 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: joe423
Date: 2013-04-26 17:55
I have some clarinets that I am overhauling. They are all student horns so they have plastic bodies and nickel keys. The bodies of the clarinets have some scratches and I would like to get them out. Also the keys aren't as shiny as I would like. Is there as way I could fix these problems? I have a dremel, but I don't have a compounds or buffing/polishing wheels. What should I get? Thanks!
1975 Buffet R13 Bb Clarinet
1968 Buffet R13 A Clarinet
Pyne Clarion Mouthpiece
Vandoren V12 3.5 Reeds
Vandoren Optimum Ligature
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2013-04-26 19:22
Unless the keys are very tarnished you would be better off tarnishing them manually using either jeweler's polishing cloth or a cloth rag and some very mild abrasive compound (Wenol works great for this).
If the keys are heavily tarnished you can polish them using a buffing machine (preferably) or a dremel with a cloth buff. You can buy buffing compound made for polishing nickel plate (I bought some from Musicmedic a few years ago). You need to be careful when machine buffing however as nickel plate tends to be very thin and you can buf through it very easily if you are not careful.
As for the scratches on the plastic bodies I would recommend against any kind of machine polishing as you will likely end up melting the surface of the plastic and make the problem worse. Cloth backed sandpaper would be the way to go here but I will caution you that if you wish to achieve a uniform finish you will need to sand the entire clarinet and not just the scratched areas. Personally I wouldn't bother unless you really can't live with the sight of the scratches.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-04-26 22:40
For light scratches on plastic bodied clarinets you can uae Brasso or similar metal polish with a soft cotton cloth to polish them out and buffed up to a shine, but that only works on light surface scratches.
For anything deeper, best leaving them as is as that will inevitably leave the surface distorted with low or flat spots even if you do get them out and the finish back to being shiny.
If you do machine or hand polish the keys, be sure to clean them thoroughly afterwards to remove all traces of polish, especially in the key barrels and countersunk ends. A small ultrasonic cleaner will do this (one with the capacity of 1.5 to 2 litres will be fine).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2013-04-27 12:29
Go buy some Lysol toilet bowl cleaner. It should have HCL listed on the ingredients. Carefully dilute enough of it with water to soak the keys. Try 1:3, cleaner:water. Remove all pads, etc and soak the keys for 5-10 minutes. I don't have an exact formula or exact times; you have to experiment. Rinse thoroughly with water and clean with soap and water. clean hinge tubes with pipe cleaners.
If the keys are really grungy it is best to wash them first so the lysol can do it's work.
Please note that this is for nickel plated keys only.
You may (or may not) want to follow up with a polishing cloth on some areas. The one I use that works on Nickel is called a Sunshine cloth. Also a cloth with polishing compound works. For keys i take a strip of cloth and clamp one end in the vise. If it is plain cloth I hold the loose end and rub the compound into the cloth. Then I hold the loose end and polish the key by moving the key on the cloth. You can get any nook and cranny this way. I'll have to make some videos.
To do the posts and or body, you need to buy or make a bench peg. secure the clarinet between your body and the peg and use the cloth strip, one end in each hand to polish the posts.
There are other products good for spot polishing tough area. One is called Simichrome, another is called Blitz. I often use these for the socket rings.
Steve Ocone
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