 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: P.K.M.
Date: 1999-11-30 01:37
Does anyone know of a good way to get a nasty stain off an Alto clarinet bell? The bell of the Kohlert clarinet that I've going to have restored is very discolored, it's taken on an almost golden color. Does anyone know how I might be able to remove this?
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 1999-11-30 01:52
That spot is probably where the laquer wore off. I don't know how to fix it, but at least you know what it is now. A professional can have it redone for you, but from what I hear, it isn't all that good for the instrument.
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Author: Sara
Date: 1999-11-30 02:12
I know this mya be a bad idea, but it worked on my Festival(a few months brand new too) but what I did is take masking tape and wrap it around the wood to protect it, then I took that stff, turtle car wax and buffed the metal. It worked like a charm. See, my clarinet came with the discolored bel and I've been trying to shine it up ever since the day I got it, now the bell ring is gleaming. try it. its probably not the best idea but it works!
Sara
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Author: Doc
Date: 1999-11-30 02:50
alright, this comes up very often with sax players especially those of vintage saxes. If the golden color is somewhat shiny but has a petina to it, this is a sign that the plating has worn off, how espcially on the bell, I do not know BTW how old is this horn? Sax players go on and on about how bad it is to "redo" a sax for the main reason of buffing. When they plate or lacqure (I'm not totally sure about plating) the prcoess involves buffing the metal to remove all old plating and to make the metal underneath shine, then it is imideatly relaqured (again not sure if this is the process with plating). The problem with saxes is that this changes the resonance of the metal. But with this instrument, since the bell isn't involved in as much tone production (please correct me if I'm wrong) I would see no such "sin" to have it redone. Is it going to be a player's horn or a collector's horn? If a player's horn for an already motivated or pro (am) player, think about this... Ever see sax players with saxes that looke like they were picked up off the side of the road? SOME players are so careful that their horn is not changed they don't let hardly any one change anything on them. just some food for thought Later
Dave
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 1999-11-30 15:01
Without seeing the "stain", its difficult to analyze what has happened to your bell. Does the rest of the bell appear to be chromium or nickel plated [as mine are]? If so, probably the several layers of plating have been polished-through so that the brass "base" or a first plating with copper is showing, since, remembering my college experience with electroplating, layers of copper, "bright" nickel and then chrome were usually applied. If the above is so, to remove the "stain" would require stripping down to the base and complete replating, prob. very expensive. Does this help? Don
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Author: Willie
Date: 1999-12-01 04:22
I agree with Don here. My daughters bass bell has blotches where the chrome is simply worn down. Some manufacturers (both music and automotive) put a basic plate job on which is to buff the orriginal surface to a high luster then plate with nickle or nickle/copper alloy. This is then buffed to a high luster then plated with "show" chrome which is softer than industrial chrome and has a deeper shine, but still has to be buffed out to a high luster. The more expencive plate jobs call for triple or marine plating in which involves a coat of copper, then nickle, then chrome. Its al the preparation (buffing) that makes plating so expensive as its all labor. The reason for the extra coat of copper in triple plating is because chromium is porous and may look great at first but will start rusting quickly in a wet invironment. Copper is the sealer, nickle is the bonding/smoothness primer for the chrome which is the shiney endurance coat.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 1999-12-01 14:56
Well said, Willie, thanx for the update on plating technique as mine from the 40's mainly related to auto bumpers [Mich!] and the then-newly-developed "bright" nickel under-plate. Just cant keep up with everything!!Don
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