Cleaning a very dirty and old instrument

[JesusVicente]

Hello mates, I'm about to receive a King 4b trombone. I know that instrument has been played by many children,
with very bad conservation, many years stacked in storage, etc. I know it even smells really bad I do not know what ... But your hand is smelly after touching it.

I've heard about submerging it in apple cider vinegar or hot milk ....

You recommend me how to clean it and get it ready?
Thank you!

[BGuttman]

First step would be a nice bath. In warm (not hot) water; perhaps 40-45 C (105-115 F) water with some good dish soap. Use a snake to scrub the inside of the outer and inner slide. Maybe even the bell section. Rinse well and see if you got most of the gunk that is causing the bad smell.

Get rid of the case. It's probably full of mildew that is causing the bad smell. Putting the cleaned trombone back in that case can undo everything you achieved with the bath. It might be possible to de-mildew the case if you can find somebody who can ozone treat it. I've heard of people putting the case inside a car being ozone treated as part of a body repair.

If you still are having some odor problems, have a Tech give it an ultrasonic clean.

[Kingfan]

There are music stores that do a chemical clean on horns, and if one is available near you that might be a good way to clean it with out damaging it. If you do it yourself, I suggest the dish soap and warm (not hot) water method. Let it soak a while before snaking it out. It may take multiple baths. I agree with the other poster that the smell may be the case having mold or mildew. Great horn, worth cleaning and bringing back to life. Good luck!

[mrdeacon]

I suggest doing what the above two already said. Give it a bath, use dish soap. If it still ends up being funky or is no longer funky but has build up you can't seem to clean out then that's the time to take it to a tech for a chem clean.

[AndrewMeronek]

A mild metal corrosion cleaner like Brass-O can help a lot, too, if the soap bath doesn't do the trick. Just make sure the cleaner you use is rated specifically for the metal you apply it to. Some can strip things like silver plating.

[elmsandr]

Not brass-o. Maybe Wright’s Brass polish if necessary. BrassO has abrasives in it, not good for most places on a trombone.

Neither of these are good for lacquer, but if there isn’t any lacquer that’s not a problem.

Cheers,
Andy

[Bonearzt]

I'd say avoid any kind of warm water and Brasso. Some older formulations of Brasso contained ammonia which is really bad for brass. A soak in room temp water with some dish soap and maybe baking soda will lessen the smell, and leave the case open in direct sunshine for a day or two, then sprinkle liberally with baking soda and again let sit for a couple of days & then vacuum.

The best thing for the outside of lacquered horns is Lemon Pledge furniture polish and a soft terry cloth towel!

Eric

[bellend]

I would listen to Bonearzt, he knows what he's talking about.

To add my two cents worth once you've got the horn cleaned out as discussed you could try putting some diluted kettle descaler in to the outer slide and let it cook for an hour or so, then thoroughly rinse with clean water and a snake brush and start wiping out with a cleaning rod wrapped in cloth. You will be doing this for a while but it's worth it in the long run.
This process breaks down the layer of crud that you can't get to in the outer slide and may result in the action feeling a bit scratchy at first but it will soon settle down again once your lube of choice oozes in to all the nooks and crannies again. When I was working with Mick Rath this was the standard treatment we gave all slides in for service/ overhaul.

FWIW

BellEnd

[JesusVicente]

Bguttman, Kinfan, MrDeacon, AndrewMeronek, elmsandr, Bonearzt & Bellend: Thank you very much for your quick and great answers.

I got the horn yesterday and wash it on warm (but not hot) water with dish soap. After thay, I used baking soda too. The smell has almost disappeard, maybe I repeat the treatment next week. About case, yep, good remark about not using it again, I checked it and it probably is the cause or it is infected with the odor source. I will put it to sun light as Eric said.

As the slide doesn't run well, I put water with ketter descaler and cleaning it after with a rod wrapped in cloth. It improved it, but despite it seems that there is no dent, it is really hard, especially the first section when I insert it when mounting it. After descaling it seems a bit better.

Thanks very much you all! Best wishes

[Posaunus]

As the slide doesn't run well, I put water with ketter descaler and cleaning it after with a rod wrapped in cloth. It improved it, but despite it seems that there is no dent, it is really hard, especially the first section when I insert it when mounting it. After descaling it seems a bit better.

I suggest now taking the trombone to a good tech for slide realignment and chemical cleaning. Unless it is otherwise badly damaged, the results should be a dramatically better slide. And have the tech check out and tune up the rotary valve - probably also in worse shape than you think.

Good luck!

[ghmerrill]

A few years ago when I got my 1924 Buescher tuba, I cleaned it thoroughly. I doubt that it had ever been cleaned. On that basis, I can advise that you should not regard this as a one-time effort ... or a two-time effort ... or ... It's amazing how much gunk can get built up over decades, and how much time it takes to soften it up and get it out. I use both the blue Dove detergent when I clean my instruments, and also (in more extreme cases) 409. But for old instruments, it really takes repetition. In the case of my 90+ year old tuba, it took about five times to get it thoroughly clean. Soaking in warm water with detergent helps, as does using a snake/brush. A trombone would be a lot easier than the tuba, but you can't imagine (without experiencing it) how much hardened gunk may be in your horn.

By the time I was finished, I discovered that the receiver on that tuba did not in fact fit something close to a small shank mouthpiece, but did take what's called the Old European shank tuba mouthpiece (roughly the size of a bass trombone large shank). There was so much crap in the receiver that cleaning it several times changed the fit of the shank that much.