TromboneChat

What type of polishing cloth do YOU use when applying polish to your trombone?

I have never polished am instrument since I start playing in 1964. I wash the exteriors (and interiors) with Dawn dish soap, rinse, and dry with a paper towel. The lacquers have held up well. I treat a bare metal Olds ambassador cornet the same way. The external corrosion on the Olds cornet raw brass keeps the brass from further corrosion. I wipe down instruments after gigs and rehearsals with old worn out t-shirts.

I polished a couple of my raw brass horns once. Was a bit of work and very temporary. Not recommended.

Many of my horns look a little rough... I'm OK with that.

Cheers,
Andy

I wipe my horn down after each use with an old terry-cloth saturated with Lemon Pledge. The goal is to remove any residue from my hands and shine it up. It's probably bad for my horn, so I'll keep that in mind for the next 3-5 years I might have left to play it.

ArbanRubank wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 6:17 am I wipe my horn down after each use with an old terry-cloth saturated with Lemon Pledge. The goal is to remove any residue from my hands and shine it up. It's probably bad for my horn, so I'll keep that in mind for the next 3-5 years I might have left to play it.

I don't think it's bad for the horn, but it is bad for your lungs to inhale it.

Lemon Pledge works very well on lacquer finishes. I recommend spraying it on the cloth first, then polish the instrument.

Avoid spraying it in large quantities on a horn with an unsoldered rim. If the Lemon Pledge gets under the bead, it can create problems because it has a little bit of citric acid in it.

Fair comments.

thanks for the help, everyone. it would seem I may need a whole new lacquer job, as the bell has a rough circle where it has connected with my way too old trombone stand way too many times.

I use microfiber wiping cloths on all my trombones, silverplate and lacquer. I don't need Pledge or any fluids since the microfibers pick up everything. I get no finish wear on the contact points at all, absolutely nothing. My lacquer horn finish gets washed incidentally to soaking out the insides once in a while. Of course the silver ones need silver polishing about twice a year.

TOPSLIDER wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 4:09 pm What type of polishing cloth do YOU use when applying polish to your trombone?

Honestly just an old sock, tshirt, or something of the sort. Silver polish is definitely a different beast than polishing raw brass: a little polish goes a very long way on silver. I'd also steer clear of rough cloth for mirror-finish silver horns.

If you've got a ring of raw brass inside your bell flare, polishing will make it brighter. Depending on your lacquer, it might make things a better match or a worse match. If you've got clear lacquer and a patina ring, polish seems wise. If you've got tinted lacquer that's aged a bit, polish will make the ring stand out more.

If you're on the fence about what to do, post a picture or two: folks here will be better able to help.

TOPSLIDER wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 12:55 pm thanks for the help, everyone. it would seem I may need a whole new lacquer job, as the bell has a rough circle where it has connected with my way too old trombone stand way too many times.

You should be using a cover of some kind to protect your bell!
I use a black hand towel, keeps my horn from sticking on the stand and absorbs any drips of condensation.


The only "polish" you need for lacquered horns is pledge or similar furniture polish and a soft terrycloth towel.

Silver plated surfaces should be wiped with a dedicated silver polish cloth, with NO abrasives!!!
This is my preference right now...
https://www.riogrande.com/product/sunsh ... ack/337011


Eric

Have an unlaquered horn?

Try 'Miracle Cloth'. (Amazon, Hickey's, etc.)

Brings back the shine!

No harmful ingredients.

I love blue Yamaha cloth came with most Yamaha horns. A bit small but work great for wiping your horn after use. Once the cloth became dirty, I simply repurpose it as a polishing cloth.

On my bare brass horns I've been using a small chamois that I purchased on Amazon and Simichrome polish. Chamois doesn't leave any fine scratches and cleans up easily. Unfortuntely, unlacquered horns need to be cleaned every 1 - 2 weeks in order t keep them tarnish free. I've tried wax and sealers and had mixed success.

I am not going to say that you shouldn't use it, but it may be worthwhile to know that Pledge contains a lot of silicone, which can cause problems if the instrument is ever refinished. This is a huge issue with guitars because the silicone soaks down into the wood and then comes back up during refinishing. It is really difficult to remove all traces of silicone and it will cause fisheyes in the new lacquer. I have little experience with refinishing brass instruments so take my comments with a grain of salt.

Silicone will cause fisheyes in spray lacquer.

I've heard people using Mother's Mag Wheel polish.

Wax needs a pretty heavy coat, but it only keeps the surface pristine for about 4 weeks. I like Turtle Wax Hard Shell (it's a paste).

I've found that Nevr-Dull wadding works great and keeps the horn from building tarnish. A friend of mine did an old tuba with the stuff and it stayed neat for a year. Only issue -- I believe it may have silicone. If you never plan to lacquer the horn that's no problem.