Klarinet Archive - Posting 000087.txt from 1994/08

From: Cary Karp <karp@-----.SE>
Subj: Re: Bore oil
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 12:43:44 -0400

On Sat, 20 Aug 1994, Talmage Powell wrote:

> Prior to oiling I wipe the
> bore with a moistened swab several times, never getting the swab overly wet.
> The cleaner? Exercise care. I've found that grain alcohol of about 100
> proof does the job nicely and respects the wood enormously.

The dyes that clarinet makers use to give grenadilla the appearance of
being uniformly black are often soluable in ethanol. Grain alcohol is
therefore one of the last substances that should be used for the routine
cleaning of any surface on a clarinet. The bore of a clarinet is regularly
"washed" by condensation and swabbing. Even if, despite this, one assumes
the bore to be liable to patination, the pore-filling result of such a
process might as easily be beneficial as harmful.