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Finally got around to my own sax

jbtsax

Distinguished Member
Distinguished Member
I have been making friends and customer's saxes look good for quite some time while neglecting my own, so I decided to clean and polish my Selmer SBA alto for the first time since it was overhauled with white roo pads over 10 years ago. Below are before and after photos as well as a link to a slide show of the entire process. http://s162.photobucket.com/user/jbtsax/slideshow/Selmer SBA alto



 
Nice job! I won't own a silver instrument because of the work required to maintain its finish.

Ah... That's what gives them that used "pro" look... Or the one like you've got too many instruments, and not enough time and/or money to keep them up. ;)
 
Believe me, mine is a love/hate relationship with silver instruments. I love how they look when polished, but I hate the maintenance to keep them looking that way. One of the best products I have found to keep inside the case is the Gleam Anti-Tarnish Sachet sold by Drs. Products. It really works.
 
I've found very little tarnish on my silver plate horns. I do keep a silver tarnish cube in each of the cases, after first using silver tarnish paper, and that may be responsible. But, other than a pass over the horns with a silver tarnish cloth before a performance, minimal upkeep.

With nickel-silver, not so good. After purchasing a new nickel-silver horn (clarinets and bass clarinet), the touch pieces and the bell (on the big horn) would quickly acquire a "haze" where the fingers touched. This was resistant to polishing and cleaning, and ultimately led me to the silver-plate route.

But, that may have been to my individual body chemistry, so your mileage may vary...
 
I've found very little tarnish on my silver plate horns. I do keep a silver tarnish cube in each of the cases, after first using silver tarnish paper, and that may be responsible. But, other than a pass over the horns with a silver tarnish cloth before a performance, minimal upkeep.

With nickel-silver, not so good. After purchasing a new nickel-silver horn (clarinets and bass clarinet), the touch pieces and the bell (on the big horn) would quickly acquire a "haze" where the fingers touched. This was resistant to polishing and cleaning, and ultimately led me to the silver-plate route.

But, that may have been to my individual body chemistry, so your mileage may vary...

I have had good success getting nickle silver plate back to its original shine by buffing with Music Medic blue compound.



 
Well, my mother (who hates tarnish with a passion) did the same on an almost obsessive basis with my horns. However, after using a silver plate horn without the same problem, we figured that it was just as well to go the silver plate route as opposed to having to shine stuff all the time.

Also, the horns don't look as tinny...
 
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