Klarinet Archive - Posting 000682.txt from 2002/07

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Cleaning the Gunk?
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 09:34:46 -0400

Michelle wrote,
>The bell says "Amati Krasuce" as best as I can make out....

That's a Czech label. I've never played one, but it's not one of the "big
four" brands (Buffet, Selmer, LeBlanc and Yamaha) and not something that
collectors particularly look for in the USA.

Michelle wrote,
>What is the proper way to clean a wooden clarinet? >

Bill Wright replies,
>But depending on how bad it is, you may *-need-*
>a professional cleaning --- which involves removing the
>keywork.

I'm not a professional technician, but I restore old clarinets as a hobby.
>From the sound of things, you're not going to get a good try-out from this
instrument, even if you clean it up, because a clarinet that dirty will
probably leak air all over the place from the deteriorated pads and missing
bumper corks. Bill Wright's description of cleaning the mouthpiece is what
I would do, too. For the clarinet itself, I also agree with Bill that
thoroughly cleaning a wooden clarinet involves taking the keys off and is
best done by a technician during re-padding with a general overhaul. If you
can't get a good try-out, I strongly recommend taking the instrument to as
many clarinet-playing friends as you know, then taking it to a technician.

I recommend getting opinions of players first, because technicians who sell
used instruments, as many of them do, have an incentive to recommend against
buying a clarinet from someone else. They'll want to sell you one of theirs
instead. But bear in mind that they may be right! If you buy from a good
technician, you're paying less than full retail for a clarinet that's
*already* in playing condition. You won't have to guess about it. Sometimes
going for the lowest possible price on a used instrument will cost far more
money in the end, if the clarinet really isn't worth restoring.

Before you have to make these decisions, though, you can easily remove most
of the gunk that could get onto your hands and clothes while trying out the
instrument. I dampen a piece of soft old cotton cloth with plain water, and
dust the clarinet as I would dust a fine piece of furniture. (I cut up
worn-out, clean flannel shirts and nightgowns for my rag-bag.) In other
words, I rub gently, not hard. Clarinet wood is so oily that grunge on the
outside rarely penetrates into the wood--unless, of course, the clarinet has
been submerged in water and left wet for a long time, as can happen in a wet
basement. As you clean the clarinet, beware of any signs of real *damage*,
because IMHO this is not a very high-value instrument (I don't know the
current values on it), and if it's been severely mistreated, it might not be
worth the cost of fixing it.

For the inside of the clarinet, I moisten a fabric pull-through swab with
plain water and pull it through each section several times, sometimes from
the top and sometimes from the bottom. (I like the cotton fabric swab for
this purpose, even though I prefer a silk swab for normal swabbing.)
Usually, I have to wash the swab out after the first couple of pull-throughs
that pick up the bulk of the dirt along with the dead bugs, the vintage
spider webs, etc.. Then pull the regular swab through when you're done, to
dry out the inside of the bore as you would after playing.

That kind of cleaning should get the clarinet to the point where the insect
mortuary won't interfere with the vibration of the air column inside the bore
and touching the instrument won't make you cringe, at least! If you're
comfortable with taking off the register key, which is not attached to any
other key and is by far the easiest key to put back onto the instrument, then
it would probably do some good to swab inside the register key tube with a
pipe cleaner. Make sure it's a plain, soft pipe cleaner, not the kind with
the little metal bits in it. Wiping off the old pads with a damp cloth may
help, too--but don't be surprised if the old glue is so brittle that some of
the pads fall out of their cups.

Chances are that if the clarinet is filthy, the case is, too. Most of the
loose stuff will come out if you vacuum inside the case. (I use the hose
attachment from a standard vacuum cleaner, since I've found that the small
hand-vacuums don't do a good enough job.) Warning: Don't do anything else
about cleaning the case unless / until you buy the clarinet, because
*washing* the lining will almost always change its appearance and may cause
the color to change or fade. The present owner might not like the result, if
you return the clarinet.

If you do decide to go ahead and wash the inside of the case, sponge out the
liner with water and dish detergent, on a sponge that's just damp, not
wringing wet. Then I rinse off the soap residue the same way and dry the
case open to sunlight. If the case still smells, spray lightly with Febreze
(fabric deoderizer available in grocery stores) and let it dry in the sun
again. Brushing with a clothes brush after the liner is completely dry will
restore most of the nap.

These, days I'm getting less tolerant of linings that look nasty even though
they're clean. Unless the case is something special, I'm likely rip out all
the fabric and re-line the case with washable cotton-poly velours from the
fabric store. I like the washable velours because it dries fast, and because
moisture from the clarinet won't wreck that type of lining the way it will
fine dressmaker velvet. IMHO, any fabric that has to be dry-cleaned is not
suitable for a case lining.

I'll sometimes keep a special case intact, even if I hate it. I've kept the
original case in original condition for my 1937 Buffet Bb. The case has a
silk "Buffet" banner inside the lid, and I think it's kind of a cool case,
but it's also cramped and ugly, and I don't trust the latches. Just last
week, I re-lined a roomy, well-designed old King case that I bought empty at
a flea market for $2, and gave the Buffet a new home. If I ever sell that
clarinet, I'll give the new owner both cases and suggest keeping the old one
for the same reason that toy collectors keep the original boxes.

Hope this helps, and good luck finding a clarinet you like!

Lelia
LeliaLoban@-----.com
(AOL automatically rejects mail sent to me from Yahoo.com addresses, for
reasons unknown.
)

---------------------------------------------------------------------