 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Contragirl
Date: 2002-12-25 06:34
Anywayyyy... back to my yucky metal clarinet.
Some have suggested that I clean it myself. I can only assume that it is silver, and others tell me that it looks silver. And I look inside the bell, and I can see the brass. But it sure is gruddy all over it.
Would it be better to clean it myself, or have a professional do it? If I get a professional to do it, how much would it cost (about)? Or if I do it myself, do I use plain old silver polish? And how do I get the inside clean?!?! AHH! Gimme some tips!
I have to get it cleaned soon, and I am a college student in the poor bucket. My boyfriend wants me to play it for him but it's too gross to play right now. :-P What do I do?
--(I shoulda stayed with) Contra
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-12-25 09:18
Well, Contragirl, um... just how yucky is it? If it's as gruddy as you seem to indicate, it may need some major scrubbin'. The following remarks are given assuming you're considering doing this at home and I presume you don't have a lot of equipment.
In any case I wouldn't recommend silver polish or any other polish because it has a way of getting into the screws and springs and can cause more harm than good. For the average do-it-yourselfer most techs would advise you to remove the keys, screws and pivots first. Put them one a cloth or something so you can put them back where they came from. Then give the body a scrubdown in warm water and dish detergent to remove grease and gruddy stuff. An old toothbrush comes in handy to get to the stubborn stuff. Rinse and dry thoroughly, place on a bench peg (or the equivalent) and 'rag' vigorously while humming Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy. Be careful to avoid snagging springs unless you enjoy replacing them. A little buffing rouge on the cloth helps, if you have some, but isn't absolutely necessary. You don't have to hum if you don't want to but I always seem to have better results when I do. You'll have to be more careful around the pads unless you're going to repad it. Do one key at a time. Put one end of a rag strip in something like a bench vise or a desk drawer and rub the key back and forth until it shines. Time at home will probably run about three to five hours - on a good day. With a shop setup, and with a little experience, you could lightly machine buff the horn and keys in less than half an hour.
Supply houses sell bore brushes that will probably reach past the middle of a 'one piece' (actually two piece) metal horn. If not, you might try a flexible brass instrument brush.
When re-assembling be sure to lightly oil the springs, hinge screws and pivots. Replace any cork that may have gone astray and make proper adjustments as you put the thing back together.
None of this is meant to discourage anyone. It is meant to give you an idea of what might be involved before you go for it. I'm sure others may have other, even better, suggestions.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-12-25 13:40
What color is the tarnish on it? Silver tarnishes in shades of gray and black. Nickel alloys tarnish in shades of yellowish/brownish.
If you can see the brass inside, it is probably a student clarinet that is nickel plated.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-12-25 13:55
CG,
I second ron b's suggestions. However, you can use good old fashioned baking soda and warm water. Give it a good scrubbing with the baking soda and a brush after you've gotten the keys off. A old toothbrush will do. It will shine up the beast and leave it smelling better too. Be careful of the springs as they can impale you fairly quickly if you get too aggressive. Be sure to rinse thoroughly. Baking soda will tend to just sit. Wipe dry and the body will have a nice shine to it. Polish the keys as per ron b's instructions. I use regular Tarn-X silver polish, although I've had good luck with others such as Semi-chrome, etc.
Have a Merry Christmas!
jbutler
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Author: contragirl
Date: 2002-12-25 19:00
Yeah, the clarinet is gray all over. The only fear I have is if polish will ruin whatever is plated on it if I'm not sure. I guess I could take it to a tech to find out.
Thanks for your help!
Merry Christmas
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-12-25 19:08
CG,
Baking soda and water will not harm the finish.
jbutler
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Author: Willie
Date: 2002-12-25 19:30
Unless the plating is extreemly thin, a good polish shouldn't hurt it. If there is a place where the plating is worn through and the brass is exposed, agood polishing will brighten it making it less obvious. If you see brass inside the bell, this will look great when shined up. I prefer Happich Semichrome as it works well with just about any metal. I polish mine by hand rather than my buffing wheel so as to not remove anymore plating than necessary and to preserve the edges of the etching on the bell. If you tear it down and scrub it as Ron B suggested, I recommend painting the springs with oil using a Q-tip, small brush or something.
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2002-12-26 01:41
When I take one apart, I like to oil the screws and then work them back and forth through the keys, wipe, and repeat until the oil comes out clean. You can get little tiny brushes that help with this, but that is not necessary. The cleaner the keys, the better they will work. However, there is a posting from a month ago about key oil and it turns out that some folks like really thick oil on the pivot screws (the little pointy ones) so that the key makes less noise. There is a lot of good information in that thread.
If the horn looks black, then the silver is tarnished. No amount of washing will remove that. either you have to decide you like the patina or you have to use a non-abrasive polish. Lelia once recommended Mrs. Wrights polish, and I have liked that. However, there is a thread from about two months ago on polishing metal clarinets and many folks prefer to clean but not polish. That can look pretty good, too.
Notice how everyone mentions snagging springs on either cloth or flesh. Snagging with cloth hurts less but is more likely to damage the spring. Be careful.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-12-26 02:06
Jim,
I personally use a silicon based grease on pivot screws. I think it works much better than oil and helps with the noise level.
I've used the baking soda and hot water on metal clarinet and satin silver sax bodies for years. It takes off the black and leaves the instrument looking great. It's cheap, works, and is not labor intensive. I'm always looking for the easiest way to do the best job.
jbutler
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-12-26 02:32
John,
A couple of weeks ago someone recommended Simple Green. He demonstrated on a small portion of a tarnished flute I'm going to re-pad, an old Artley, for my own "educational purposes". The end of the flute(mpc end) was dipped in Simple Green for about five minutes, rinsed and dried, then buffed lightly with a little black compound on a soft wheel. It's nice and shiny at the demo site I haven't had time to go further with this one but I guess I'll probably clean the instrument that way when I get back to it, since it's already started with that process. I'll rag between and around the posts and springs of course. The tarnish, I must mention, is not real bad on this one but the plating is only so-so. It'll be a nice playable flute when it's done.
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