Hand polishing with Brasso...tips?

[BopEuph]

I've done a pass with the Brasso on the Conn bugle section, and it needs a couple more passes. Looks like, from what I can gather, I get more mileage out of LESS pressure and letting the chemicals do the job, rather than trying to scrub it on in. Is that a fair assessment?

Since the valve block is coming back to me lacquered, I figured I should at the very least get the body to be as shiny in the beginning as I can. The bell section was filthy, so there was more than just a patina on it. Guessing a good, even patina would look good against the lacquered valves.

[windshieldbug]

Just make sure nothing's plated!

[LeMark]

Have you ever tried mother's mag polish?

[BopEuph]

Just make sure nothing's plated!

Nope! Stripped this horn about a decade ago. Figured with the valves off, I could hit some of the places the lacquer just didn't come off.

I was kinda hopeful the aircraft paint stripper would shine up the brass, like it did when I stripped the lacquer the first time...then I realized the shininess was because it was the first time some of that brass hit the air in probably 30 years, and that the old, abused lacquer was the reason it looked so bad. The lacquer was so uneven stripping it was the right answer. But I missed some spots in the tighter areas, so I got those this time around.

So the first pass of the brasso basically cleaned a lot of the grime off. Some water spots and oxidation are still there, and it's a bit cloudy looking, so I'm hoping to get a lot of it shined up before I take the horn in to be reassembled on Tuesday.

Have you ever tried mother's mag polish?

Ooh, no. It won't take any of the brass down, will it? The bell is thin enough as it is, and 12J bells aren't exactly easy to come by, unless I want a Chinese copy of the bell for like $1k.

[LeMark]

It will take out light scratches, so I'd say so

Maybe nevrdull?

[BopEuph]

Maybe. I just got the Brasso a week ago to clean the dirty brass on the sousaphone--it was staining my shirts (I'll never use my "good" shirts with the sousaphone because of that). I figure I can empty the bottle on the Conn.

Yeah, the bell is so thin you can run your finger on one side of the brass, and put your other hand on the other side and feel the finger moving. That's pretty crazy.

[bloke]

Somewhere, I've heard that Scotchbrite pads hide incomplete dent removal and out-of-round issues...I can't remember where...

[BopEuph]

Somewhere, I've heard that Scotchbrite pads hide incomplete dent removal and out-of-round issues...I can't remember where...

Wouldn't that be by giving it a "brushed" look?

I've found a good patina does that, too. It makes sense that shiny brass will show more imperfections; it's actually the same concept in how wearing black is trimming. It's not that you look "thinner" per se, it's that black hides shadows. Shadows show depth.

Did my second pass today (going to do one more tomorrow and one more on Monday), and the dents are becoming more and more visible. The patina wasn't looking so great between the paint stripper, the water stains, and some rust-colored spots that are cleaning off with the Brasso, so I'm just wanting a fresh start.

[BRS]

.

[bloke]

I recognize the fact that the op chose Brasso and has used it. If they’re happy, I’m happy.

I just have to say I hate Brasso. It would be a last resort choice. Maybe not even then.

I tried it recently, but - rather than buying it - I just crumbled up some tripoli into a bit of lacquer thinner.
(I didn't like using it any more than I did when I was a kid.)

[Sousaswag]

I've done it when I had an Eastman F in raw brass.

It's a LOT of work for, frankly, a slightly more shiny look. I think to get that mirror finish one has to use a buffing wheel and a LOT of elbow grease.

I don't know what an alternative is. I used old t-shirts and polishing rags, and, again, elbow grease. It looked better, but not mirror-like.

[LeMark]

I'm telling you.... Mothers mag polish is the best polish you can use without getting a stand buffer involved

[bloke]

I believe people who seek out silver plated finishes probably think that that's the way the gleaming instrument that they're looking at is going to continue to look that way without having to do any work. I suspect they also believe that they will never have any accidents because they are a very careful person.

Paying as much for no lacquer as for lacquer, or maybe even more? I just don't get it.

[LeMark]

Now that I've owned a couple silver instruments, I've lost the desire to own any more

[BopEuph]

My silver Willson 2900 never had so much as a dent up to the point it was stolen. I remember Gail Robertson warning me about a gig bag, that a dent was inevitable. I didn't heed her warning...then one day I was on my way to a concert and the hardware on my Pro Tec bag snapped and the horn started to fall. Thankfully, I had a habit of slinging the horn over my shoulder, and keeping my hand firmly on the strap. My reflexes kept that horn from any dents.

Once it was stolen, I dreaded having the horn returned in poor shape. I don't know which would be worse; recovering it badly abused or not at all; but I never found it.

To be fair, though, it's been MUCH more difficult to be that kind of careful with the Kanstul. It's just too heavy, too clumsy of an instrument, even in its gig bag. The hard case adds something like 20 pounds to its already heavy weight, and I can fit my 6'4", 210 lb body in it easily. It's not a fun thing to carry OR transport in the car.

But yeah...if I had my choice of finish on a new instrument, I'd probably take the cheapest route (though, for some reason, you never see lacquered euphoniums on any stage...then again, there's very few euphonium players getting a paycheck). Paying extra for unlacquered? Yeah, no. Raw brass, to me, is what happens when the lacquer goes well past its use. Strip the rest, let a nice patina set in. Doing any of it for the "sound" is hokum; just play the best you can with what you got.

I have a 1965 Olds Ambassador in silver. I got it with the bell kinda crushed for $75 at a pawn shop. The silver still sines up decently well, but it really does show the imperfections in that bell fix. I also remember a friend/classmate in college that wanted a refund from Willson when black spots started showing up on his 2950 about two years in. We had to explain to him that silver polish takes that right out.

[bloke]

My experience with Kanstul tubas (particular if they are made of that bronze stuff) is that the bottom bows are excessively thin.

Thin doesn't mean "cheap" or "bad", but it DOES mean "thin".

[BopEuph]

Never thought about it. It might be, but the dent that's there was there when I got it. The horn is so freaking heavy, I just can't imagine the brass being so thin.