Klarinet Archive - Posting 000669.txt from 1999/02

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Tarnished keys
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:39:32 -0500

On Tue, 16 Feb 1999, mjh wrote:

> I have a Buffet R-13 A clarinet which hasn't been used for some time - the
> keys (nickel) have discoloured and I was hoping someone might suggest the
> best way to get the "shine" back.

Leaf through the accessories section of any one of your major
mail order catalogues -- Muncy, Weiner, WW&BW, etc. At least
one of them, if not all of them, will list for sale a polishing
cloth for nickel-plated keys. They also list polishing cloths
for silver-plated keys, but don't get one of those if your keys
are nickel-plated. Upon receipt of your polishing cloth in the
mail, take a regular soft cloth -- like an old cotton t-shirt --
and wipe down your keys and rings thoroughly. This is to remove
surface dirt and residue before using the polishing cloth. Then,
go ahead and wipe down the keys a second time using your polishing
cloth. Use a "fresh" section of the cloth each time you polish
a new key in order to maximize the effect of the polishing agent
in the cloth. Your keys should come clean and turn shiny silver
again, while your cloth should become checkered with patches and
splotches of black as it removes the tarnish from your keys.

After going over all of your keys and rings and nickel-plated
surfaces with the polishing cloth, you will want to wipe the
instrument down one last time with another soft and neutral
cloth (i.e.; another clean, white cotton t-shirt). The pol-
ishing cloth has chemical agents in it, which were responsible
for the easy removal of the tarnish, as well as the regained
shine of your instrument. But if you don't wipe the instrument
clean after using the cloth, those same chemical agents will
eventually be responsible for the irreparable disintegration
of your nickel plating, and you will be left with an instrument
where your keys are worn down to the steel and look many times
worse than the mere tarnish with which you were initially con-
cerned. You will notice that your second wipedown of the in-
strument with a clean t-shirt will cause the t-shirt to be cov-
ered with more black splotches and patches. This is the chem-
ical agent residue, mixed with the tarnish which did not come
fully off of the surfaces when you used the polishing cloth.

After completing the above process (pre-wipe, polish, post-wipe),
your instrument will probably look better than you ever remember
it, other than when it was new. In order to maintain this won-
derful shine, do not continue to use the chemically treated cloth.
Rather, periodically take a clean white t-shirt and wipe down the
keys just like you did before, preferably soon after each use of
the instrument. The reason tarnish occurs on your keys is because
the dirt and acid from your fingers is allowed to build up on the
surface. By frequently wiping the keys with a clean white cloth,
you prevent that build-up from occurring, and there is no need to
use a chemically treated cloth. Use the chemical cloth only when
you notice that, after weeks and/or months, the regular t-shirt
is no longer returning your instrument to that terrific shine.
And then, of course, go through the same 3-part process I out-
lined at the beginning of this letter.

Hope this helps.

Neil

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