Klarinet Archive - Posting 000752.txt from 2002/03

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] tarnishing on silverplated keys
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 19:38:43 -0500

At 04:00 AM 3/25/2002 -0800, Neil Leupold wrote:
>What is often left out of these suggestions re: chemically treated cloths
>(the Blitz cloth was my favorite; haven't seen those in a while) is that
>it's probably a good idea to wipe down the clarinet and keys with a clean
>lint-free cloth (I just use an old cotton t-shirt) after cleaning the keys
>with the silver cloth. When removing tarnish with a chemically treated
>cloth, there isn't just material being removed from the keys. The chemi-
>cal itself is being deposited in its place, which could hasten the deter-
>ioration of the silver plating even more rapidly than the tarnish that you
>just removed. It's kind of like wax on a car's paint job. Wiping away the
>wax removes a microthin layer of your paint job away with it (well, the
>clearcoat, anyway), which may be why it looks so shiny and new afterward.
>Leaving wax on too long could do more damage than good. The Blitz cloth,
>and other silver cloths too I'm sure, come with the chemically treated cloth
>on the inside, and a clean untreated cloth on the outside precisely for buf-
>fing the keys after cleaning them.

Actually, Blitz cloths and Shino cloths are NOT a good idea, except for
heavy tarnish. They contain abrasive, like most car cleaner/waxes, which
actually DOES remove some silver. The other cloths only remove the tarnish
and, in fact, probably leave behind some protective quality from the
chemical. I notice my silver-plated saxes hardly tarnish at all in the
case, not even the C-Melody which gets ignored for months at a
time. Wiping down after playing with a plain clean cloth is always a good
idea.

Bill Hausmann bhausmann1@-----.net
451 Old Orchard Drive
Essexville, MI 48732 ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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