Solution for silver plating wear

[Wes Krygsman]

So I have acidic sweat and have eaten through the silver plating at the contact points on my Nirschl York down to the raw brass. I just bought a new f tuba and cimbasso which are both silver also and I’m wondering how to combat having that happen on these new horns, as well as protect the York from eating all the way through the brass.

I have seen leather guards that are usually placed around those areas. Does that effect the sound output? If so, how?
Are there other options? Where can I get them?

Thanks!

[tylerferris1213]

I use clear fingernail polish on parts of the instrument that I touch the most. Most fingernail polishes are lacquer of some sort. I haven't noticed any difference in sound, but I only put it on one inner branch that my palm rests on and my first valve slide. It's easy to apply and you can touch up your problem areas whenever needed for cheap. I have the same bottle that I bought 3 years ago!

[windshieldbug]

I use leather guards and have detected no difference in sound.

[Snake Charmer]

Having the same wear problem I use leather guards on all my instruments. Recently I removed them from my Besson Eb when I cleaned up and sold her. After twenty years covered the silver was shiny and immaculate under the wraps. It is not difficult to make the leather parts, just take a good quality leather. On my Besson I used some leftovers from cutting leather pants to the proper length, or my newer instruments I bought upholstery quality leather. For standard tubas you can find some sleeves ready to buy in leather or neoprene, but I prefer the leather touch. You can use leather bicycle handlebar tape as well, but this is quite expensive...

[68MercuryCougar]

Make sure your leather is vegetable tanned and not "chrime tanned" using chromium sulfate. (This used to be the most common way to tan leather.) Chromium sulfate is partially made from chromic acid, which is also known in the instrument repair trade as "bright dip".

If you use chrome tanned leather it will eat up your silver plate, turning it black and possibly making it peel. It is very bad for raw brass. It does not seem to harm good lacquer, but it will leach into scratches and pits in the lacquer and eat at the underlying metal.

I worked at a leather tannery for years as a kid. Nasty stuff. Get vegetable tanned leather. Only problem is it is usually only used on thicker leather, so it is stiff, not like glove leather at all. THink baseball glove leather.

[tubeast]

Leather in use here. Especially on my old MW 46S with rudimentary lacquer and mostly raw brass.
Bought those Patches that are being sold for the Purpose.

These will be applied using shoe laces, which go through holes punched into the Patches along their edges.
Looks neat, provides grip (brass is slippery when wet), and is perfectly functional.

[Matt Walters]

Wes,
Thin sheets of Lexan peeled back off and replaced will work for you. Here is a link so you can understand what I am talking about. Read the uses. You can cut a section and put it over the various contact wear sections you have and because it is so thin, I doubt it will have any effect on the sound of your horn.
https://www.tekra.com/products/films/po ... 0stability" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank.
You know, that thin film that comes on anything chrome plated that you buy? NOT contact paper with adhesive but this stuff just sticks without adhesive. Look for the thinnest film on Grainger, Amazon, etc. I saw some for cheap on Grainger but that was just one sheet. Now that you know what I am talking about, experiment and then find a good source that you can share with all of us.
https://www.grainger.com/product/LEXAN- ... RAD-051820" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank