 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: TomD
Date: 2008-06-23 13:05
I have a Yamaha CSG with Hamilton plating and I absolutely love the horn. It is almost 2 years old and I recently noticed some tarnish starting to appear on the keys. I tried a very small amount of good quality silver cream (polish) applied with a Q-tip and wiped off with a soft cotton cloth. It seemed to work fine. Does anyone know if this is okay or should I be using something else? Thanks
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-06-23 13:41
Use a silvercloth (cotton cloth impregnated with silver polish), or even an old cotton T-shirt.
Don't use liquid polishes as they can get into the key barrels ad bind everything up.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-06-23 14:42
Purchase "silver protector" or Anti-Tarnish Strips to put in your case. They will prevent the tarnish from happening.
They are paper treated with a chemical that prevent sulphur fumes from causing tarnish. Good stuff, really good stuff. I use them for all of my silver plated instruments and they work.
Some mouthpieces also cause more tarnish than others.
I found that one out the hard way.......
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2008-06-23 15:00
If you have your thumb rest covered with a rubber thumb protector, you might think of removing it after each playing session and storing it in a separate case pocket.
Also, remove any pencils with erasers from inside your case ...GBK
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: TomD
Date: 2008-06-23 16:23
David, thanks. Where would I find such products as Anti-tarnish strips?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-06-23 16:30
(Disclaimer - I sell "Gleam" anti-tarnish sachets)
The idea to remove airborne tarnish promoting chemicals works for both silver plated and Hamilton plated instruments.
The most popular product - 3 M Silver anti-tarnish strips - are 60 pound paper impregnated with activated charcoal. This will remove the sulfur dioxide in the air which readily tarnishes silver. These strips, in my experience, only last a short time because the amount of activated charcoal is small and the hold time, amount of time that they work, is advertised to be 3-6 months/strip/100 cubic millimeter space but is actually much less. This claim however is for an airtight sealed container and not your usual opened and closed often clarinet case which is also not airtight. My testing indicates that the activated charcoal 3-M strip is "fixed" - or absorbed as much as it can - in less than a month using a twice per day reflux of fresh atmosphere in a 100 cc space. In order to keep them active you should IMO change them monthly. You could use "fish tank" activated charcoal to make your own but there is a relationship between mass and surface area that must be observed.
Other newer "air scrubbers" technologies have a much longer lifetime and remove other airborne chemicals beside sulfur that tarnish various clarinet platings.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-06-23 17:57
I prefer the Hagerty (white strips) Silver Protection Strips over the 3 M Silver anti-tarnish strips as they can be written on (the date to replace).
Omar, what kind of air cleaner is good for the protection - any good air filter? (I have a honeywell hepa filter in my studio)
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-06-23 18:32
(Disclaimer- I sell "Gleam" custom Purafil anti-tarnish sachets - I perform consulting work for Purafil)
David, here in my own backyard is an amazing company that makes some sophisticated air purifying media and systems. You can find out more at http://www.purafil.com
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
P.S. Purafil is more into commercial applications, including museums, but on the practical side one format of the sachet line traps ethylene oxide which is largely responsible for the ripening of fruit and is the basis for the "green bags" seen on infomercials that preserve fruit for 30 days from over ripening.
Post Edited (2008-06-23 18:59)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-06-24 00:21
I just saw this post after my rant about the great Hamilton plating on my horns and was SHOCKED!
After two years I have not seen any wear or tarnish on my horn at all. Of course Hamilton plating is only a combination of gold and nickel and it is also only a few microns thick. If you are using a polishing cloth at all, it would begin to take its toll on the incredibly thin layer of plating on the keys.
I have done NOTHING but throw my axe into the case (after swabbing of course) and so far the keys look like new. This is a first for me since the very first years where my silver plated horns of the past began to show severe corrosion (literally areas eaten away) after only one year of play. After those initially painful lessons of replating, I have wiped my keys off with a 100% cotton flannel cloth after each session until the Yamahas.
........livin' the good life now.............
..................Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: TomD
Date: 2008-06-24 13:13
It'f funny, I just got a new B40 Lyre mouthpiece which I keep in the case and I just noticed the slight discoloration on the keys. Maybe coincidence, I don't know. Someone mentioned that some mouthpieces can contribute to tarnish so just in case, I am keeping the mouthpiece in the outside pouch of my case. After I clean the keys with a polishing cloth, I am going to try the protective strips in the case.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bassie
Date: 2008-06-24 14:02
Yup, mouthpieces cause tarnish (they leak sulphur). Bummer, really.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-06-24 17:09
Speaking of mouthpices causing tarnish, new Buffets come with a warning that says some hard rubber mouthpieces can cause discoloration in the keys.
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-06-24 17:19
But I have a new M30 in the case --- no tarnish at all, none zero, zip!!!
..............Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-06-24 17:35
My fobes doesn't seem to cause tarnish either.
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bassie
Date: 2008-06-25 07:58
My own experience is that if you play the thing every day, no tarnish. Presumably the sulphurous gases escape the case every time you open it. But put the thing away for a while and it goes black on all the bits near the mouthpiece.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Merlin_Williams
Date: 2008-06-25 13:00
"Speaking of mouthpices causing tarnish, new Buffets come with a warning that says some hard rubber mouthpieces can cause discoloration in the keys."
This is why Buffet doesn't ship their clarinets with rubber mouthpieces.
I had to deal with a batch of E-11 Eb clarinets that had been warehoused for a long time. They DID have rubber mouthpieces, and it was really interesting to open the case and see the tarnish pattern on the keys. Quite a vivid illustration, and I wish I'd taken a photo at the time.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
