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Yikes. Along with all the other stuff I'm trying to do, Mardi Gras coming back up and I sold the sparkly sousaphone.

I have a really cool 26 inch oversized Buescher bell (all straightened out and mostly buffed) that fits a 14k, a beat up 14k body that's painted blue, and a perfect condition 14k valve section with rebuilt valves, but I really was hoping to have a King - preferrably fiberglass from the '90s or so, as those are so lightweight and so easy to play, but I guess it's going to be a 14k. Come to think of it, I also have a 24-in 26k bell (the same as a 14k bell),

The other issue is time.

update...

The sousaphone body includes a bell.

The body and bell are beat up moderately badly, but not terribly.

They are matched and satin silver (under the blue paint).

There is not-large beautiful "Pan American / Elkhart, Ind." engraving on the bell.

If I put a ton of Easy Off on that paint and let it sit for a good while, it peels off with a strong jet of hot water. It's not great, but I think it might eventually all come off.

I'm wondering about taking it to a car wash.

The valve section is brass, probably from a 36K fiberglass (compatible), I apparently added an upper #1 slide, and the valves are all Secrist-rebuilt with nylon valve guides. (I'd forgotten all of this.) I guess I have a sousaphone, if I can fix it - and stick it together.
I have some Nikolas faux silver (metal flecks) additive that goes into Nikolas 2105 lacquer. I might (??) use that on the valve section.

Car wash = high pressure. Will that make a mess of things? You'd certainly get hot water from it, heck, even degreaser.

York-aholic wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 10:29 am Car wash = high pressure. Will that make a mess of things? You'd certainly get hot water from it, heck, even degreaser.

A car wash - in my experience - would be like "pressure washer lite, yet with soap".

I believe I'll set this project aside until a Gulf warm front manages to push through and raise a high daily temp up to the high 40's or low 50's.
On such a day, I'll GENEROUSLY hit what's left of the paint with Easy-Off, let it sit around for (perhaps?) an hour, grab the rubber gloves, set it on some corrugated cardboard in the back of the work van, take it (oven-cleaner drenched bows and bell) to the self-service wand car wash (closest two are 15 minutes away), and see what happens.

Otherwise...(equally troublesome, if not more so)
I'll connect a black rubber garden hose to the HOT connection behind the washing machine, run it outdoors, attach a brass hose nozzle, and see how that works. I COULD do it inside my shop, but I've replaced the rusted-out builder-grade hot water tank in my shop with only a 5-gallon cute little Bosch hot water tank (easier on the utility bill - usually enough hot water). ...I suspect the car wash will supply considerably more power, YET (as it's used on car paint, but NOT to strip car paint - so I do NOT believe it would dent a sousaphone) the car wash wand's jet won't additionally dent a sousaphone.

If the meteor-studying folk (who also take stabs at guessing about the weather) guess right, that should be mid-week after xmas:

I may not (??) have tuning bits, but I have junk laying around here to make a Conn neck.
I know I have a lower mouthpipe and I have all of those old cast lower mouthpipe braces (etc.) laying around, as well as valveset-to-body braces.

The pistons/casings were rebuilt better-than-new years ago for (likely) less than $300.
The satin silver body and bell (and decent hard case scrounged elsewhere) were FREE.
The valve section (other than the rebuild job) was FREE.

I suppose I had better order some bits - or ask a friend if he has some decent used ones.
(He likes to sell overhauled sousaphones with NEW necks/bits, rather than repairing old ones.)


I do have some dent removal to do, but no (really serious) buffing/lacquering.

This should do just fine, end up being handsome and - if someone makes an offer on it after it's all dolled up and after Mardi Gras - I might consider letting it go (??)

(Notice that even more blue paint peeled off after I walked away from it yesterday...)

naked lady...?? There might end up being a real one at the Mardi Gras parade...(??)

pictures taken with my new phone:




I may (??) barely remember that I set up the range of this slide between "fixing 1st-valve C" and "long enough for 1-3/1-2-3 C/B"...

Nice valves! Such a shame that Andersons didn’t find someone to continue that work!

I’d think the hot water heating up the brass would convince the paint to jump off.

Should be a nice horn when you’re done with it.

I like blue sousaphones but that one never looked good.

That thing needs a sousaphone whisperer to bring it back.

I like the engraving.

Those kiddies might thing you’re kinda hip with a sousaphone that says “Pan-American”.

;-)

Three Valves wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:47 pmThat thing needs a sousaphone whisperer to bring it back.

It's got one.

This thing (now apparent) was originally painted white over the satin silver - I suppose: to match one or more fiberglass sousaphones.

OVER the white, it was later painted blue on the body/bell exterior and yellow on the bell interior...so - I suppose - blue and yellow were/are the school colors. OK...on the fly googling *confirms that.

Paint stripper - these days, with our rulers protecting us from ourselves - ain't worth a crap.
To get it this far, I've been using an alternate substance (and a do-it-yourself car wash wand) and most of the blue is gone, a good bit of the white is gone from the body, the bell interior's yellow is gone, (thankfully) the INTERIOR of the bell elbow is free of any paint now, but the interior of the bell flair is still - pretty much - solid white.

The milky appearance that you see is another coating of that alternate substance. I'll probably hit it again one more time (water wand) before sundown.

I did this today, rather than working on a B&S tuba mouthpipe, because the high temperature outside was OVER 70 degrees F. and the alternate substance likely works better when it's warmer.

I left it at a friend's house who has a HEATED pressure washer. When I have time to get back to this, I might by a jug of Super Clean, mix that with water, and hit it with HOT water - with pressure higher than car-wash-wand pressure (but not hard enough to dent it).





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That needs to be dipped in a vat of whatever the Joker fell into that turned him stark white with green hair!

A WHOLE BUNCH more paint came off last night...and even though I didn't have access to the wand (only a regular hose nozzle).

I'd probably say that well under 10% of the paint remains.

I'm thinking that I might go ahead and work on the dents and creases, which should loosen even more paint - and without using a substance to assist...
...and then see what I need to do to get the very last of the paint removed.

I'm encouraged! The satin silver on the body branches and bell (underneath the two coats of paint) is right at 100% intact.

picture substitute: Imagine a satin silver sousaphone body and bell approximately 7.5% covered with old paint.

Someone is sitting in Hell now thinking;

“I never should have painted that sousaphone!”

As can be seen, the second treatment did quite a bit more good...and (again) I didn't have access to the car wash wand (more pressure) the second time.

- Dent removal will probably loosen up much of the rest of it.
- I can try the same treatment again, after dent removal.
- I can also employ another technique (heat gun).

I'm encouraged...

You've certainly got things well under control, but it was suggested to me (perhaps by you, bloke), that when I had an instrument that had been spray painted, that I take it to a furniture restoration business (the people with access to the good chemicals). I found one in town and it was very reasonable ($90 I believe) for having a Martin Mammoth stripped of its gold paint.

Tubajug wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 12:33 pm You've certainly got things well under control, but it was suggested to me (perhaps by you, bloke), that when I had an instrument that had been spray painted, that I take it to a furniture restoration business (the people with access to the good chemicals). I found one in town and it was very reasonable ($90 I believe) for having a Martin Mammoth stripped of its gold paint.

My question would be "how long ago was that"?

Decades ago I had a 55 gallon drum of the good stuff myself. I don't know if anybody is allowed to have the good stuff anymore, and I haven't seen too many furniture refinishing places still in business.

Tubajug wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 12:33 pm You've certainly got things well under control, but it was suggested to me (perhaps by you, bloke), that when I had an instrument that had been spray painted, that I take it to a furniture restoration business (the people with access to the good chemicals). I found one in town and it was very reasonable ($90 I believe) for having a Martin Mammoth stripped of its gold paint.

My question would be "How long ago was that"?

Decades ago I had a 55 gallon drum of the good stuff myself. I don't know if anybody is allowed to have the good stuff anymore, and I haven't seen too many furniture refinishing places still in business.

bloke wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 4:07 pm

Tubajug wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 12:33 pm You've certainly got things well under control, but it was suggested to me (perhaps by you, bloke), that when I had an instrument that had been spray painted, that I take it to a furniture restoration business (the people with access to the good chemicals). I found one in town and it was very reasonable ($90 I believe) for having a Martin Mammoth stripped of its gold paint.

My question would be "How long ago was that"?

Decades ago I had a 55 gallon drum of the good stuff myself. I don't know if anybody is allowed to have the good stuff anymore, and I haven't seen too many furniture refinishing places still in business.

It was July 2021, so about 18 months ago.

Businesses are still out there. Your call if you want to pay someone to do it.

I found them before you posted.

They seem a bit fancy...so - I'd have to guess - a "We can take care of that for $200" type.

and - additionally - a "we will have to see it before quoting on it" type as well.

Since I have most of the paint off of there already, that would be - in addition to two 2-hour roundtrips - quite a surcharge.

What's left on the instrument is actually curling away from the surface.

I appreciate the suggestions, but I'll get the rest of that mess off of there...oven cleaner, power washer, heat gun...It''ll be gone.