How to remove lacquer and shine raw brass

[bort2.0]

So obviously, I wasn't paying attention all these years, but now it is relevant for me, so...

How do you remove lacquer from an old Conn? Boiling water/bath didn't work. Does it need aircraft stripper? Or EZKlean (or whatever it's called) oven cleaner?

And once it's raw brass, how can I shine it. (Of course knowing that it'll patina again, and probably quickly). I tried some brasso on some exposed brass, and that got it clean, but no amount of polishing made it close to shiny. Not talking mirror shine, just enough to look better than the quasi-steel-wool appearance.

End goal -- a uniform-ish appearance, instead of splotchy lacquer, raw brass, and some fields of okay lacquer. I realize the bell will still be sorta ugly. But it's got to be possible to have something a little better!

Thanks... I'll pay attention this time... :)

[2nd tenor]

You might find a start on this thread on another forum: https://www.themouthpiece.com/threads/c ... ish.54536/
One respondent suggested a solution (chemical) that is available in the USA.
The thread is long and not encouraging.

[Tubajug]

I've used aircraft stripper in the past with good results. It's no longer available from what I understand. A friend recently suggested Ferree's lacquer stripper and it worked great. It took a couple applications for some spots, but it was great. Very low odor too.

For polishing I've been using Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish (a suggestion from Lee Stofer). Simichrome is another that's been suggested over the years.

Good luck!

[LeMark]

I used to suggest oven cleaner, but even the non lemon smelling stuff doesn't work anymore, so they much have changed the formula

Mother's mag polish is fantastic for getting out scratches

[Tubajug]

I used to suggest oven cleaner, but even the non lemon smelling stuff doesn't work anymore, so they much have changed the formula

I noticed that too! I had run out and so my wife picked up a new can of it and it didn't seem to do anything when I tried it. That's when I asked my friend and he suggested the Ferree's stuff.

[KingTuba1241X]

The old Conn lacquer might come off easier than King lacquer, but can't confirm that. I'd also say over cleaner or some type of Aircraft Stripper if you can find something like it. Just wear thick gloves and a mask, because it burns like hell. Let it sit on there for awhile then pour boiling water on it. Did I mention use a LOT of elbow grease? Good luck! If you like that horn go for it.

[bloke]

...but why would anyone wish to strip lacquer, when it's so easy to just throw the brown one away and get a new Jinbao replica?

[bort2.0]

...but why would anyone wish to strip lacquer, when it's so easy to just throw the brown one away and get a new Jinbao replica?

One Jinbao 20J bell please!

[LargeTuba]

I would welcome a JinBao 5 valve 20j clone.

[hrender]

If someone makes a decent clone of a Martin Mammoth, I’d be interested.

[hubert]

Worked for me: Steel wool 0000 with Commandant nr. 3 Rubbing Compound. For optimal shine Osborn Unipol Metal Polishing.
Hubert

[bloke]

yep, and - for me - it would REALLY depend on the manufacturer.
Stuff that looks like something else is one thing, but something that plays and sounds like something else is THE thing.
———
...and another for Martin 6/4 B-flats.
To me, the 6/4 Conn B-flat tubas are sort of like two non-overlapping tubas:
- one low range tuba that plays up to E-flat - just below the staff
- another higher-range tuba that plays from F-sharp at the bottom of the staff and up

If someone makes a decent clone of a Martin Mammoth, I’d be interested.

[donn]

To me, the 6/4 Conn B-flat tubas are sort of like two non-overlapping tubas:
- one low range tuba that plays up to E-flat - just below the staff
- another higher-range tuba that plays from F-sharp at the bottom of the staff and up

Just for posterity, it might be easier to find this sort of wisdom if you were to repost it over in the original thread concerning this tuba (Conn 20J), which is about how well it plays, as opposed to its finish lacquer.

I think there's a potential conversation in there (though of course like most of this stuff, one that we've been through before several times), but since it isn't about lacquer removal ...

[bloke]

Thanks for monitoring...
The thing is: I’ve never removed any lacquer and shined a tuba back up, so...
...I guess I can only talk about the make/model of tuba that the original poster wants to refinish on his kitchen table.

[bort2.0]

Thanks for monitoring...
The thing is: I’ve never removed any lacquer and shined a tuba back up, so...
...I guess I can only talk about the make/model of tuba that the original poster wants to refinish on his kitchen table.

I do not want to refinish, just make it less ugly. And I noticed that brasso didn't make "shiny", so I was wondering what does. Not trying to do anything unreasonable AFAIK

[bloke]

- Stripping lacquer, just as everyone else has pointed out, is becoming more difficult as - obviously by design - we are are allowed access to fewer and fewer things, as more and more of us become more and more generally incapable, also by design.
- Polishing metals without a buffing machine and polishing compound requires a tremendous amount of time, and certainly when the item has a tremendous amount of surface area. I’m not sure what Brasso actually is, but it sort of seems to be (??) a polishing compound known as Tripoli (which is a rough stage polishing compound) diluted into some sort of liquid petroleum-based substance. If Brasso is not-at-all that, I believe I could make something that’s very much like it - in the way it looks and works - via such a concoction.
Back when they coerced us into being in JR ROTC - as sort of a prelude for sending a bunch of us off to Vietnam, we had to shine up our brass on our uniforms with Brasso. It did remove the tarnish and getting all the Brasso off and buffing the brass with flannel or a T-shirt did result in shiny brass, which included lapel or collar ornamentation and belt buckles...which involved a tiny amount of surface area.

[ken herrick]

Back when they coerced us into being in JR ROTC - as sort of a prelude for sending a bunch of us off to Vietnam, we had to shine up our brass on our uniforms with Brasso. It did remove the tarnish and getting all the Brasso off and buffing the brass with flannel or a T-shirt did result in shiny brass, which included lapel or collar ornamentation and belt buckles...which involved a tiny amount of surface area.

And......................
When I was in the Aus army I used my repair shop to fix the problem - hit my buckles etc with the buffer then took them too a friend who worked in a large plating shop for a coat of gold. Saved a LOT of time.

[Yorkboy]

Another vote for Mother’s Mag and Aluminum polish; works very nicely on both silver plate and raw brass, and an added bonus is that it also polishes out some light solder scar remnants (for those of us frankentuba-ers out there).

I never cared for Brasso, personally. I wasn’t aware it was made from Tripoli, which works very nicely with a buffing wheel.

Aircraft stripper is very nasty stuff; if you choose to use it, take the listed precautions seriously.

[donn]

According to wikipedia, it has various hydrocarbons - possibly depending on where in the world you buy it - and ammonia, silica or kaolin, and maybe a little oxalic acid. The silica/kaolin is the abrasive.

It can make brass shiny, if rubbed vigorously directly on the brass. Where there's lacquer over the brass, there will be no polishing that. If the surface isn't already nearly flat, it will take a lot of polishing to wear it down to the flat condition that makes it shiny. I can't think of any brass I've seen that wouldn't take a shine, but my experience is minimal. You should be able to see what's going on by getting a very close look at the surface, like with a strong magnifying glass or something.

Since Brasso is the most well known and widely used of metal polishes, is naturally looked down on by authorities in such matters, but I think typically the recommended alternatives are less abrasive and thus slower.

[bloke]

Any of us who were issued new hardware with lacquer on it were required to remove the lacquer, so that we would have to shine it up weekly…typical military make-work...
I removed the lacquer, showed the sergeant that I had removed it, shined up my hardware, cleaned off the polish, and sprayed new rattle-can lacquer on it.
I also found an empty locker at school, which I claimed for my own use and locked. I stored Marlboro cigarettes and various types of candy in there - which are sold to other students, and also stored my ROTC uniform in there, which I only wore one hour each Friday to ROTC class...I never washed it...so - as assemblies and pep rallies canceled out a few Fridays of ROTC, I only wore that uniform for a total of about thirty hours, that year.

Back when they coerced us into being in JR ROTC - as sort of a prelude for sending a bunch of us off to Vietnam, we had to shine up our brass on our uniforms with Brasso. It did remove the tarnish and getting all the Brasso off and buffing the brass with flannel or a T-shirt did result in shiny brass, which included lapel or collar ornamentation and belt buckles...which involved a tiny amount of surface area.

And......................
When I was in the Aus army I used my repair shop to fix the problem - hit my buckles etc with the buffer then took them too a friend who worked in a large plating shop for a coat of gold. Saved a LOT of time.