 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Willie
Date: 2000-05-28 04:10
Speaking of wood, I met a man out at the college who had a beautiful clarinet in the natural rosewood color. While in France in the 50s, he visited a clarinet factory and requested a rosewood clarinet in the natural (undyed) color. Question is, is there any way to remove or bleach out the dye used to darken those horns? I have a couple I'd like to experiment with.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2000-05-28 16:08
Oxalic acid. I have some wooden wheels on my car which were stained black and I was able to bleach them (hickory) back to an almost white color.
Look for a bleach in the hardware store which is in two cans. I think Jasco makes it and it is called A & B wood bleach or something like that.
Be sure to remove all the metal first. Plan on multiple treatments over about a week. Paint on the A and then the B. It will bubble and foam. When it stops foaming, it is time to do the next "coat". Rubber gloves, safety glasses, well ventilated goes without saying! At the end I would neutralize the acid with a baking soda misture and then water.
Then at least two days of re-oiling. Don't be surprised if you get a nice color and then when you oil it it gets significantly darker again.
The last thing to be sure of is you are doing this on a clarinet you were planning on throwing away anyway. So if you mess up it's no skin off your nose.
Terry
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Willie
Date: 2000-05-29 03:40
Darn, I forgot all about oxalic acid. We used to use it back in the 60s to remove all the rust stains on the Coast Guard cutters (all floating museums back then) before arriving back in port. I've got a couple cadavers here with bad cracks to practice on. Thanks for the info!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2000-05-29 04:47
Willie, let us (me) know how it goes. The treatment tends to open the grain, a situation not desierable for a smooth bore. You might choose to try it on the outside only first. Consider waxing over the tone holes and the bell ring. Remove all the posts and other rings, then carefully bleach the outside. If you must, also do the inside of the bell. You might consider waxing the tennons. I applied the bleach with a camels hair brush. A small fine brush should give you good control.
I would use inlay casting wax or sticky wax. You can get it from your dentist or a dental supply. Contact me if you can't get it and I will send you a stick or two (of the wax). Either type will protect these delicate areas from bleach and then be easily flaked off.
My spokes went too light so before varnishing I re-stained to the color I wanted. I would love to see a horn bleached and then string wrapped before staining red. You should be able to get that funky basoon (bufoon?) finish that way....Cool!
This wholle treatment should in no way improve the sound of the clarinet!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-05-29 05:01
Willie -
Have you tried plain ol' denatured alcohol, the same stuff you use in an alcohol lamp? Rubbing alcohol might take a little longer (it has water in it) and require more 'elbow grease' but it'll work on some wood stains. And, you may have some already on hand at home. Both are pretty harsh but may be, by comparison, easier on the wood than an acid. Whatever you use to get the stain out will likely also dry the wood. Any stain removing treatment is going to effect the wood so don't forget to oil it afterward (just in case you want to keep the body for future use) :]
ron b.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Willie
Date: 2000-05-29 05:28
I can' wait to get started on this. I'm gonna try it both ways. Back in the 50s & 60s when I was apprentice to my uncle, a master piano tech, I helped strip several old upright pianos of years of old paint and varish to find some absolutely beautiful rosewood cases which we finnished in the natural color. Maybe I'm old fashioned,but I love the look of natural wood.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mrdi
Date: 2000-05-29 21:37
Rosewood and Grenadilla are two different woods. Both are very dense and thus good candidates for instruments.Both of these two woods are slightly different in color. The rosewood tends to be more red and the grenadilla more of the brown hue and both have various grain configurations and are inherently "oily". This oily characteristic is one of the reasons they make good instruments;the wood is stable.
To bleach any wood takes away part of the structure, it's inherent tenacity ,the resins that allow the stability and integrity. Bleaching wood invites splitting and cracking.
When a stain is added it penetrates the grain of the wood and to retrieve that stain takes considerable bleaching and results in significant damage.
To convince yourself look at the hair of someone who bleaches it blond in relation to one who is naturally that color.
Guaranteed to split your ends. No pins intended.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
