Posted by Paul R. Ogushwitz on July 12, 2000 at 06:08:22:
In Reply to: Silver polish for my Monster Sousaphone? posted by Kevin Eckelkamp on July 11, 2000 at 22:38:47:
Kevin, if you want to remove the plating, by all means use Wright's Silver Cream or use Noxon. No amount of dilution can reduce the abrasiveness of the grits they contain.
Don Butterfield tells me the least abrasive polish is Gorham's Silver Polish. I've also had moderately good luck with Tarn-X, which contains no abrasive at all. A nickel-plated Holton sousaphone I just bought went from deeply-tarnished to shiny-bright using Tarn-X followed by Gorham's.
Please please please resist the temptation to play the horn the instant you receive it. Remember, it is full of mung left over by everyone else who has played it over the years. Every intake of breath involves pulling some air (and other things) back from inside the horn. You don't want to accidentally ingest anything from in there, or even breathe the air in there.
To flush the horn, start by cutting off a piece of 5/8" garden hose about 4' long including the female end. Remove the bell from the horn. Be sure the horn is adequately supported, because it is about to get very heavy. Attach the hose to an outside spigot and slip the other end over the receiver. Turn on the water and let it run through the horn from small end to big end. Depress the valves to flush the valve tubing. All manner of things will come floating out the big end. Now rotate the horn so that water (and mung) come out the BIG end. If in doubt about the results, flush again. For the first (second? third?) flushings, you might want to use some soap. Dishwashing detergent works well ... just squirt some (just a little) into the lead pipe and the water will carry it along.
Once the inside of the horn is clean, remove and clean your valves and slides. Be very careful with these components, they can be dented. After lots of experimentation, I use Lubriplate on slides; it is slippery and long-lasting. Some people use lanolin-based preparations, but in my opinion they are too sticky. I've tried Vasoline, also K-Y Jelly and Astro-Glide (sex products); these are slippery, but they don't last long.
Any commercial valve oil is OK. Selmer, Holton, and many other manufacturers make perfectly good valve oils, and whatever you get from the local music store will be OK.
Again, I emphasize ... Clean it before you play it!