 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 1999-02-18 23:09
If someone knowlegeable in physical chemistry,please advise me on the following:My 10G's silver keys are tarnished.To cleanse them I heard a very easy way from my friend.
1)Pour lukewarm water in a bin and also a bit of salt.
2)Put in aluminum plate or foil in the bin.
3)Put in tarnished silver keys after taking out pads
Pads must be replaced after this cleansing process.
My friend saids it really works marvelously.Is this true?
I don't like using silver polish!
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Author: Robin
Date: 1999-02-19 13:33
1)Pour lukewarm water in a bin and also a bit of salt.
2)Put in aluminum plate or foil in the bin.
3)Put in tarnished silver keys after taking out pads
Pads must be replaced after this cleansing process.
My friend saids it really works marvelously.Is this true?
I don't like using silver polish!
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This really DOES work, but don't use salt, use baking soda (I've done this for several years with various silver pieces, including jewelry). One caveat--do NOT do this while the pads are still on the keywork! If you're overhauling your horn and have taken the pads off to do a re-pad, this is a great time to do the aluminum foil-baking soda trick.
Also, here's the specific order in which I do this: put a large sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of the sink (no need to use a bin, really)--shiny side UP; sprinkle 3/4 cup or so of baking soda onto the foil; Place the silver pieces on top of the foil; pour hot water over the whole set-up. You'll be amazed at how well this works.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-02-19 16:19
Okay, I'll skip the blue cape and red boots routine for now.
Now, onto the serious stuff at hand.
I personally have opted for the lazy person's approach to silver tarnish removal. Since prevention is much cheaper and easier than a cure, I vote for prevention.
Fetch a 10 unit package of Hagerty's Silver Tarnish Prevention Strips and put a single strip of the specially coated paper in your case with your silver plated keyed clarinet. Swap out the strip for a fresh one about every 4 to 6 months or so. Then, make sure you store your horn in the closed case indoors and away from harm as much as possible. Be sure you take a clean, dry soft cloth and wipe off all of your fingerprints from all of the rings and all of the keys as the last thing you do before storing your horn in its case. This two step prevention process works great if the amount of tarnish isn't too much. I've personally seen very light brown tarnish REVERSED to next to nothing over a couple of months. Your actual results may vary, but it sure is a neat little trick.
Here are some other reasons why I attack the tarnish problem this way.
1. You aren't damaging your lungs or the environment by using a chlorinated hydrocarbon such as perchloroethylene (aka "perc" pronounced "perk") or trichloroethylene (aka "tric" pronounced "trike") to chemically react off the tarnish. Yes, these chemicals do exist in retail products for the common person, and you will find perc as the active ingredient in Hagerty's spray-on (yep folks, another mean and nasty aerosol spray) tarnish remover. For the PChem folks out there, the partial solubility of perc and tric is in the part per billion to part per trillion range. Putting it in perspective, it would take over 250,000 gallons of water to dissolve a single quart of oil out of a water reservoir. These nasty chlorinated hydrocarbon chemicals sink to the bottom of a lake or reservoir (just like you see in the Drano TV commercials in the US) and probably will never completely wash away. Did I fail to mention that they are also possible cancer causing agents? It is true that whatever you throw away will come back to haunt you. But that's enough physical chemistry for a while and it's definitely enough of my personal "soapbox", too. Been there, done that as an environmental engineer a couple of years ago.
2. It's not abrasive like a rouge cloth. If you wouldn't take sand paper to your keys, then skip the rouge cloth. It's the same thing.
3. Though I dearly love my clarinet, I'd rather spend time learning how to play it instead of fixing it. Believe me, playing it is much more fun.
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Author: jim lande (lande @ erols.com)
Date: 1999-02-20 03:57
Since I like to buy metal clarinets, some nearly black with tarnish, I would like faster results. Lelia suggested Wright's Silver Cream, and it does work very nicely and sounds good enough to eat. What is this stuff, why does it work, and how much silver am I removing? How the this stuff compare to the foil and baking soda method? Also should I be wearing rubber gloves, working under a hood, etc? (P.S. some of these clarinets are actually fun to play when I finish.)
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-02-20 04:09
jim lande (lande @ erols.com) wrote:
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... how much silver am I removing?
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Tarnish is basically silver oxide or silver sulfide. No matter what removal method you use, you will be removing the same amount of the silver as what you are doing is taking off this oxide or sulfide layer. Naturally the silver bound up in this molecule goes with it.
Its best to try to minimize the formation of tarnish once you get them cleaned. Otherwise you will eventually go through the plating as you remove subsequent layers of tarnish that form. If the plating was of good thickness though, it will take a while for this to happen.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 1999-02-20 05:09
My freind assert this uses the difference of ionization inclinations between aluminum and silver.The existence of soda(natrium) in solute promotes ionization.But I do not concretely understand his statement,just transmitting it.
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Author: Paul Wusow
Date: 1999-02-20 05:55
You can place tarnish-prevention strips in your case. These will not harm your instrument. Oneida sells them and you get a lot of strips in a box. Each strip will last for a few months. (One strip in your case will do the trick!) These strips are used to keep fine silver flat ware and alike, from tarnishing...
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 1999-02-22 07:27
This is a garbage info.Do not eat eggs before playing instruments.They contain S(Sulfer) and Zn(Zink).If you pour your breath keys may tarnish more easily.
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