Posted by Andy Smith on August 13, 2001 at 19:55:01:
Hello again everyone,
Well, I'd first like to thank the 10s of e-mails that I got in response to the situation I'm currently in with my new 56J that is satin silver. A lot of varied responses, so I'm going to answer all of them in one massive e-mail rather than writing to the individuals in question.
I thought first about the people who said that my sweat may be causing the black stuff to come off on my hands and my shirt. I thought that this may be true at first, but then I realized that I have owned two other silver horns and have played several other tubas that have satin silver finishes and I've never had a problem with those, so why all of a sudden have a problem with this one.
Then I went to the grocery store and bought a bottle of Simple Green. I diluted it with a bit of water and put it on the horn via paper towels, and instantly, the towels turned black. I must have spent 2 hours today cleaning this horn and the towels were starting to become light grey when I stopped. I think this takes care of the situation for now, but I will keep you updated if anything changes. Thanks very much once again.
Sincerely,
Andy Smith
BassDi(AT)aol.com
Tubist at Ithaca College