 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Fingers
Date: 2000-03-29 19:23
Someone mentioned using a 50/50 mix of "isopropyl (drug store brand) alcohol and water" to restore discolored old tenon cork. Would everyone agree that this is a good thing to do?
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-29 20:07
If done carefully, such as by dampened cloth, prob. OK. I wouldn't immerse it in a dish for more than a dip in duration, since some adhesives [p. e. Micro pad and cork cement, which I like] are soluble in iC3H7OH and it will prob. take off the cork!!! I cant speak re: other adhesives. John B, how do you restore corks other than by replacement?? Don
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2000-03-29 21:19
Hi:
Others can speak to the many details but the proceedure for using the 50/50 alcohol/water was given to remove old cork grease and immediately apply something better. As Don has warned, it should be done carefully and not by immersing the instrument but by soaking an old piece of toweling in the solution only to a damp state (not dripping) and carefully going around the cork surface only to remove the old built-up grease. A new protectant should be immediately applied and care should be taken not to get it on pads, keys or inside the bore.
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 2000-03-29 23:26
Well, I here is what I use and discovered it by accident one day when I went to clean a cork off and accidentally grabbed a cloth that I used to clean off some buffing compound before doing a spot lacquer job. It had BRASSO on it! Man, that cork came out looking like new. I've used that many times in the past and it does a great job and as far as I can tell (no customer returns) it doesn't seem to harm shellac or contact cement. If I don't have the Brasso handy I'll take a very small amount of lacquer thinner on a cloth and clean the cork. Only do this in a WELL VENTILATED area and use some form of protection for the fingers/hands would probably be in order, but I don't always reach for a pair of vynly gloves myself when I'm in a hurry.
J. Butler
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Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-03-29 23:38
Fingers,
If the instrument is stained by all means try to avoind getting alcohol on the wood body. Alcohol will act as a thinner and some of the stain will come off onto the cloth. Unfortunately, about the only way to determine if the horn is stained is to rub a small undetectable area, perhaps inside a tenon. As noted above, use an alcohol dampened cloth and rub the cork only unless you prefer the natural wood color. This a bit of an exaggeration but, with enough rubbing, the stain will come out. It's pretty standard shop proceedure to clean cork this way.
If the wood is naturally black you won't change anything. It's up to you. Be sure, as mentioned above, to apply a light amount of fresh whatever kind of lubricant you wish. The alcohol will dry out the cork pretty fast. And yes, it will dissolve shellac. Proceed carefully.
ron b.
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Author: Rob
Date: 2000-03-30 23:55
I would never use alcohol to clean cork because it will eventually dry out the cork and make it brittle. I can't imagine it's too good for the wood either. If you had a piece of fine wood furniture, would you clean that with alcohol? I keep my corks clean by rubbing them with a strip of cloth after putting a few drops of key oil or vaseline on the cork. You may need to do this a few times if your corks are exceptionally dirty, but your corks will come out clean and will not be dried out and the key oil or vaseline will not damage the finish on the wood. My experience has been that the corks actually come out looking better and newer this way than they do with the scary alcohol method, although it does admittedly take a bit more patience.
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Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-03-31 00:33
Excellent point, Rob. In fact, most repair manuals recommend that corks be cleaned just as you describe.
Alcohol will work (fast) but, as you say, it dries the cork. It's a 'quick fix'. So, lubricating the corks immediately afterward is strongly advised.
ron b.
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Author: Todd
Date: 2000-03-31 02:26
Don't try the alcohol on a <PLASTIC> clarinet unless you can test it on a hidden place(maybe inside of the bell)! I did, once, much to my regret and ended up with a ring of greenish discoloration at the middle tenon, which rubbing compound never completely removed. A black magic marker helped to darken the discoloration, but unfortunatly not the tone.
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