 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: clariman
Date: 2008-06-20 19:07
Hi everyone
I have a vintage ebonite Vandoren B45 which I love, I have just cleaned it in a mild detergent solution in tepid water, it has now turned green.
Is there any way to turn the colour back to black ?
Please help.
Thankyou
Bob
ghigi@btinternet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2008-06-20 19:44
I don't think so, though usually they turn a kind of grey. There was probably something in the detergent that didn't like the material. You could try soaking it in a mixture of 1/3 regular vinegar and 2/3 water for five minute’s but I doubt it will change it back, worth a try though. The good news is that it should still play the same. ESP www.peabody.jhu.edue/457 (Listen to a little Mozart)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: CarlT
Date: 2008-06-20 19:47
Clariman,
There's at least one thread fairly recently that discusses this subject.
Do a search and put in something like "soap" & "mouthpiece" and/or "mouthpiece" & "clean", etc...without the apostrophes, of course.
I believe I remember some vinegar being involved, too.
CarlT
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Copland
Date: 2008-06-20 19:56
This reminded me of this guide: http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/Testing/Cleaning_mouthpieces.htm
It says warm water can cause this. Apparently, if I may quote,
"This [green coloration] does no great harm to the mouthpiece, but doesn't exactly look terribly attractive. It's possible to remove this 'bloom', but it's a job best left to a repairer as it requires the use of abrasive compounds."
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: MartyMagnini
Date: 2008-06-20 21:16
I seem to remember a respected mouthpiece technician on this very site mention that some olive oil would return the mouthpiece to black. Am I remembering that correctly?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bill
Date: 2008-06-20 21:17
Send it to Vytas Krass. It will not only come back shiny black, it will have a beautiful new facing as well.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2008-06-20 21:49
Although it ain't easy bein' green, green is the color of conservation; black is the color of oil (which is why oil is called black gold). Celebrate its color and be glad that if you ever park the mouthpiece in a parking lot, you'll always be able to find it. And, what's more, if ever you decide to sell it, you may be able to command a high price for an environmentally-friendly mouthpiece.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: BobD
Date: 2008-06-20 22:27
Just play it and don't be concerned with the color.
Bob Draznik
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sbrodt54
Date: 2008-06-20 22:47
Don't fret too much clarimen, the color will come back after it's polished properly. If you can ever get the chance to watch how mouthpieces are made right from the beginning you would have tremendous respect for the end result. That color on the outside is the last step pretty much in the manufacture, up until that point it looks like nothing you would ever put in your mouth.
I'm not sure there are videos on this process but it is rather fascinating. Just send your piece to a good shop and it will come back looking like new, when they turn green like that they often taste like burnt rubber too.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-06-21 09:18
"I suggest that you do not wash the mouthpiece with warm water of any kind."
If the water is no warmer than your mouth, it is difficult to imagine what harm it might do, except just possibly to the cork. The original post referred to "tepid" water.
It's obviously the detergent that's the problem. Using detergent is rather pointless anyway. The purpose of detergents (including ordinary soap) is to allow fatty materials to dissolve in water, but the deposits that accumulate on a mouthpiece are likely to contain much more mineral than fat, and detergents won't shift them.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: BobD
Date: 2008-06-21 11:20
"It's obviously the detergent that's the problem"
Not obvious to me. Water varies considerably.....soft, hard, how hard, what constituents, etc etc.
Bob Draznik
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2008-06-21 15:51
They usually go back to their original color in a few days to a month if you simply play it without doing any more cleaning. Otherwise, you can have it buffed if it bothers you. There is the danger of the mouthpiece being altered if the facing or table is hit by the buffing wheel, so make sure it is buffed by someone you trust.
Personally, I would let it go back to its original color by itself.
Chris
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-06-21 16:37
I believe eventually it will go away, but there isn't much you can do unti time takes it's toll. Mabey you could try to polish it with a high speed wheel. I wouldn't know what to use to polish it though, sorry.
Vandoren mouthpieces seem to do this allot. Some come that are highly polished and protected and others aren't polished at all leaving them volnerable to discoloration. I have an M13 lyre that I have to be careful of getting water on, else it turns green too.
____________________
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: bonzo-b
Date: 2008-06-22 14:45
Polish it with Solvol Autosol... takes a while, but does work... Paul
Boosey and Hawkes ( 1940`s Imperial ? serial # 35674)
Conn New Wonder Tenor Sax (1920 )
King Cleveland 615 Tenor Sax
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-06-23 19:11
vytass krass has a chemical process that restores mouthpieces. I'm sure it involves acids and some nasty stuff, but in the end, it gets the job done.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-06-23 20:08
The chemistry consisits of very stable colored sulfur compounds which is complex and reversing them to black is not a DIY project at least with the chemistry that I use to do it. It may or may not turn back to black - probably not - but for the most part green plays just as well as black if the rubber has otherwise not been too degraded.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Vytas
Date: 2008-06-23 22:28
C2thew wrote:
>"vytass krass has a chemical process that restores mouthpieces. I'm sure it involves acids and some nasty stuff, but in the end, it gets the job done".<
1. My name is Vytas not Vytass
2. I DO NOT use a chemical process to restore mouthpieces. No acids or nasty stuff or chemical of any kind. Only NATURAL products are used. EVERYTHING is done by hand. No buffing wheels, dremel tools etc. The same applies to clarinet repair.
Vytas Krass
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Professional clarinet technician
Former professional clarinet player
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jameslyons
Date: 2008-06-23 22:50
I've never had my clarinet turn green. But once it smelled like it had green stuff growing in it. Then I realized it was just rotting spit and what not.
I started thoroughly cleaning my clarinet after that. I say the clarinet is OK so long as it plays.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
