fiberglass sousa cleaning

[arpthark]

My Conn 36K has -- I am pretty sure -- a bunch of "just-plain" DIRT inside the fiberglass part down inside the body, and some scuffs/streaks on the outside.

I'd like to get it looking a hair better. Any tips for cleaning fiberglass? Magic Eraser?

[YorkNumber3.0]

.

[arpthark]

Magic Erasers do work. Depending on finish, etc., general funk is removed pretty well by scrubbing with Comet cleanser and a sponge. Hose it off when done. Keep in mind there’s powdered bleach in it and it will bleach out clothes, etc.

Exactly the type of response I was looking for. Thank you!

[travisd]

If all else fails, I had good luck painting my King with Rustoleum appliance enamel (bright white, of course). Both the 'outside" pebble/textured finish (body, back of the bell) and the smooth/shiny inside/front of the bell came out nicely, and has proven to be pretty durable.

[arpthark]

Likely won't be touching the inside of the bell as it has all this going on:



but as you can see the outside is a bit scruffy.

[YorkNumber3.0]

.

[arpthark]

If I were doing it, I’d remove the valve set and clean that separately. Then I’d scrub down the body with Comet and hose it down. Reassemble making sure the valve set to body joint is good and you’re good for another 10,000 miles.

I haven't had much experience with fiberglass sousas -- what is the valveset to body joint like on these? Is there a gasket or something?

[YorkNumber3.0]

.

[bloke]

I don't know what Magic Eraser is, but I'd be glad to look into as it's obviously something good.

There's a really strong concentrated cleaner that will mess up your hands at full strength (just like bleach or paint stripper will) that is sold at Walmart, and it's called Super Clean.

Again, I can't compare it to Magic Eraser because I'm ignorant, but Super Clean and some hot water down in there would probably clean it out quite well and not harm fiberglass. It is really strong. I can thin it out quite a bit with water and actually (with a power washer) strip the oil based stain off of my log house on an area where I might choose to start over with new.

I'm thinking that you could even thin it out quite a bit with hot water and it would possibly/probably remove a layer of old sediment out of the inside of a fiberglass sousaphone body without even scrubbing, as long as you gave it a vigorous rinse.

[Tubajug]

Magic Erasers are from the Mr. Clean brand. They're basically sponges that have cleaning agents in them already. You just get them wet and start scrubbing. It worked very well for a pair of Yamaha sousaphones I cleaned up once.

[bloke]

Magic Erasers are from the Mr. Clean brand. They're basically sponges that have cleaning agents in them already. You just get them wet and start scrubbing. It worked very well for a pair of Yamaha sousaphones I cleaned up once.

Okay. That sounds like a pretty good thing. I wonder if the Super Clean would clean the parts that can't be reached with a sponge and without any scrubbing. (second third and fourth branches)

[arpthark]

I'm thinking Magic Eraser / Comet for the outside scruff and bloke's Walmart juice for the inside dirt.

Magic Erasers are interesting as they don't actually (oops, there's that word) contain any cleaning products, but the material they are made from -- melamine foam -- is incredibly good at removing dirt via microfriction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine_foam

[bloke]

I've had pretty good luck (outside, where the oem paint is in pretty good shape - avoiding abrasives) with Fantastik/409/etc. People who write articles about "The Blah-Blah Which Is the Best Might Surprise You" also tend to be (being article writers) climate alarmists, so (as there are several pump spray all-purposes cleaners with the word "Green" in their name) those types of folks are probably going to write articles telling us that "Blah-Blah Green" or "Green Blah-Blah" is the best. I have no idea which one is the best. I'll usually try something cheap/off-brand, and - if its as good as Fantastik or 409 - I'll buy it - until that alternative/economy brand disappears off the shelf.

When I was a kid (though these sorts of pump spray all-purpose cleaning products had - fairly recently - been introduced to the market) I used Comet, because (with the other stuff being somewhat newfangled) Comet occurred to me first: "Comet cleans the tub, the tub is white, so it should clean the sousaphone, because the sousaphone is white."

bloke "a childhood genius, in the realm of logic"

[arpthark]

Here is a pic down the throat of the sousaphone with the bell removed:



Mmm.

[York-aholic]

Yum!

[bloke]

...so that was formerly under a house, hooked into someone's kids' hall bathroom toilet...(??)

[Rick Denney]

Magic Erasers are from the Mr. Clean brand. They're basically sponges that have cleaning agents in them already. You just get them wet and start scrubbing. It worked very well for a pair of Yamaha sousaphones I cleaned up once.

Nevermind—already covered.

Rick “uses them for a lot of things” Denney

[Tubajug]

Magic Erasers are from the Mr. Clean brand. They're basically sponges that have cleaning agents in them already. You just get them wet and start scrubbing. It worked very well for a pair of Yamaha sousaphones I cleaned up once.

Nevermind—already covered.

Rick “uses them for a lot of things” Denney

Tuba-related things, or just general cleaning around the house?

[arpthark]

...so that was formerly under a house, hooked into someone's kids' hall bathroom toilet...(??)

I have a two-seater outhouse on my property. If this thing doesn't work out as a tuba, it has a backup plan as being some plumbing, I guess.

[Rick Denney]

Magic Erasers are from the Mr. Clean brand. They're basically sponges that have cleaning agents in them already. You just get them wet and start scrubbing. It worked very well for a pair of Yamaha sousaphones I cleaned up once.

Nevermind—already covered.

Rick “uses them for a lot of things” Denney

Tuba-related things, or just general cleaning around the house?

They are excellent for removing buildup from phonograph styluses, precisely because they are a soft abrasive devoid of chemicals.

They are about the only thing that will remove or minimize marks on flat interior wall paint.

Rick “stuff like that” Denney