull though.

I never found NevR-Dull to require much rubbing, unlike others like Wrights or Maas.

[tubarnak]

From good and bad experience, especially the latter, I can say Nevr Dull might be too aggressive for silverplate.
I would use it on badly tarnished brass only. For silver I like Hagerty's. If you want to get to thicker nastier stuff I find ragging with Silvo works quite well. Brasso is the next step up but using anything coarser than that is equivalent to buffing with tripoli. I don't think you'd want that result on a nice silverplating!

[ThomasDodd]

From good and bad experience, especially the latter, I can say Nevr Dull might be too aggressive for silverplate.
I would use it on badly tarnished brass only. For silver I like Hagerty's. If you want to get to thicker nastier stuff I find ragging with Silvo works quite well. Brasso is the next step up but using anything coarser than that is equivalent to buffing with tripoli. I don't think you'd want that result on a nice silverplating!

Are you saying NevR-Dull is more course/agressive than Brasso?

That's the way it reads, but I know that's can't be the case. NevR-Dull is not abrasive, but brasso surely is.

[Dan Schultz]

If perhaps Chuck G can remind us of the chemical that dissolves silver oxide, I think you could probably pour that on cotton wadding and have your own silver-specific NevR-Dull. Rick "who was not a star student in chemistry" Denney

I'm not Chuck G but I'm sure he'll agree. The product that disolves silver oxide is 'Tarn-X'. The active ingredient is phosphoric acid. I've used it but it's very difficult to apply to an area the size of tuba. It makes a streaky mess that still has to be polished. Here's the MSDS...
http://www.stonergroup.com/msds/Jel-Mar ... nx%20msds'

[tubarnak]

Are you saying NevR-Dull is more course/agressive than Brasso?

That's the way it reads, but I know that's can't be the case. NevR-Dull is not abrasive, but brasso surely is.

I'll have to look again, I haven't used it recently and they could have changed the formula...but from what I remember, Nevr Dull is somekind of a fibrous stuff soaking in a chemical. It almost has the consistency a fine steel wool. Brasso is a very fine abrasive (1000 grit+) in a petroleum based solvent. It IS aggressive but I thought Nevr Dull was way coarser. I could be wrong

[Dan Schultz]

Brasso is a very fine abrasive (1000 grit+) in a petroleum based solvent.

Ahhh yessss.... the mere mention of 'Brasso' brings back fond memories of when I was serving in the Navy in the 60's. The hours of rubbing cheesy belt buckles to remove the lacquer to replace the shine with a SHINE! The smoking lamp is lit

Doc... don't get excited just 'cause I said "cheesy" It's got nuttin to do with food

[Uncle Buck]

Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this method would be advisable for removing tarnish from a silver-plated tuba?

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/silverdip.htm

[ThomasDodd]

Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this method would be advisable for removing tarnish from a silver-plated tuba?

I'm sure it'd work fine. But you need to completly submerge the tuba, after lining the tub. Not all tubs are big enough to hold a big tuba.You have to remove all the non metal parts first, corks and felts come to mind. And you have to rinse in a different location.

I seam to remember the reaction moves the tarnish to the foil.

[tubarnak]

Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this method would be advisable for removing tarnish from a silver-plated tuba?

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/silverdip.htm

That's done every day in alot of repair shops...
for flutes and silver keys

You'd need a heckuvalot of baking soda - or Kalgonite - to catalyze the reaction plus the more water you have, the weaker the reaction.
On the other hand, I'd love to see it work!