 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2010-06-28 16:59
Elementary question.....is it necessary to clean the bores of metal clarinets (and flutes) with anything special ? I am afraid of harming the pads, although I suppose I could protect them with water-proof paper? Thanks in advance for your expert knowledge.
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-06-28 18:00
As most pads are open when not operated, it suffices to swab and let the instrument dry in its open case. Metal instruments are not different than wooden or resin instruments.
Pads are in a way like a tent's outer canvas - just don't touch while wet.
--
Ben
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-06-29 12:30
Even though metal clarinets are less vulnerable to moisture than wooden ones, it's still important to swab out. Some of the early 20th century metal clarinets I've collected came with a bonus crust of hardened grunge coating their insides, absolutely free. I've found interesting stuff in old saxophones, too, including a fist-sized fungus.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-06-29 14:56
A good quality cotton or microfibre pullthrough will do the job after playing - just as it does on a wooden or plastic instrument.
If you're completely rebuilding it, remove all the steel screws and springs from the body and soak/wash in hot soapy water to remove all the grot and gunk.
If it's silver plated, while all the screws and springs are removed, you can polish the whole instrument up with silver polish and also polish the bore with a piece of cotton rag on the end of a wooden stick. Then wash it all off in hot soapy water to remove any traces of polish. Use a toothbrush or small paintbrush with the bristles cut short to get into all the nooks and crannies.
Similarly with the keywork - remove all springs and screws and either polish by hand or boil up in water with bits of aluminium foil for around 30 mins to an hour, then finish off (once dried and cooled down) with a silver polishing cloth. Any stubborn tarnish can be removed with Duraglit or liquid silver polish on a cotton rag.
If it's all nickel plated and turned grey, you'll most likely have to machine buff it to get it back to shiny.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2010-06-29 18:31
Thank you all.
Chris.....what do the bits of aluminum foil do in the boiling water ? Is this only for silver plate and not nickel ? Thanks.
Alan
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-06-29 20:46
The aluminium foil removes the oxides from the silver and they turn black, so keep adding new scrunched up bits of foil when the ones already in there turn black. I think a spoonful of borax crystals can be added to help the process, but I put in a generous squirt of washing up liquid.
This only works for silver and silver plate.
Or you could use Silver Dip in a glass or plastic tray to soak the keys in until the tarnish goes, then wash them all well and rinse, dry and finally polish with a silvercloth.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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